"As the new fiscal year approaches, a financial and political crisis confronts Republicans in Congress. They may have to break their repeated promises and raid Social Security to run the Government, their own staff and independent analysts say.
For months, the Republican leaders have sworn that they would pass their spending bills on time, hew to self-imposed spending limits and leave Social Security alone. But with only five days left in the fiscal year, those promises appear almost impossible to keep, as most of the spending bills are not finished.
The proposals on the table would break the spending caps or use technicalities to obey them, and most budget experts are projecting the diversion of Social Security funds. Meanwhile, Congress has so far failed to pass other major bills, like those on campaign finance, health care and gun control.
All week, nearly every day, they renewed their vows not to spend Social Security surpluses to run the Government in the coming fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1."
Max, some enlightenment please. Why are the spending caps being breached? Where's all this reckless spending happening? What's the status of the non-SS "surplus"? And is the administration just standing by smiling, making political hay out of embracing strict austerity, while the goobers of the GOP spend money on god knows what?
Doug