When President George W. Bush began his second term with a proposal to reform Social Security by creating the first real “lock box” that would allow taxpayers to bequeath any accumulated contributions remaining in their FICA accounts at their death, to their heirs, even his own Republican Party allies in Congress refused to negotiate.
But at his recent news conference, President Barack Obama seemed to treat all entitlement benefits, if not all government programs, as permanent, vested property rights, if not ...