Daily Howler - May 11, 2005

MOYNIHAN’S LEGACY! Matt Miller put his words in your mouth. We thought about Moynihan’s legacy:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2005

THE MILLER’S TALE: It didn’t take Matt Miller long. At the Times, he’s replacing Maureen Dowd for a month. And in the second paragraph of his very first piece, he boldly speaks on behalf of all Democrats. Miller makes a sweeping statement—a statement that is just flat-out wrong. For the record, Miller is explaining why Dems “should quit carping about Bush's evil ‘cuts:’”

MILLER (5/11/05): Start with this poorly understood fact: Under today's system of ''wage indexed'' benefits, every new cohort of retirees is guaranteed a higher level of real benefits than the previous generation. Workers retiring in 2025, for example, are scheduled to receive payments 20 percent higher in real terms than today's retirees. Today's teenagers are slated to get a 60 percent increase. When Democrats cry about ''cuts,'' they mean trims from these higher levels.

But that isn’t what all Democrats mean when they “cry” about those “evil” cuts. Perfect, isn’t it? Two grafs into his inaugural piece, Miller speaks on behalf of all Dems. And what he says is just plain flat-out wrong.