No SOTU lesson

Robert Samuelson says that Obama had a teachable moment in the SOTU but he didn't teach anything. He should have made this point among others:

 Myth: The problem is the deficit. The real issue isn't the deficit. It's the exploding spending on the elderly -- for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- which automatically expands the size of government. If we ended deficits with tax increases, we would simply exchange one problem (high deficits) for another (high taxes). Either would weaken the economy; and sharply higher taxes would represent an undesirable transfer to retirees from younger taxpayers.

Most people get back from Social Security and Medicare far more than they put in. I think I have, though I don't have definite figures on my payroll taxes. It does not take long.