News flash: Barack Obama is opposed to reducing Social Security benefits.

To be fair, in his new radio ad (see it here in Dave Johnson's excellent blog on HuffingtonPost)in Iowa, the Illinois Senator, according to the Associated Press, also wants to eliminate "the tax exemption for the wealthy." This at least, separates himself from the Repub candidates for President, who recognize that doing so would only help the middle class at the expense of the wealthy, which they are loath to do. Still, Obama's comment that "if we have failed to have a real, honest conversation about Social Security, it will not get fixed," suggests that Obama believes there is a problem with Social Security, a myth of the Washington chattering class and rationale for GOP privatization efforts.

Voters under the age of, approximately, 30 have grown up hearing from the media, most Repub politicians, and even some Democratic politicians that there is a "problem" with Social Security. Here is the "problem"- the trust fund being robbed for general revenues, so that the progressive income tax need not be raised while Repub politicians and some DLC-style Democrats brag about not raising taxes and excoriate their opponents for allegedly doing so. And another problem: there is little recognition among youth about the collective responsibility of one generation to another in America. Obama's ad? not helpful.