Pawlenty Calls For Social Security And Medicaid Reform…In Florida
Yesterday it was ending ethanol subsidies in Iowa. Today, in the haven state for America’s retiree, Pawlenty went after Social Security and Medicare saying both programs need massive reforms.
“What I know is this,” says Pawlenty. “There just can’t be any more sacred cows.”
A day after telling Iowans their beloved ethanol subsidies will have to go, Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty used a stop in senior-heavy Florida to call for reining in Social Security and Medicare benefits for future retirees. …
It’s part of a tough-medicine tour, designed to highlight Pawlenty’s willingness to tell “hard truths.” He’s also planning to visit Washington to call for less-generous pay and benefits for public sector employees and to New York to call for an end to Wall Street bailouts. …
Pawlenty said Social Security’s retirement age must “gradually” increase for people who are not yet in the system. He also called for ending cost-of-living increases for wealthy retirees. He said he’ll release details soon and said the changes would not affect current retirees.
This may be more calculation, however, than bold truth telling. “The straight talk on entitlements, I think, is mainly geared towards giving him cover with the base for when he starts inching away from Ryan’s Medicare plan,” writes Allah. “He praised Ryan’s budget when speaking to reporters after the Facebook town hall today but reminded them that he’ll be introducing his own plan in the coming months.”
With Senate RINO’s fleeing from Ryan’s plan – Senator Olympia Snowe joined Senators Scott Brown and Susan Collins today in opposition – the Ryan plan isn’t likely to pass the Senate. Nor was it ever likely to get past that Democrat-controlled chamber of Congress.
Pawlenty is free to introduce his own plan, knowing he wouldn’t be expected to actually implement it until after being elected in 2012 long after the current budget impasse comes to some sort of conclusion.
Tags: election 2012, ethanol, medicare, social security, Tim Pawlenty
