Tag Archives: Medicare

April 27, 2011 · 8:24 pm

Paul Ryan’s plan puts 2012 elderly vote in play – Glenn Thrush and Abby Phillip – POLITICO.com

Like I said, I think the GOP may have just committed Political Suicide….

From Politico.com:

Obama’s 2008 campaign was fueled by youthful enthusiasm and billed as a generational upheaval. But older voters, especially white working-class conservatives, were not a natural hope-and-change crowd, and he lost among seniors by nine points to John McCain. Many of them simply stayed home.

That skepticism, bordering on hostility, has carried over to his presidency.

Over-65 voters have given Obama the lowest marks of any age cohort in every weekly Gallup presidential approval survey taken since Obama took office. Last week, only 36 percent of seniors approved of his performance, seven points less than Obama’s overall approval rating and 12 points lower than his positive rating among 18-to-24 year-olds.

But Ryan’s plan, embraced by most Republicans, gives Obama a big opportunity in 2012 to regain lost ground in key battleground states and narrow the generation gap. “It finally gives us an argument to make with seniors… It’s a godsend,” said a Democratic operative allied with Obama who sees the issue as a way to make up lost ground with seniors in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Florida.

via Paul Ryan’s plan puts 2012 elderly vote in play – Glenn Thrush and Abby Phillip – POLITICO.com.

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April 27, 2011 · 8:18 am

House Republicans Under Attack on Medicare Overhaul – NYTimes.com

Hopefully, the GOP has just committed Political suicide….

It’s starting to sound like it….

In central Florida, a Congressional town meeting erupted into near chaos on Tuesday as attendees accused a Republican lawmaker of trying to dismantle Medicare while providing tax cuts to corporations and affluent Americans.

At roughly the same time in Wisconsin, Representative Paul D. Ryan, the architect of the Republican budget proposal, faced a packed town meeting, occasional boos and a skeptical audience as he tried to lay out his party’s rationale for overhauling the health insurance program for retirees.

In a church theater here on Tuesday evening, a meeting between Representative Allen B. West and some of his constituents began on a chaotic note, with audience members quickly on their feet, some heckling him and others loudly defending him. “You’re not going to intimidate me,” Mr. West said.

After 10 days of trying to sell constituents on their plan to overhaul Medicare, House Republicans in multiple districts appear to be increasingly on the defensive, facing worried and angry questions from voters and a barrage of new attacks from Democrats and their allies.

The proposed new approach to Medicare — a centerpiece of a budget that Republican leaders have hailed as a courageous effort to address the nation’s long-term fiscal problems — has been a constant topic at town-hall-style sessions and other public gatherings during a two-week Congressional recess that provided the first chance for lawmakers to gauge reaction to the plan.

via House Republicans Under Attack on Medicare Overhaul – NYTimes.com.

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April 20, 2011 · 7:29 pm

Medicare Cuts Proposed by Republicans Face Broad Opposition in ABC News Poll – ABC News

I have two big concerns:

  1. Republicans don’t care about what most Americans think and will ram their agenda through anyway.
  2. People will forget this by Election Day next year and vote against their interests again

This should just kill the GOP if everyone pays attention, remembers and votes to protect their own interests instead of those of the Rich, Big Corporations and Tea Party fanatics.

Americans strongly reject Medicare cuts and broadly support higher taxes on the wealthy, underscoring the political risks in Republican debt-reduction plans. And on one key factor in the debate — protecting the middle class — President Obama retains the upper hand.

Those and other results from the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll underscore the hazards of the federal spending debate for Republicans as well as for Obama. As poorly as the president is rated for handling the deficit — just 39 percent approve — the Republican leaders in Congress do a bit worse, with just 33 percent approval on the same issue.

Similarly, while just 42 percent approve of Obama’s handling of the economy overall, fewer still, 34 percent, approve of how the Republicans in Congress are dealing with it. And the public by a 12-point margin trusts Obama to protect middle-class Americans, a theme he’s likely to sound loudly and often as the 2012 election campaign warms up.

via Medicare Cuts Proposed by Republicans Face Broad Opposition in ABC News Poll – ABC News.

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April 20, 2011 · 7:16 pm

Republicans: Let’s Cut Social Security, Too

God, I hope people are paying attention to what these fools want to do…

They will not rest until they totally destroy the social safety net in America..

Do we really want Senior Citizens to end up sleeping and dying in the streets?

These guys are providing a lot of support for D.H. Lawrence’s observation:

“The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted.”

I hope we yet prove him wrong by voting these people out of office….

From MotherJones.com:

For all the drastic spending cuts in GOP Rep. Paul Ryan’s proposed 2012 budget, there’s one major government program that it barely touches: Social Security. Now Republicans in both houses of Congress are preparing to dig into that sacrosanct entitlement as well.

