BCT Editorial – 2/13/09

This page was last updated on February 15, 2009.

Bleak outlook; Editorial; Beaver County Times; February 13, 2009.

The editorial subtitle is “Study shows that cutting Medicare costs is more difficult than expected.”

The editorial leads off with “When President Barack Obama and others talk about the devastating impact entitlement spending will have on the federal budget in the near future, they aren’t using scare tactics. [my emphasis] Unless significant changes are made in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid before the baby boom generation swamps them, the United States will face budget demands that will be unsustainable.”

Let’s compare that with what the Times told us just four years ago. When President Bush called attention to the financial problems of Socialist Security, the Times editorial “Wrong crisis” (1/24/05) referred to it as “fear-mongering” and told us “Social Security will be solvent for decades to come.” The insolvency dates for Socialist Security have not changed since then.

This is yet another example of the Times varying positions depending on who’s in office. You may recall the Times editorial position on deficit spending and debt took a 180-degree turn upon Mr. Obama’s election.

FYI, I submitted a comment nearly identical to the critique above on the Times website. Without comment, the Times chose not to post it. As I noted in my critique of “Limited options,” it appears the Times doesn’t like having attention drawn to its various position changes concurrent with Barack Obama’s election. It must be tough to have to hide from your own words.