Poll shows Americans oppose entitlement cuts to deal with debt problem

[Harry Dresden]

Do you remember Becks little rally. I bet you 100% of those old people didnt want their medicare cut.

This one is going to bite the republicans in the ass.

and there lies the problem.....everyone will get old some day and will be retired and will need some kind of Medical they can afford....when your 25 years old you dont think of this unless you think about your grand parents and how it is for them.....i personally think the Elderly should be off limits to Cuts.....they paid into this stuff for years.....they should be able to collect when they need it........but then thats just me....Harry the Humanitarian....

The real problem is that we are not going to have a choice but to cover these people, who in fact will be us at some point. I don't care how much the conservatives think that we can just make them pay their own way; if they don't have the money, they will not be able to and someone else will have to. Either that, or we just tell them to go home and die. I really don't see that happening. While a few people here would be fine with that, the vast majority of Americans would not.

So the question is how do we pay for it all, and how much do we make the individual responsible for even when they may have limited financial ability to pay much on their own. To me the answer is simple; make them work longer. Remember, when Medicare was first set up, people began collecting benefits at the age of 65. Then they died, on average, two years later instead of thirteen years later like today.

i was delivering some mail from the Census bureau that had on its face that according to their facts....people avg 18 years in retirement today....

 

[G.T.]

NOTE in the 'POLL' how Humans are 'Grouped'

Typical Statist horseshit.

And HOW do these telephone polls tell if they weren't being fed a pile of YAKSQUEEZE?

Ahhh, words of wisdom from a true ideologue!

And being principled is such a BAD thing? WHY do you speak of it such? Are you NOT?

You're not "principled," in fact, you can't trust polls because you know that people are liars, like you just admitted to being in your last poll. Douchebag.

 

[Harry Dresden]

and there lies the problem.....everyone will get old some day and will be retired and will need some kind of Medical they can afford....when your 25 years old you dont think of this unless you think about your grand parents and how it is for them.....i personally think the Elderly should be off limits to Cuts.....they paid into this stuff for years.....they should be able to collect when they need it........

*ABSOLUTELY* They paid their dues.

Literally.

And what about the disabled who are on medicare? Do they get vouchers as well?

as far as i am concerned.....disabled people get taken care of.....yea i know i am an ass because i think that tax dollars should help these unfortunates.....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Why do we assume the elderly paid their dues? They may have paid some of their dues, but certainly not all, given that medicare is grossly underfunded.

is that their fault?.....if you have worked 30-40 years and have paid whatever it is you have paid into the system.....you did it in good faith and when its your time you should get what you were led to believe you would get.....

 

[Navy1960]

*ABSOLUTELY* They paid their dues.

Could not agree more, it's why I suggested that perhaps if someone wanted to reform Medicare going forward, perhaps start with the those comming into it not with those that are already in it. Imagine for a moment T if your 54 and 11 months and this bill passes and you have paid into it for over 30 years, and your one month away. At some point you have to ask yourself, well that was an exercise in futility. I do think Medicare should be means tested, and why not make it so that young people entering into the program can opt out if they wish. Just as a suggestion. I would imagine these things along with looking at healthcare costs in general would go a long way in cutting that debt down to size.

Okay, you want to give people the option to opt out of Medicare. Now think about this; how many do you think will opt out? Quite a few most likely. But guess what will happen? When they retire they won't be able to afford their medical care and then what? Do we tell them that since they opted out, they will just have to forgo treatment when they become sick? We all know that won't happen, and that is why you cannot give people a choice of opting out.

Easy enough, if someone does opt out then in order to "transfer" or "opt" out of the system they must present the ability to pay for a private plan. In the even that a person is unable to pay for a private plan after having opted out on the front end of the plan then create a higher deductible for those that are able to meet it. In the event they cannot there are several things you can do, if you lower the over costs of healthcare delivery, then the costs of Medicare in general go down. However to cover those that "opt" out and find themselves in the position where they need it anyway, then that burden will have to be borne by the taxpayers as it is now. To offset that however, you can do as I suggested and still other things you can do take the entire portion of the federal excise tax on gas and use it to keep the program(s) solvent.

Then the issue arises, how do we take care of roads and bridges? well thats easy enough too, I have long been of the opinion that Highways should be funded by the people that use them much the same as someone who takes a train to work everyday pays for it, so too should someone who uses a highway should pay for it to be kept up. These bills that are floated for road projects by various administrations do nothing to keep roads up over the long haul and are more short term jobs projects rather than long term upkeep. Again it's my humble opinion that Medicare can be fixed, of course it won't be perfect, nothing ever is and there will always be issues that arise, however my suggestion for allowing people with the means to do so to opt out as well as means test people on the program in general is a good place to start.

