| We've heard that call even from the Tea Party faithful... Now the administration is going to examine ways to screw more gently with Medicare and likely Social Security than the Republicans as they attempt to demonstrate to the country that they too can be tough like the loser Paul Ryan in exploring every possible way to cut expenses. Check this article out in the Washington Post. Contrasting the president’s approach with what Republican leaders have put forward, Plouffe said Obama will use a “scalpel” and not a “machete” as he seeks to preserve funding for education and other areas he considers crucial to the country’s long-term economic success. Still, Plouffe said Obama is committed to doing more to slash the fast-rising cost of Medicare and Medicaid, to roll back George W. Bush-era tax cuts for those earning more than $250,000 and to even discuss changes to Social Security. For Obama, the political stakes are high. He will be trying to convince voters concerned about the growing debt that he is serious about cutting government spending and Democratic allies that he will protect key government programs, while also working to ensure spending is not cut so much that it impairs economic recovery.
I am pleased to hear that they are again looking at increasing taxes as a way to solve our deficit problem expecially since such a large part of our deficit is a direct result of the Bush tax cuts. All of these so called deficit hawks just don't seem to realize that each and every wage earner now pays the social security and the medicare tax on the first $106,800 of their income. Right now social security brings in more than goes out. I agree that the day is coming when more will be going out than comes in. The answer is tgo raise the top amount for contributions to social security and medicare, The sainted Ronald Reagan and our own Bill Clinton certainly had no problem doing this back in 1983 and 1993 respectively. It is obvious to me that the answers our leaders seem to come up with eventually take away from those who can least afford the loss of benefits that come from what they continually refer to as entitlements. It is also very obvious to me who the entitled are and they certainly aren't those making less than $106,800 per year. Every day that goes by with budget and debt ceiling talk by the pundocracy and the government proves to me that we had all better make sure that 2012 reverses the gains made by the republicans in 2010. None of this discourse would be so crtitical if more of the Democratic base had voted in 2010. We need to be sure that we all support Democrats from the President on down in 2012, and not make the mistake so many made in 2010. The entire Democratic base needs to show up on election day and do all they can to insure that folks like Ryan, Paul and their ilk don't get elected in 2012. I don't have any idea who the Republican candidate for President will be, but as Carnacki has frequently said... think about how bad things would be for us all if Raese had been elected to the Senate last November. Imagine what it would be like with Donald Trump, Michelle Bachman or Sarah Palin as President because we didn't support Democrats. The clock on 2012 is clicking now. |
