Good idea: cut the Pentagon instead of Social Security and Veterans Benefits

Courtesy Facebook.

As both a senior and a U.S. Air Force veteran, I confess to a somewhat negative bias toward Obama's recent budget proposal, and I can therefore appreciate any sensible alternative to the cleverly labeled "chained CPI" (consumer price index).  For example, Robert Naiman at OpEDNews.com suggests that we cut the Pentagon instead of Social Security and Veterans' Benefits:

The boss organizes the workers, union organizers like to say. 

Say what you want about President Obama's proposal to cut Social Security and veterans' benefits with the "chained CPI." He did accomplish one thing for liberals that they often have a hard time doing on their own.

He united them -- in opposition to his proposal.

Since Friday, the following groups, among others, have contacted me expressing outrage about and pledging to vigorously oppose the president's proposal: the AFL-CIO, MoveOn, Progressive Campaign Change Committee, CREDO Action, Americans for Democratic Action, Democracy for America. Some of these groups are explicitly threatening primary challenges to any Congressional Democrat who supports the president's proposal. 

But that's not all we have to celebrate. If, like most Americans, you prefer to cut what Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has called the "bloated" Pentagon budget instead of cutting Social Security and veterans' benefits, you have even more reason to rejoice.

Because at this political juncture, everyone in America who says "no cuts to Social Security or veterans' benefits" is effectively saying "cut the bloated Pentagon budget," whether they do so explicitly or not. If the "grand bargain" is killed and Social Security and veterans' benefits are spared -- apparently these are all the same political event -- then the Pentagon budget will be cut instead. 


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