WASHINGTON — House Republicans would preserve Medicare cuts that their presidential nominee loudly denounced last year and accept tax increases they sternly opposed just months ago in a new tax-and-spending blueprint that would bring the federal budget into balance by 2023, senior Republicans said Wednesday.
But the politically charged proposal, which emerged as the House easily passed legislation to keep the government financed through Sept. 30, is not expected to include workers currently 55 and over in major changes recommended for Medicare, after more moderate Republicans objected.
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Sad there are still people in Washington, including NY Times reporters, who actually believe Paul Ryan has any sort of financial or economic credibility. Every plan he has ever put forward is based on (1) ending Medicare and (2) vague, unspeficied "savings," which he refuses to identify, to reduce the deficit. The deficit is not the problem -- unemployment is the problem in the short term, health care costs are the problem in the long term.
Right on PL. "hope springs eternal" ...until paragraph 9 ! On backs of tle least of us able to sustain the burden.
Sad that there are still people who believe that the New York Times has any credibility.
PL's remarks are so lazy it's sad. His remarks are exactly why we are in this situation with the likes of Obama's failed economy, two unqualified senators, and a governor who cares more about the curtains in his office and his 2 million dollar home than the state of MA. What will it possibly take for folks to truely understand the problem? I would ask PL and the likes to actually listen to Paul Ryan sometime instead of reading headlines from the "Boston Glob" and the old tired line. Paul Ryan is one of the only congressmen to put out a detail filled plan to SAVE Medicare. Nobody else has done so. Why? Because absent minded folks like PL will try to throw mud on the wall and scare tactics. This country is in a dire need of reform. Reform comes from educated conversation and ideas not scare tactics, that is why Paul Ryan is exactly what this country needs.
If your idea of "saving Medicare" is to issue vouchers to assist in purchasing private insurance (the Ryan Plan), then we'll just have to disagree about what Medicare is all about, and how to control health care costs. The Obama economy has done very well - DJIA at all time high, unemployment dropping (though should be faster). Senator Warren is brilliant and a fantastic representative of the people of MA, very proud she's my Senator. I'm so-so on our Governor, but not really relevent. I think the US is great, you don't. Again, we'll just have agree to disagree.
PL, who does the "all time high" of DJIA truly benefit, "millionaires and billionaires" for sure, highly paid corporate executives with stock options definitely and folks who had the stomach to get back into the Wall Street Casino, after being cleaned out by the Wall Street Casino in 2008. At least 85% of the trades on ther DJIA are done by super computers, based on algorithmic trading methods, it is not our mother and fathers DJIA. The middle class hasn't benefitted, the working poor haven't benefitted, except for some additional assistance from the Food Stamp program, wages are stagnant and flat. It takes political courage to make the changes to Medicare and Medicaid that need to made, who is that person, who are those people. You just can't be against everything and be for the status quo when it comes to addressing Medicare and Medicaid.The status quo will bankrupt the country, devalue the currency and create hyper-inflation and then we will all lose. It's the lack of consistency that offends me, when the Bush was President the rancor and hysteria from 85% of the media and the left about the deficits and "our children's" future was deafening and now it doesn't really matter, it's some problem in future, for who, our children and grandchildren. There's nothing I despise more than a shallow dishonest hypocrite, someone who says one thing and does another, someone who doesn't practice what they preach and they are many now in our country, on both on the left and the right. The "Big Money" feeding the politcal machine is what has singularly cheapened our government and sold out the American people, and it comes from the both left and the right. They have served their own interest instead the best interest of the American people and that is why we have so many of the uneccessary problems we have today.
President Obama is not to blame for the effects that Globalization, Advanced Productivty through Technology and Industrial Automation have had on our economy,jobs and wages. He is though to blame for a failure of leadership in failing to advocate for the implementation of some, at least some of the recommendations of his own financial/deficit reduction commission, Simpson-Bowles, which would have at the least simplied the corporate tax code, lowered rates and brought more certainty to the job creators in our country small and medium sized businesses with less than 500 and 50 employees. He also completely failed to lead on the implementation of means testing for Social Security and Medicare. President Obama decided instead to play the "class warfare" card and talk about "millionaires and billionaires, for the next two years as his re-election strategy. I agree with him that a number of those "millionaires andd billionaires were not paying their "fair share," but he could have run down two tracks and chose not to to the great detriment of our economy. Next to no one, even Mitt Romney, called him out on these misteps. Hopefully they will all start working together to address these issues. Paul Ryan has at least attempted to bring some ideas to the table, one should be a 5% National goods and services tax to fund Medicare exclusively. We all deserve to have our Medicare system properly funded, it's the only way we are ever going to get to where we need to be. Other than some lip service and cheap political talk the Democrats have submitted no substantive plan to reform Medicare and Medicaid. They call that political cowardice.
But Obama is completely to blame for bowing to the Environmental lobby like the Sierra Club and continue opposing the Keystone Oil Pipeline from Canada...Thousands of good jobs are being lost as a result. Even the unions want this project to be approved. And by the way, the Environmentalists are very RICH people. They are 1% ers. So much for the phony Liberal claims that the governmernt's goal is to help out the poor and the middle class.
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Notice that President Obama doesn't have any meetings with Senate Democrats about budget issues. House Republicans are well aware that Obama has shown time and time again that he is not sincere about any bipartisan agreements with Republicans. He will continue to PRETEND that he is trying to negotiate with Republicans, when his stated goal (as was exposed by the Washington Post) is to DESTROY the Republican Party..... Even if he has to DESTROY the US economy in the process.....And what the Times article won't tell you, is that the only reason that Obama is pretending to talk to House Republicans again is that the Gallop Poll showed Obama's approval rating has sharply dropped after Obama and the news media began its SCAREquester compaign.
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Tranferring Medicare to the private sector does not sound like a cost-cutting measure. Well, maybe to the government, but on the backs of retirees when they get to that point in their life. Medicare's overhead costs are much lower than any private insurance company. No one is making millions of dollars working for Medicare. Now how about real cost savings like negotiating drug prices and means testing?
As usual the wing nut trolls shout out their protestations to what Obama has accomplished. And what a bunch of nonsense from "Miker6"...Obama not negotiating with republicans??? What planet did you just come from? The Tea Party led GOP has done everything to obstruct and derail anything Obama wants to do. It is Mitch McConnell's stated goal. Mr. Ryan is just another toady solon in the grip of the wealthy self interests who are trying to control the government. And have been since the days of JP Morgan, Carnegie and the rest of the robber barons who wanted to run the country for their own good. Making senior citizens have to go to a voucher system and the private sector to get medical care will not work. After all, the private sector is only concerned about profit..nothing else. Which is fine. But, not a good way to get decent medical care to senior citizens who for the most part are living on a very fixed income. And also having to endure cuts to their already meager SS benefits. And yes..what about negotiating prescription drug prices? Why not control the ever spiraling out of control costs of medical care? Stop the gouging for services. Mr Ryan's motives are quite clear. Also, the majority of Americans support the president's position and want him to stick to it.