President Obama is pressing congressional leaders to consider a far-reaching debt-reduction plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue.So Obama thinks we have a once in a decade chance to cut Social Security and Medicare.
At a meeting with top House and Senate leaders set for Thursday morning, Obama plans to argue that a rare consensus has emerged about the size and scope of the nation’s budget problems and that policymakers should seize the moment to take dramatic action.
As part of his pitch, Obama is proposing significant reductions in Medicare spending and for the first time is offering to tackle the rising cost of Social Security, according to people in both parties with knowledge of the proposal. The move marks a major shift for the White House and could present a direct challenge to Democratic lawmakers who have vowed to protect health and retirement benefits from the assault on government spending.
“Obviously, there will be some Democrats who don’t believe we need to do entitlement reform. But there seems to be some hunger to do something of some significance,” said a Democratic official familiar with the administration’s thinking. “These moments come along at most once a decade. And it would be a real mistake if we let it pass us by.”
Rather than roughly $2 trillion in savings, the White House is now seeking a plan that would slash more than $4 trillion from annual budget deficits over the next decade, stabilize borrowing and defuse the biggest budgetary time bombs that are set to explode as the cost of health care rises and the nation’s population ages.
I've said this before, but if the Democratic party won't defend Social Security and Medicare, there is literally no justification for it's existence.
I don't know what the next step is, but a pledge to not donate money or canvas for any cantidate who supports social security cuts is a start.
IT'S A TRAP!
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.popzara.com/media/12/20100226-ackbar_trap_01.jpg
Nobody's going to vote for a guy who says we should cut social security benefits. It would be a shame to have to throw a democratic primary in 2012.
Sorry that was a little incoherent, I'm just terribly surprised. I'm just under the impression that, since retirees are disproportionately represented among voters it would be a very bad idea to piss them all off at once. And then there's the part about it being kind of a good thing that in this country retirees don't just get fucked by poverty until they die like in other countries. If Obama does cut a social security deal then he better do something to offset the shitty deal he just gave America or else the election is going to suck.
ReplyDeleteEspecially because this is how the deal looks spread out:
We're trading something that's SUPER POPULAR (social security, medicare, medicaid) for something that's SUPER UNPOPULAR (more taxes, more debt).
I guess it's possible that a tiny bit of new revenue will cause the republican party to explode in self-revulsion, but that's a risky bet
@ DJ Fucking Pretentious:
ReplyDeleteReally well said, agree completely.
It makes NO sense, and is unbelievably depressing.