Michael R. Strain, Columnist

If Republicans Won’t Confront Entitlements, Who Will?

Without reform, middle-class programs will produce higher debt and cuts in spending for the poor.

October 16, 2018 at 5:02 PM UTC

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

A powerful lobby.
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If the GOP doesn't address the rising costs of middle-class entitlement programs, then who will?

The National Republican Campaign Committee is running an ad warning voters that Democrats will cut Medicare. The ad tells workers that from their paychecks “the government withheld your money to pay for your Medicare,” and characterized “DC liberals” as “raiding our Medicare.” “That money,” the ad argues, “belongs to you.”