Social Security vs. The U.S. Economy

This just in: Social Security recipients are ruining our
economy! Just one of many implications as the political
squabbling roars on.

The various arguments tendered today by DC Senators and
guest PBS pundits on our debt and/or deficit situation would
elicit more hoarse/horse laughs if  the difficulties and
dysfunctions weren't so damned serious.

Consider, if you will (as Rod Serling used to say):

(1) The USA, a largely consumer-driven economy for
      decades, has many apologists clamoring for more
      consumption.
                           BUT
(2)  Unemployment nationally still hovers between  seven
       and eight percent; some states, like mine, Illinois, boast
       NINE percent unemployed.  If the discouraged could
       be counted, the true picture would be obviously
       grimmer. (Mighty hard to grin feeling grim.)
                           AND
(3)   The only people who CAN consume are SSA
        benefit recipients, the employed and the wealthy.
        Apparently their aggregate spending hasn't been
        adequate to the task of restoring our economy,
        bad for six years, despite the markets' recent
        joyride.

So the poor, veterans, disabled  and  aged  must bear
the brunt of future cost savings to make our balance sheet
look good? Shame, Mr. Obama, shame right-wing
nuthatches, shame on the uncaring lot of you.
"City on a hill"? --More like an ant hill.

Oh yeah, we old-timers are living off the fat of
the land and have broken our beautiful economy!

--In a pig's eye. Do something about waste, fraud
and abuse in the Pentagon (not by indiscriminately
laying off workers there), cherished pork barrel
projects, etc. Scale back the too-generous pensions
of former office holders. Examine with great scrutiny
the LLPs and LLCs, changing those laws which allow
many of the humans involved to avoid law suits and
certain sorts of taxation.

And stop waging war on seniors!