Boehner: Cut Social Security to Pay for War

Republican House leader John Boehner laid out the Republican world view [1] in an interview with a friendly reporter at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Boehner defended the big banks from reform, arguing that the finanical reform bill was like "killing an ant with a nuclear weapon." His comments came as Republican Senators Scott Brown and Susan Collins announced that they might oppose the financial reform bill because it levied fees on the big banks to pay for its cost.

Who should pay? Boehner gave some indication, arguing that in order to have enough money to pay for the war in Afghanistan, the Congress should RAISE THE RETIREMENT AGE TO 70, and cut Social Security across the board. From the article:

"Ensuring there’s enough money to pay for the war will require reforming the country’s entitlement system, Boehner said. He said he’d favor increasing the Social Security retirement age to 70 for people who have at least 20 years until retirement, tying cost-of-living increases to the consumer price index rather than wage inflation and limiting payments to those who need them."

Wall Street wrecks the economy, but shouldn't be taxed to pay for the cost of reform. BP is victim of a "shakedown." And now the one Obama policy Republcans support -- escalation in Afghanistan -- should be paid for by the elderly -- raising the retirement age and cuttng Social Security.

If Republicans win the majority of the House, the perpetually tanned John Boehner will become Speaker. Hard to envision that.

NOTE: Updated to correct source of the interview.