Economist Dean Baker writes about why Obama wants to cut Social Security. It’s a good read, in that it’s terrifying and depressing, but heavily based in facts. Baker closes with this incredibly important analysis of class warfare in the United States and who the economy is actually working for:

This brings up the fundamental point. The country has been and is getting richer. The reason that most people do not feel better off is that most of the money has gone to those at the top. Part of the reason is that they have been distracted by nonsense about the crushing burden of Social Security, so they have not paid attention to the policies that put more money in the pockets of the rich. Unfortunately, at the moment, President Obama seems to be working with the distracters.

I’d just say that talking about “the crushing burden of Social Security” isn’t about providing a distraction, though it certainly is that. That conversation and the actual goal of reducing Social Security is in itself an act of class warfare. Social Security is a key program that keeps old people from being in poverty. Taking it away or reducing it will drive more people into poverty. Destroying Social Security is one of the ultimate goals of the wealthy elites’ class warfare.