On Wednesday morning, shortly before Obama’s big deficit speech, three Republican senators unveiled a plan to cut $6.2 trillion by paring back Social Security over the next two decades. Under a proposal unveiled by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah), the qualifying age for Social Security would rise from 67 to 70 by 2032, while benefits for everyone earning more than an average of $43,000 over their lifetime would be reduced. Graham took pains to explain that he wasn’t pushing for privatization but also slammed any tax increases to shore up Social Security, saying such a move would “destroy America.” “It’s much better to give up benefits on the end side than pay taxes now,” he explained.

Graham, who’s long led GOP efforts on Social Security, said that he could only find two other senators to join him at the podium on Wednesday, given the political risks involved in tackling the issue. “It shows the real reluctance of the GOP,” he said. And while House Republicans have made privatizing Medicare and cutting Medicaid their top budget priorities, Graham said that Social Security reform needed to be moved to the front of the queue. “It’s the place to start entitlement reform. Once you fix the Social Security problem, move to Medicare,” he told Mother Jones.

via Republicans: Let’s Cut Social Security, Too | Mother Jones.

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April 19, 2011 · 9:07 am

How the GOP Is Committing Political Suicide

Great article on the GOP Budget Madness from AlterNet…

I just hope the electorate is paying attention next year and not fooled by the usual Republican Smoke and Mirrors Campaign that hides their true agenda…

It’s going to be kind of hard to run and hide from this one, though….

At first blush, it’s difficult to grasp why all but four Republicans in the House would go on record endorsing a budget plan that would cost the economy millions of jobs, effectively end Medicare and result in deep cuts to Social Security, roll back new regulations on Wall Street and raise taxes on the middle class while slashing the rates paid by big business and the wealthy. It’s especially tough to understand given that we’re entering the 2012 campaign season, and their budget has no chance of becoming law.

But that’s what happened last week when the GOP-controlled House passed a budget outline based on the radical plan hatched by Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin.

A poll conducted last week found that, “when voters learn almost anything about [the Ryan plan], they turn sharply and intensely against it.” And why wouldn’t they? According to an analysis by the non-partisan Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the Republicans’ “roadmap” would “end most of government other than Social Security, health care, and defense by 2050,” while providing the “largest tax cuts in history” for the wealthy.

Not wealthy yourself? Well that’s too bad, because the plan would also “place a new consumption tax on most goods and services, a measure that would increase taxes on most low- and middle-income families.” According to the Tax Policy Center, about three-quarters of Americans — people who earn between $20,000 and $200,000 per year — would face tax increases if the GOP’s scheme became law.

via  AlterNet.com

http://www.alternet.org/story/150664/how_the_gop_is_committing_political_suicide_with_ryan%27s_extremist_budget_plan_?akid=6853.275643.V7k7NW&rd=1&t=3

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April 18, 2011 · 9:44 pm

My Thoughts: On Tax Day and the Social Contract

Today is Tax Day, the deadline for filing one’s income taxes in the USA.  Even though I filed mine a while back, I still always stop and ponder our tax situation on the deadline day.

First of all, I pay a lot of taxes and I really don’t mind it.  I’m  lucky enough to have a good job, at least for now, so I don’t mind contributing to the good of the country.

I don’t mind paying Medicare and Social Security withholding taxes as they are a part of the social contract we have with the government to support today’s seniors now and ensure we aren’t destitute and without medical care when we get old.  I’ve kept my part of this bargain by paying into the system since I was 16 years old and I expect the government to live up to their end of the deal and not change things this late in the game.

I don’t mind paying taxes even though I’m a Gay man who can’t file a joint return with his partner.  I don’t mind paying taxes to support education even though we will never have children.  I don’t mind paying taxes to build high-speed rail and save our crumbling infrastructure.  I don’t mind paying taxes to prevent those people and their children not as lucky as me from starving or doing without medical care. I don’t mind paying taxes to build give poor children a head start or to create jobs by exploring clean energy and energy efficient cars.  I don’t mind paying taxes that support internet improvements and expansion so we can link the country to the world.  I don’t mind paying taxes to provide benefits to our Veterans who have served our country.  I don’t mind paying taxes to enrich our country’s cultural and artistic life.

I do mind that my taxes support unnecessary wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  I do mind that I pay more taxes than Exxon Mobile, GE and Bank of America, who don’t pay any.  I do mind that my tax rate ended up being higher than the 17% tax rate that most of the wealthiest 1% of Americans paid- if they paid at all.  I do mind that so many Corporations don’t pay any taxes and spend billions lobbying Congress to keep it that way.

I guess my thought has always been that we have an obligation to give back.  It’s part of the social contract.

None of us will ever be completely happy with how our tax dollars are spent.  But we do need to realize the obligation we have to society to pay these taxes.  We also need to do our best to elect Representatives that will make everyone pay their fair share and use these  tax funds to the benefit of the nation as a whole-not just the lucky few.  That is becoming harder and harder to do as the Rich and the Corporations buy the Government piece by piece.

