Obama praises Romney: "I suspect that on Social Security we’ve got a somewhat similar position"

[MannyGoldstein]

That must mean that Romney won't cut a cent from Social Security Benefits, and only wants to raise the wage cap on which Social Security is paid in order to have higher-income folks pay more.

Or maybe ...

Bowlesing Toward Betrayal - Paul Krugman, 10/2/12

So, is my timing good or not? Right after I warn about the risk that Democrats, including the president, might betray the mandate they seem likely to get for preserving the safety net, we learn that Senate leaders are at work on a plan based around, well, you guessed it:

If those efforts failed, another plan would take effect, probably a close derivative of the proposal by President Obama’s fiscal commission led by Erskine B. Bowles, the Clinton White House chief of staff, and former Senator Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming, a Republican. Those recommendations included changes to Social Security, broad cuts in federal programs and actions that would lower tax rates over all but eliminate or pare enough deductions and credits to yield as much as $2 trillion in additional revenue.

Just to say, this would be politically stupid as well as a betrayal of the electorate. If you don’t think Republicans would turn around and accuse Democrats of cutting Social Security — probably even before the ink was dry — you’ve been living under a rock.

Wake up, folks. The Grand Bargain Express is coming, and the 99% are tied to the tracks. Simpson-Bowles voted for a 22% cut in the average Social Security recipient's lifetime benefit.

And the Social Security "crisis"? It's totally cooked up by assuming that the economy won't ever get better again. If we return to anything near the average economy of the last 70 years, Social Security is fully funded.