Stand of Pawlenty: presidential candidate in South Florida, calls for cuts to retiree benefits

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Palm Beach Post:

CORAL GABLES — A day after telling Iowans their beloved ethanol subsidies will have to go, Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty used a stop in senior-heavy Florida to call for reining in Social Security and Medicare benefits for future retirees.

The former Minnesota governor, who launched his campaign Monday, talked about entitlement reform during a 30-minute Facebook town hall and in a question-and-answer session with reporters at the Biltmore hotel.

It's part of a tough-medicine tour, designed to highlight Pawlenty's willingness to tell "hard truths." He's also planning to visit Washington to call for less-generous pay and benefits for public sector employees and to New York to call for an end to Wall Street bailouts.

"We won't have Medicare or Medicaid or Social Security as we know it in the future if we don't make changes and adjustments now that can preserve these important programs," Pawlenty told the Facebook audience.

Pawlenty said Social Security's retirement age must "gradually" increase for people who are not yet in the system. He also called for ending cost-of-living increases for wealthy retirees. He said he'll release details soon and said the changes would not affect current retirees.

On Medicare, Pawlenty applauded -- but stopped short of endorsing -- a plan by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan to change Medicare for those now 54 and younger to a program in which the government provides subsidies to retirees to buy private insurance.

"As to the Ryan plan, I support the courage, I support the leadership, I support the general direction of it, but I'm going to have my own plan shortly and we'll be rolling it out in the coming weeks and months," Pawlenty told reporters.
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Tim Pawlenty, sacred cow puncher?