We have an obligation to learn the true positions of the people we elect to manage the nation’s finances.  We are not doing our duty as Americans if we fall for public relations campaigns and smoke and mirrors that hide a Candidate’s true agenda.  That certainly happened in last year’s Congressional Elections….

So on tax day, don’t resent having to pay.  Remember, death and taxes are the only two inevitabilities in life.

Just think about how you can best work to be sure everyone pays their fair share and our nations funds are used wisely.

And I know, that alone, is asking a hell of a lot…..

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April 18, 2011 · 9:08 pm

Will Anyone Even Insure Seniors if Paul Ryan’s Medicare Plan Passes? | TPMDC

I thought of this right away….

There’s not money to be made insuring Senior Citizens, so why would private insurance companies cover them?

This is another reason Paul Ryan’s Republican proposal to kill Medicare just won’t work….

It’s not realistic.

But then, that never mattered to the GOP….

At first glance, Paul Ryan’s plan to send millions of seniors into the free market with dwindling vouchers in hand might seem a boon to the private insurance industry. But would companies even want to participate?

Unlike the Affordable Care Act, which mandated that millions of young and healthy Americans purchase insurance with government subsidies, the Paul Ryan plan would instead bring the oldest, sickest, and least profitable demographic to the table. And with the CBO projecting that the average senior would be on the hook for over two-thirds of their health care costs within just 10 years of the plan’s adoption — a proportion that is projected to worsen in the long run — the government subsidies backing them up may not bring in enough profitable customers to make things worthwhile.

“If reimbursement rates are too low to provide basic benefits, they’ll tell the government, ‘You do it,'” one insurance lobbyist told TPM. “I don’t think they can require they lose money, they’d just pull out.”

via Will Anyone Even Insure Seniors if Paul Ryan’s Medicare Plan Passes? | TPMDC.

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April 16, 2011 · 9:47 pm

Big Mike Explains the Deficit…And How to Fix It

And he does it much more clearly than the traditional media or anyone in Washington does…

This is definitely worth watching.

It’s amazing how clear he makes things in only three minutes:

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April 16, 2011 · 10:43 am

GOP Budget Plan Very Unpopular

The Republican War on Medicare just might be their Waterloo….

A new Democracy Corps poll finds the Republican deficit reduction plan gets only 48% support, “but when voters learn almost anything about it, they turn sharply and intensely against it.”

Key findings: “When the budget is described — using as much of Paul Ryan’s description as possible — support collapses to 36% with just 19% strongly supporting the plan. The facts in the budget lose people almost immediately — dropping 12 points. Putting the spotlight on this budget is damning. A large majority of 56% oppose it, 42% strongly. The impact is much stronger with seniors where support erodes from 48% to just 32%, with 57% opposed. Support with independents drops from 55% to 43%.”

via GOP Budget Plan Very Unpopular.

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April 15, 2011 · 9:01 pm

The Republican Medicare Masacre

This is a very clear summary of the Republican Budget plan that they voted on today…

Basically, it ends Medicare for anyone currently under age 55.

Do you want to be old and at the mercy of insurance companies?

Do you have enough money saved to pay the additional $7000 per year it would cost you to pay for this insurance?  That is if the insurance companies will even offer it…

Think long and hard, folks…

Elections have consequences….

From the NY TImes:

Representative Paul Ryan and the House Republicans are portraying their budget proposal for the next fiscal year as a courageous effort to finally bring federal spending on Medicare under control. An analysis issued last week by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office finds that the Ryan proposal would sharply reduce federal spending — but at the price of shifting more of Medicare’s costs onto beneficiaries and their families.

How much more? Calculations derived from the C.B.O. analysis show that in 2022, when the Ryan plan would kick in, the typical 65-year-old would pay $6,400 to $7,000 more per year than would be paid for comparable coverage under traditional Medicare.

Mr. Ryan’s proposal would change Medicare from an entitlement program in which the government pays for a defined set of medical services into a “premium support” program in which the government would give beneficiaries money to help them buy private insurance. He contends that competition among health care plans and more judicious use of health care services by beneficiaries can help bring down the cost of health care and reduce the federal government’s burden.

But the C.B.O. says a private plan offering comparable benefits would be a lot more expensive than traditional Medicare because the private insurer would have higher administrative costs, would need to make a profit and, in an extrapolation of current trends, would pay hospitals, doctors and other providers substantially more than Medicare does. Beneficiaries would have to pay higher out-of-pocket costs or buy skimpier policies.

The Ryan plan has no chance of becoming law while the Democrats still control the Senate and the White House. But if health care becomes a defining issue in the 2012 elections — as it should — everyone under the age of 55 is on notice that Mr. Ryan’s plan would impose heavy costs on them when they reach age 65.

via The Republican Medicare Reshuffle – NYTimes.com.

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