Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) has decided to let his position on Social Security stand. The question now is, which one!
As noted here, Heck has done a full 360 on his contention that Social Security is a pyramid scheme in the past week. That’s earned him the ire of the editors of the Las Vegas Sun and now he’s trying to push the issue to bed by saying he’s through answering questions about it.
Summarizing Heck’s revolving position on the issue, a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal asked Heck for clarification at a Wednesday town hall. “I wanted to ask about your comments around Social Security,” he said. “You said at your Boulder City meeting, you used the phrase ‘pyramid scheme’ and then you later said “‘I shouldn’t have used those words,’ then on the radio you agreed with someone who called it a pyramid scheme. I just want to see where it is you stand?”
Heck responded, “I appreciate your question, but I’ve given my stance on Social Security to the previous question. This is a veterans issues town hall. So at this point I’m not going to comment on that question because I’m concentrating on veterans issues.”
The exchange was caught on camera by a Democratic tracker, and provided to TPM.
The imbroglio has won heck a scolding from the Sun‘s editors, who argue that politicians like Heck create a false sense of panic about Social Security as a pretext for making unnecessary, radical changes to the program.
“Heck was happy to discuss many issues, including his thoughts on the Walt Disney Co. trying to trademark the name “SEAL Team 6,” but he refused to discuss Social Security in any detail,” they wrote. “By not honestly discussing the issue, Heck is doing a disservice to his constituents, many of whom are counting on Social Security in their retirement. This is important because if the system truly were ready to collapse, it would bolster the Republican claim that radical change is needed…. Republican leaders in Congress are merely trying to manufacture a crisis to create a political reason for their ‘reforms.'”
Some top Republicans are currently revisiting a plan that would phase out Social Security by rerouting its revenues into private accounts held by current workers.
