Harry Reid: “The recently departed majority leader of the House of Representatives, Dick Armey. That is only part of what he said.…”

“The recently departed majority leader of the House of Representatives, Dick Armey. That is only part of what he said. Medicare has no place in a free world. I am not making this up. That is what he said. Social Security is a rotten trick. I think we are going to have to bite the bullet on Social Security and phase it out over time. These people are doing indirectly what they cannot do directly. They are going to rob this Government of all the moneys they have until they have no choice but to say what we have to do is basically do away with the Social Security program; do away with Medicare. Let the private sector take care of it. If you want some retirement benefits, get it at your job; and if the job doesn't, save it. Social Security is a rotten trick. That is what they think. But my mother and father who drew Social Security--actually, my dad didn't. He died too early. But my mother did. I don't think it was a rotten trick. I can remember my grandmother. I was a little boy. Every month she got what we called and she called her ``old age pension.'' That was Social Security. That was what gave my grandmother independence from her eight children. She got her check. She didn't have to depend on her children. She was a widow. She got her Social Security check. I thank my friend very much for talking about this budget, which is as phony as a six-dollar bill.”