 

[uscitizen]

The Tea Party movement is supposed to be the engine driving Republicans' push for sharp cuts to spending and reform entitlements. Representative Paul Ryan's 2012 budget, which passed the House last week, phases out Medicare for people under 55 and turns Medicaid into block grants. But it turns out that Tea Partiers, like most Americans, strongly oppose cutting Medicare and Medicaid. A new McClatchy-Marist poll shows 70 percent of "Tea Party supporters" oppose cutting those programs--and 80 percent of registered voters agree.

70% of Tea Partiers Don't Want to Cut Medicare Either - Politics - The Atlantic Wire


So, when it comes to something like Medicare and I'd guess Social Security, those anti-socialist become socialist.
Oh, ,the irony!

Of course they do not want to cut it. The average age of the TP members is mid to uppper 50's.

 

[Toro]

Why do we assume the elderly paid their dues? They may have paid some of their dues, but certainly not all, given that medicare is grossly underfunded.

is that their fault?.....if you have worked 30-40 years and have paid whatever it is you have paid into the system.....you did it in good faith and when its your time you should get what you were led to believe you would get.....

And that differs from state employee pension plans how?

 

[kiwiman127]

So, the answer from the far right is to "reform" Medicare because we are in such financial mess BUT they are all for cutting taxes for the wealthy and eliminating taxes on Capital Gains/Dividends and estate taxes, which again mainly benefit a tiny group.
Everyone under the top 90% sacrifices and the top 10% benefits, it's the far right way!
I'd suspect the Dems will be shouting form their roof tops the specifics on the GOP's immoral plan. I concur, the gains the GOP made in 2010 will surely dwindle big time.

 

[Vanquish]

Ok, boys and girls. Everyone keeps talking about it around here, but all I'm reading are platitudes. I want specifics. You have an idea...even a small one...for a budget cut...post it in this thread.

WHEN I SAY SPECIFIC...I MEAN SPECIFIC​

Don't just say "uhm...in defense" or "we don't need an Education department"

The proper answer would be more like: "Obama also has offered $4.1 billion in funding to modernize and upgrade the U.S. nuclear arsenal...that's something that ...if it already works...needs to be cut."

Here is a place to start your research:
Budget Breakdown

Find something in there specific that you'd like to change and make an argument as to why. (Hint: you need a because in there, just sayin')

 

[Two Thumbs]

Close most foreign bases and ports.

Stop giving money in foreign aide to the same crap holes that we have been ginving money to for decades.

We actually don't need a Fed level Dept of Ed. We used to be ranked in the top 5, now we are lucky to break into the teens.

Turn over the DOT to the states. Interstate 'building' can be done by the Fed, but since we haven't built one in a long time.... States can maintain what they have.

Open our land and seas to oil drilling.

Reduce the vast regualations on building nuke plants.

Get rid of the Fed employee union. If the military can run w/o one, so can they. Beside, the Dept of Labor covers all workers.

reveiw all Depts for redundancy. combine them or get rid of them.

End all prohabition. Take the DEA, and the ATF agents and allow them to transfer to other agencies.

 

[VaYank5150]

Close most foreign bases and ports.

Stop giving money in foreign aide to the same crap holes that we have been ginving money to for decades.

We actually don't need a Fed level Dept of Ed. We used to be ranked in the top 5, now we are lucky to break into the teens.

Turn over the DOT to the states. Interstate 'building' can be done by the Fed, but since we haven't built one in a long time.... States can maintain what they have.

Open our land and seas to oil drilling.
Reduce the vast regualations on building nuke plants.
Get rid of the Fed employee union. If the military can run w/o one, so can they. Beside, the Dept of Labor covers all workers.

reveiw all Depts for redundancy. combine them or get rid of them.

End all prohabition. Take the DEA, and the ATF agents and allow them to transfer to other agencies.

How are these specific budget cuts? Did you not even read the OP, or is your problem more along the lines of following simple instructions?

 

[VaYank5150]

Under the Department of Defense, I found this gem:

Backs the Nation’s Troops and Their Families. Today’s servicemembers make up the most elite and proficient fighting force in the world, and their strength depends on the strength and stability of their families. Overall, the Budget provides $8.3 billion to support military
families, including $1.2 billion to expand availability of affordable, high-quality child care; $4.7 billion to improve servicemembers’ quality of life; and $2.4 billion to sustain and build DOD schools, supporting quality education for military dependents.

WTF? Improve their quality of life how? That seems like an easy $4.7BILLION savings to me!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/defense.pdf

 

[G.T.]

I think that Study of the Net effect of Cuts anywhere needs to be done if we're to be rational. For instance, saying something like "cut X-Dollars from Education."

-Will this yield a bigger problem, in the future?
-Analysis of how much can be cut, via thorough study.
-Do the funds being spent, now, yield future Gains in the economy?





X every cut proposed, by anyone.

