Pampering retirees

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For the first time since Congress pegged Social Security benefits to the cost of living 35 years ago, retirees won't see fatter monthly checks next year -- unless President Obama and Congress step in.

The consumer price index, on which the calculations are based, has declined this year. Payments won't be reduced, though, because the 1975 law sets a floor under benefits. And beneficiaries received a 5.8 cost-of-living increase last January because of soaring fuel prices.

But Obama has proposed to override the law and send every beneficiary a $250 check, ostensibly to salve economic pain but, not incidentally, to curry favor with a voting bloc that regularly goes to the polls.

Most economists, including some in the administration, think the idea -- price tag: $14 billion -- is half-baked. If the rationale is to give the economy another dose of stimulus, there are other segments of society that have probably suffered more from the recession and are definitely more inclined to spend a government bonus than retirees.

Obama's eagerness to pamper retirees is a worrisome reminder of politicians' unwillingness to make the tough choices necessary to get the federal budget under control and cut the record deficits that threaten the nation's long-term fiscal security.

"Entitlement reform" is the innocuous term that covers shoring up Social Security and Medicare through benefit cuts or new revenue. But that daunting task won't be addressed if the politicians balk at merely keeping Social Security benefits steady as mandated by law.