Obama Stakes Social Security and Medicare Overhaul to Stem Federal Spending

JEFF ZELENY and JOHN HARWOOD report for the New York Times that: "President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that overhauling Social Security and Medicare would be “a central part” of his administration’s efforts to contain federal spending, signaling for the first time that he would wade into the thorny politics of entitlement programs." Mr Obama made his remarks at a Washington news conference and "he provided no details of his approach to rein in Social Security and Medicare, which are projected to consume a growing share of government spending as the baby boom generation ages into retirement over the next two decades. But he said he would have more to say about the issue when he unveiled a budget next month." The Congressional Budget Office has "projected a record $1.2 trillion budget deficit for this year even before the costs of the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus package being taken up by the House and the Senate, Mr. Obama stepped up his effort to reassure lawmakers and the financial markets that he plans a vigorous effort to keep the government’s finances from deteriorating further." Making changes that would attempt to decrease the increasing expenditures for Social Security and Medicare would surely be a politically unappealing undertaking that would find few elected representatives willing to take on. The Times reporters suggest: "The programs have proved almost sacrosanct in political terms, even as they threaten to grow so large as to be unsustainable in the long run." From Obama's perspective, he has promised to “scour this budget, line by line, eliminating what we don’t need, or what doesn’t work, and improving the things that do.” And with that pledge in mind he has developed a special White House post, calling it the chief performance officer, and named Nancy Killefer to fill it with the intended purpose to engage in "a more intensive effort to weed inefficient and bloated programs out of the federal budget in the short run,.." Reflecting on his decision, Mr Obama remarked: "If we do nothing,.. then we will continue to see red ink as far as the eye can see.” The task of taking on Social Security and Medicare demonstrate Obama's willingness to consider that no federal program is sacrosanct. But at a time when Mr Obama is attempting to keep the nation's focus squarely on his economic recovery plan he has to be careful not to over reach and create battles that he neither needs nor is prepared to engage in. His presidency depends on a levelheaded and systematic approach to placing the nation on a sustainable glide path to recovery that holds the peoples' trust in his efforts. He must be very judicious and even-tempered in deciding how quickly he can spend the good will he now possesses; any deviations from that plan could prove disastrous to the achievement of his over all goal of repairing the economy. Social Security and Medicare reform; although both vitally necessary, might be tasks that come at a later time for the Obama Administration to have a greater chance at popular success.