10 PARTISAN MYTHS

FROM RUNNING ON EMPTY, BY PETER G. PETERSON. © 2004 BY PETER G. PETERSON. TO BE PUBLISHED BY FARRAR, STRAUS & GIROUX.

Our two parties have organized themselves around two lopsided and mutually exclusive world views: Democrats believe every American is "entitled" to government largesse, while Republicans see only the ball and chain of punitive taxation. Each of these views has a set of self-justifying "myths." But their consequences go well beyond making our political process seem foolish. While federal deficit projections soar to dangerous heights, threatening our kids with unconscionable tax hikes, these myths have polarized the two parties and ruled out the sort of bipartisan consensus Americans need to avert fiscal catastrophe.

FIVE DEMOCRATIC MYTHS ABOUT ENTITLEMENTS

1. Because federal benefits go to the poor, reform will amount to a shedding of our social safety net.

We should never forget the critical role that federal benefits have played--and continue to play--in protecting Americans against the hardships of poverty. "I see one third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished," announced President Roosevelt in 1937. Most of the benefits originally paid out through his New Deal programs were directly targeted at alleviating this misery.

However, this is no longer the purpose toward which most benefits are directed. In 2002, out of $1.2 trillion in federal, state and local benefits, the poor received roughly $140 billion, according to the Census Bureau. That's about 12 cents of every full benefit dollar.