Latest information—polls looking bad for Republicans. They are now talking about “possibly” starting the government up again and a 6 week extension of the debt ceiling while they further negotiate. Democrats should hold out for both and insist on at least a 1 year extension to ease Wall Street fears and give the people of this great country time to enjoy their holidays. We can’t have a man-made crisis every few weeks. The Koch Brothers have told the Tea Party to forget about ObamaCare and work toward compromises on the economy. During the talks surrounding the shutdown, the continuing resolution (CR) that the Senate passed, actually would have spent about $217 billion less on discretionary programs than the actual Obama budget for 2014. It mirrored the much hated Paul Ryan budget. It also left in the sequester cuts which are hurting everybody right now (the sequester should be repealed). Democrats need to bring this up every time “compromise” is brought up and Republicans need to note that Obama has already made SERIOUS concessions The Republicans also keep talking about lifting the Debt Ceiling as if it will allow Obama to spend more. Not the case. We’re in this position for one reason, and one reason only: because Congress told the government to spend more money than we have, and now Congress is threatening to run out on the bill. This isn’t about new spending. This is about paying for the bills we’ve already run up. Now, Republicans want to slash entitlements like Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid. Instead of targeting the elderly and the poor to carry the burden for a deficit crisis that they did not contribute to, Congress should address how it is that 30 major corporations paid ZERO income taxes in the last 3 years while simultaneously raking in $160 billion in profits. Social Security is an independent, self-funded program. It is not welfare. The workers and their employers paid for all of it (I contributed to the SS fund for over 35 years and money belongs to us seniors).The current fund has over $2.8 trillion surplus and is good, as is, for approximately 25 years and then it would still be able to pay roughly 75% of benefits beyond that time. The Republican’s god, Ronald Reagan, said that “Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit”. It should be discussed as a separate measure later on. Obama needs to get Chained CPI out of his budget and out of the discussions now. We are seeing the “real” Obama, freed by his final election to move not left, but right—shoving a knife into the backs of his base as he continues to talk about making sure there is a “secure retirement” for all seniors. Chained CPI doesn’t affect the base payments but does cut the rate of increase, so that SS payments will progressively lower just as the people least prepared for retirement are ready to retire. Today’s already meager COLA is, for most seniors, insufficient to keep up with costs. Also discussed, raising the retirement age, does not work because because racial minorities and workers in physically demanding occupations are not living longer. The most popular and my favorite way to fix SS is raising or eliminating the income CAP from $11 3,700. Let millionaires and billionaires pay the same rate of SS as the rest of us. Most of Medicare’s beneficiaries are getting by on less than $22,500—and 27% of the average SS check goes towards Parts B and D cost-sharing and other out-of- pocket health care costs—seniors cannot shoulder a SS cut (Chained CPI) AND increased out-of-pocket healthcare costs. For Medicare cost reductions, we need to reduce prescription drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices like the VA (saving approx. 48% on costs) and Medicaid. Republicans say “NO”. This shows that the Republicans are not really worried about cost savings in Medicare, but rather making sure their Drug Companies buddies are able to profit. Medicare should improve care coordination and crack down on waste and fraud. Congress should pass the Prime Act, which deals with waste and fraud. Raising the age for Medicare to 67 would shift substantial costs to seniors, states and employers. It would weaken the Medicare program by removing some of the healthiest beneficiaries, and it would disproportionately affect seniors of color and those with lower incomes and less education. If we want to expand the tax base, we should lift/remove the CAP on the current income of $113,700, impose a relatively small tax of 3 cents per $100 traded on Wall Street which would be unnoticed by most investors but would curb market speculators and raise an estimated $352 billion over the next decade. See guys? I have solved this whole mess for you!! Say thanks!!
Posted on: Sat, 12 Oct 2013 03:09:56 +0000
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