People here should know who Third Way is.

[beastie boy]

40. It seems your biggest beef with Third Way is their stance on Social Security.

From the link you provided, there are four main Third Way proposals that make the Social Security Fund last longer, increasing the chances of young people to actually benefit from the program in their old age. The plan says NOTHING about cutting Social Security BENEFITS for anyone. The "cutting social security" in your post is just plain inaccurate.

The proposals I am talking about are:

- index retirement age to longevity, reaching 70 by 2077. This is already being done, perhaps not as per the Third Way schedule, but with or without their input in the matter. There seem to be no rationally based objections to this coming from the left.

- switch to chained CPI for COLAs. This doesn't "cut" Social Security by one penny. At worst, it reduces, but does not eliminate, the cost adjustment increases to Social Security checks, and at best, it keeps up more accurate chain cost of living increases which may turn out to be greater than standard cost of living expenses.

- increase payroll tax for high-income workers (with or without a FICA "donut hole" payment). How is this different from "millionaires paying their fair share"?

- fully tax benefits for high-income seniors. See above.

And you see any of this objectionable... why?

BTW, these proposals were made 8 years ago. How influential was Third Way in seeing them through?

As far as I am concerned, third way is just another label used by the extreme left to derogate the mainstream of the Democratic Party, in most cases without taking steps to understand or accurately representing what the term actually means. Also see "neo-liberal", "establishment" and "behind the times". And, yes, a new one: "centrist".