Is this Obama's Rick Snyder moment?

As was noted this morning over at the Teamster Nation Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder's numbers are tanking faster than you can say "Koch Brother Hack".

Snyder was opposed to Right To Work until a few weeks ago when the 1% called in their debts.  In fact you've probably seen the video.

Voters in Michigan are not happy with his quick change of tune to slip the right to work corporate protectionisms through before the new Legislature who would not have passed this pet project of the 1% into law was able to take the reins..

The cuts to Social Security which Obama has put on the table are likely to be Obama's Rick Snyder moment if he isn't careful.

Let's jump to two weeks ago when the White House said Social Security should be off the table.  A reasonable position since it adds nothing to the deficit and is fully funded for the next few decades.

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Now we have Obama trying to cut a deal that cuts Social Security to avert a faux crisis?  Hey B.O. when the voters figure this out they are going to be pissed.

This is the kind of crap that makes people distrust politicans and engrains cynicism about our Government. 

As Ezra Klein note's its a slimy DC-beltway effort to pull the wool over voters eyes--The trick Washington is using to cut Social Security and Medicare:

Politicians who are unwilling or unable to offer a persuasive political or policy rationale for cutting Social Security benefits are instead hiding behind a technocratic rationale. We’re not “cutting benefits,” we’re “correcting our inflation measure.”

A similar dynamic is behind the popularity of raising the retirement age, or the Medicare eligibility age: Its advocates can pretend that it’s not a cut, but a technical adjustment made to account for the fact that Americans are living longer. Compared to other approaches to cutting benefits, raising the retirement age is, again, a substantively unwise, regressive approach. But it can be justified as a mere technocratic tweak.

This is bad policymaking. If we want to cut Social Security and/or Medicare, we should have a conversation about how to cut Social Security and/or Medicare, decide what our priorities are — Progressivity? Making the health-care system more efficient? Total deficit-reduction? — and find the policy that does the best job achieving those goals. The effort to mask cuts in technical adjustments just leads to worse cuts, as the top priority isn’t protecting the poorest or improving the program, but finding a policy sufficiently confusing that you can pass it before most people realize what it is.

Salon notes the Liberals are not pleased. But fails to point out that once every day people, who consistently poll in opposition to cuts to Social Security, figure out the ruse they will be ticked off as well.

Obama was given a mandate and the people who created it with their time, money, and energy might just revoke it before inauguration day if he isn't careful.

With this latest capitulation on Social Security, I guess Democrats are intent on reliving the glory days of 2010.

— Markos Moulitsas (@markos) December 18, 2012

 

For more see:

Thoughts on the Chained CPI, Social Security, and the Budget | CEPR Blog http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/thoughts-on-the-chained-cpi-social-security-and-the-budget

How Obama aims to cut Social Security benefits by 10% « LBO News from Doug Henwood http://lbo-news.com/2012/12/17/how-obama-aims-to-cut-social-security-benefits-by-10/

A Cost of Living Adjustment for Social Security in the Fiscal Cliff? | Next New Deal http://www.nextnewdeal.net/rortybomb/cost-living-adjustment-social-security-fiscal-cliff#.UM_SaCnlaqA.twitter

How Do the Elderly Spend Money and the Difficulty of Protecting Against Social Security Cuts | Next New Deal http://www.nextnewdeal.net/rortybomb/how-do-elderly-spend-money-and-difficulty-protecting-against-social-security-cuts