Unkindest cut

It looks like the federal deficit and programs for the elderly like Social Security and Medicare aren't as dire as the deficit hawks wanted them to be. Paul Krugman made a great point today in his NY Times column.
He acknowledges that there may eventually be a shortfall in the programs,

...and the usual suspects insist that we must move right now to reduce scheduled benefits. But I've never understood the logic of this demand. The risk is that we might, at some point in the future, have to cut benefits; to avoid this risk of future benefit cuts, we are supposed to act pre-emptively by...cutting benefits. What problem, exactly are we solving here?

Meanwhile, it is beyond belief that Congress is contemplating cutting food stamp benefits for children. Here are some reasons why this is a really bad idea.