Memory Lane

I think in movies they call this “dramatic foreshadowing”…

UPDATE: Obama spokesman Bill Burton sends over a statement: “Barack Obama doesn’t want to cut benefits and doesn’t want to raise the retirement age. He views Social Security as a sacred compact with our workers and seniors. So rather than using it as a political wedge for the purposes of a campaign, President Obama will work with Democrats and Republicans to ensure Social Security is solvent and viable for the American people, now and in the future.”

STEPHANOPOULOS: You’ve also said that with Social Security, everything should be on the table.

OBAMA: Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Raising the retirement age?

OBAMA: Everything should be on the table.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Raising payroll taxes?

OBAMA: Everything should be on the table. I think we should approach it the same way Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan did back in 1983. They came together. I don’t want to lay out my preferences beforehand, but what I know is that Social Security is solvable. It is not as difficult a problem as we’re going to have with Medicaid and
Medicare.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Partial privatization?

OBAMA: Privatization is not something that I would consider, and the reason is this: Social Security, I think, is — that’s the floor. That’s the baseline. Social Security is that safety net that can’t be frayed, and we shouldn’t put at risk.