OCTOBER 26, 2012 Bill Clinton on cutting Social Security and the Cat food commission.. [View all]

[Ichingcarpenter]

Fortune Magazine


Oh........ and BTW... Bill isn't running for president




"While everyone can find things to disagree with in the recommendations of the Simpson-Bowles commission, I believe it got some big things right: The debt will become a much bigger problem when normal economic growth returns and causes interest rates to rise; passing a credible 10-year plan now will keep the government’s borrowing costs much lower than they will be without one; it’s important not to impose austerity now before a growth trend is clearly established, because as the austerity policies in the eurozone and the U.S. show, that will slow the economy, cut jobs, and increase deficits; and any credible deficit-reduction plan requires three things — spending reductions, revenue increases, and economic growth.”
[Article author continues...]

As for our entitlements, the situation is equally dire. As the law is currently written, the Social Security trust fund will run dry in 2033. If nothing changes before then, Social Security recipients will have their benefits cut by 25%. Simpson-Bowles tries to keep the program solvent by putting in modest steps to raise the retirement age gradually far into the future — by one year in 2050 and another in 2075 — so as not to change the social promises made to people who are nearing retirement age now. But the longer we wait to discuss the real problems in entitlement programs and enact changes like this, the more draconian the fix will need to be.

That’s why Krugman’s claim that there is no fiscal crisis isn’t just laughable, it’s downright dangerous. Krugman throws down the gauntlet when he calls Simpson-Bowles “a really bad plan.” As President Clinton notes, nearly every constituency will find some part of it hard to swallow. But the beauty of the plan is that it attempts to unify the country through shared sacrifice that is also grounded in some form of fiscal reality. And there’s nothing “really bad” about that.


http://fortune.com/2012/10/26/a-call-for-frank-talk-about-our-debt-from-bill-clinton-and-me/



How come all this 'shared' sacrifice' is not really shared by anyone but the 99%, Bill Clinton have zero to lose in this deal just like Simpson and Bowles.