Just saw an AARP attack ad about threatened cuts to Social Security. At the end of it an oldster says “We won’t get the benefits we paid for so they can fund missile technology.”

Well, aside from the fact that entitlements dwarf every other segement of the Federal Budget and have for quite some time, somebody ought to explain to the old gent that the DoD was cut by 40% plus 20 years ago and we no longer fund much of anything in “missile technology.” Development of new ICBMs, even the ones under development then, ended in the GHW Bush Administration. Pretty much the only thing we have developed since then is missile defense technology.

Everyone is always sure that Out There Somewhere is some big unneeded program that can be cut or a new source of revenue found so they can continue to get the boxcars full of fresh new bills from DC on schedule. They have no idea what it is, but it must be Out There Somewhere. Maybe we can cancel the Montana class of BB’s or put a tax on telephones to help pay for the Spanish American War.

And the big surprise that came out today is that the AARP has decided not to oppose cuts in future SS benfits, hoping to stave off attacks on the funding for those getting it now. As one analyst said “This is very big news!” Even as Harry Reed says we have nothing to worry about until sometime after 2030, the reality is starting to sink in. AARP, of course, officially denies any such change in position and no doubt will continue to feature 20 year olds in its commercials saying how SS is so important to them.

But I get the impression that groups like AARP are to a great extent a captive of the politicans they support. They will support people like Reed and Pelosi because they have too much invested in them. However if they are changing they have detected a wind shift, perhaps even gust front from an approaching storm.