Rep. John Garamendi’s recent talk at the Davis Senior Center was interesting. He is an improvement on our previous congressional representative. On the other hand, he was not completely forthcoming either.

Example No. 1: Garamendi vowed to defend Medicare. But where was this defense when President Obama stripped $617 billion out of MediCare to finance Obamacare during its first two years when Obamacare had very little income?

Example No. 2: Garamendi vowed to defend Social Security. The representative says he is unwilling to consider immediate changes to Social Security though some will be needed before 2033. The crisis year is not 2033. The crisis comes in 2016 when the disability trust fund portion of Social Security runs out of money. President Obama and others have made suggestions for improvement of the situation. Garamendi denigrates their ideas but offers nothing of his own. His position is zero.

Example No. 3: Garamendi says, “Social Security, by law, does not add to the deficit …” This is barely a half-truth. The $1.3 trillion reserves in the Social Security Trust Fund are lent to the U.S. government. This debt is not reported as part of the national debt of approximately $17 trillion. That is only the beginning of the story.

Today, Social Security takes in less money each month than it pays out. Therefore, Social Security must demand that the feds begin repaying the lent money plus the interest it owes to the trust fund, which in turn can then fully pay its monthly obligations. Unfortunately, the feds are broke and must borrow money to pay their debts, like to Social Security. That borrowing is part of the annual budget deficit and contributes to the national debt.

John Garamendi was the California commissioner for insurance for two terms. He understands the facts concerning Social Security and how it contributes to the national debt better than most people. He opposes other politicians’ suggestions for improving the situation but has nothing of his own to add.

Jim Stevens
Davis

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