Samuelson: Squatters' Rights

Robert Samuelson, who writes for The Washington Post, has an excellent column about the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform report that was recently issued. He accuses the commission of not tackling the real issue: run-away spending on social security, medicare, and the like. I particularly like this Samuelson quote:

Government benefits, once conferred, cannot be revoked. People expect them and consider them property rights. Just as government cannot randomly confiscate property, it cannot withdraw benefits without violating a moral code. The old-fashioned idea that government policies should serve the "national interest" has given way to inertia and squatters' rights.