USA Today, Washington Post chase Dems on entitlements

Independent editorials in USA Today and the Washington Post today weigh in on the need for both parties to compromise on reaching a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.

Notably, both editorials specifically address Democrats who have signaled entitlement reform shouldn't be part of negotiations.

From USA Today:

Democrats, of course, have a political interest in fudging the issue to keep Social Security out of negotiations over the year-end "fiscal cliff" of abrupt tax hikes and spending cuts. "I am not going to be part of having Social Security as part of these talks relating to this deficit," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters this month.

Seriously? How exactly do Democrats expect Republicans to bend on their destructive refusal to raise taxes if Democrats won't bend on their destructive refusal to trim unsustainable benefit programs?

And from the Washington Post:

Elections do have consequences, and Mr. Obama ran on a clear platform of increasing taxes on the wealthy. But he was clear on something else, too: Deficit reduction must be “balanced,” including spending cuts as well as tax increases. Since 60 percent of the federal budget goes to entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, there’s no way to achieve balance without slowing the rate of increase of those programs.