 

[PLYMCO_PILGRIM]

Ok, boys and girls. Everyone keeps talking about it around here, but all I'm reading are platitudes. I want specifics. You have an idea...even a small one...for a budget cut...post it in this thread.

WHEN I SAY SPECIFIC...I MEAN SPECIFIC​

Don't just say "uhm...in defense" or "we don't need an Education department"

The proper answer would be more like: "Obama also has offered $4.1 billion in funding to modernize and upgrade the U.S. nuclear arsenal...that's something that ...if it already works...needs to be cut."

Here is a place to start your research:
Budget Breakdown

Find something in there specific that you'd like to change and make an argument as to why. (Hint: you need a because in there, just sayin')

Make all public employees pay 50% of their health insurance premium, that is a cut of billions right there.

Reduce the number of active overseas military bases.

Eliminate all compensatoin above the national average american's wage for all elected officials.

Eliminate the federal dept of education and leave it to the states.

Repeal medicare part D.


I can think of more but there is a start.

 

[kyzr]

Close most foreign bases and ports.

Stop giving money in foreign aide to the same crap holes that we have been giving money to for decades.

We actually don't need a Fed level Dept of Ed. We used to be ranked in the top 5, now we are lucky to break into the teens.

Turn over the DOT to the states. Interstate 'building' can be done by the Fed, but since we haven't built one in a long time.... States can maintain what they have.

Open our land and seas to oil drilling.
Reduce the vast regulations on building nuke plants.
Get rid of the Fed employee union. If the military can run w/o one, so can they. Beside, the Dept of Labor covers all workers.

review all Depts for redundancy, combine them or get rid of them.

End all prohibition. Take the DEA, and the ATF agents and allow them to transfer to other agencies.

How are these specific budget cuts? Did you not even read the OP, or is your problem more along the lines of following simple instructions?

He came up with general ideas how to raise revenue and cut spending, I give him a C+

As for me, I'd implement the Clinton era tax rates, and remove caps on entitlement deductions, I'd reduce the new Pharm Entitlement, and eliminate UHC/Obamacare. (costs to provide for 30,00,000 who refuse to buy their own medical insurance)
I'd hire a new Grace Commission to revamp the Fed government to eliminate waste-fraud-abuse-duplication.

After all that, I'd pass a new law that did across the board cuts to keep the budget in balance...automatically.
Lets see, more revenue, and costs cut to balance spending...all done.

 

[martybegan]

Cuts:

A thorough review of the DoD to eliminate administrative positions that are not needed. Our armies are for fighting, not for burecratic shuffling.

Remove the influence of legislators on weapon selection. This gives us what the shooters want, not what congressman X wants built in his district.

Streamlining or elimination of government agencies with state level equivalents, where state level control is feasible.

Raise SS retirement age gradually.

Get the feds out of the charity business. No programs at the federal level for school lunches and stuff, thats a state/local function if the people there want to pay for it.

Revenue increases:

Remove criminality on Pot, let the states handle it. tax the hell out of it. (also a cut as less law enforcement needed)

Remove the criminality of sports gambling, let states handle it. tax the hell out of it. (same as above)

make all taxes a straight percentage, moderately progressive, no deductions, on all INCOME, not just wages. it goes into your bank account as income, its taxed.

make it a rule that if you sell it in the US, the tax on profit on it is paid in the US. (basically make the tax a flat tax on the portion of the profits in the same ratio as the companies US revenues.)

More as I go along.

 

[Dr.Drock]

Get rid of the dept of education, end welfare, end social security, get rid of the dept of homeland security, cut the warmongering and defense budgets by 90%, stop all foreign aid, sell off our embassies, stop pork barrel spending, end the drug war.


We'd all be rich lol.

 

[Sense]

Get rid of the dept of education, end welfare, end social security, get rid of the dept of homeland security, cut the warmongering and defense budgets by 90%, stop all foreign aid, sell off our embassies, stop pork barrel spending, end the drug war.


We'd all be rich lol.

Agree with all except the department of Homeland security. I think we should continue aiding other nations in military matters but should demand something in return, like them paying for it.

 

[rightwinger]

Iraq and Afghanistan

Before we start cutting programs that help Americans, we need to get out of those two hell holes

 

[Dr.Drock]

Get rid of the dept of education, end welfare, end social security, get rid of the dept of homeland security, cut the warmongering and defense budgets by 90%, stop all foreign aid, sell off our embassies, stop pork barrel spending, end the drug war.


We'd all be rich lol.

Agree with all except the department of Homeland security. I think we should continue aiding other nations in military matters but should demand something in return, like them paying for it.

Dept of homeland security is a perfect example of big government, no reason the other departments we have can't do what they can.

Only aid other nations if it's necessary to defend america, if not, to hell with them. That's not the US taxpayers responsibility.