The coming battles over the nation’s safety-net programs are beginning with an early clash over a thorny question of semantics: What constitutes a cut?
In the eyes of many Democrats, any change to Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security that erodes benefits provided under current law would be considered a cut — and therefore stands as a nonstarter with liberals as Congress seeks ways to rein in deficit spending.
Across the aisle, Republicans have long promoted a ...