Kerry Picket catches Jon Huntsman using the Democratic buzzphrase of the moment: Shared Sacrifice. (Maybe it was two or three moments ago.)I see the buzzphrase but I don’t see any winks or nudges toward the Democrats’ point – that “shared sacrifice” means “taxes on the rich. Huntsman’s interrogator, Jeffrey Brown, tried to clear that up.
JEFFREY BROWN: Higher taxes for those at the highest -
JON HUNTSMAN: There’s – there is – well, I’m not saying – (chuckles) – higher taxes. I’m saying that there are contributions that they can make, too.
Meaning? Huntsman explains: “I know that there are people who can give, perhaps, more than others maybe as it relates to the means testing around Social Security and Medicare – people who don’t need these programs.”
To recap: Taking Medicare away from people who don’t need it, while requiring them to keep paying FICA – effectively turning Medicare into a welfare program – is the “shared sacrifice” idea. Why’s that more saleable than slightly higher taxes on the rich?
