At a campaign stop in south central Virginia this past Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden said to a relieved coffee shop patron that, "Number one, I guarantee you, flat guarantee you, there will be no changes in Social Security. I flat guarantee you."
The Vice President should be applauded for talking sense about our Social Security system. He has performed an important public service with his recent comments reassuring the American people that Social Security will not be changed.
In a classic bait-and-switch, too many politicians, pushed by right-wing ideologues, are plotting to use the excuse of the federal deficit to cut Social Security, even though It has not added one penny to the federal debt.
We need to get them to understand that Social Security is an earned right; that, by law, Social Security’s income must only be used for Social Security; that cutting Social Security’s modest but vital benefits will not reduce the national debt at all. How can politicians responsibly talk about changing Social Security, when they don't even seem to understand it?
That is why it is so refreshing to hear Vice President Biden reaffirm his and the administration's commitment to Social Security, and aligning himself with the will of the vast majority of the American people.
It should be clear to everyone, but just in case politicians in DC needed a reminder voters in recent Arizona, Hawaii and New York elections have shown they understand that Social Security is an earned right and a commitment to hard-working Americans to live with dignity in old age, or when unexpected severe disability or death impacts their lives.
