Mitch McConnell: We must cut Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security to reduce the deficit

[Votto]

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.”
― Elmer T Peterson

 

[Sun Devil 92]

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell blamed spending on these services for the growing budget deficit and wants to rein them in:

"It's very disturbing, and it's driven by the three big entitlement programs that are very popular: Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. That's 70 percent of what we spend every year," he said on Bloomberg News Tuesday when asked about the national debt. "There's been a bipartisan reluctance to tackle entitlement changes because of the popularity of those programs. Hopefully at some point here we'll get serious about this. We haven't been

McConnell eyes cuts to Medicare, Social Security to address deficit

NOBODY has suggested cuts. SOME Dems have suggested making 70 yr old roofers climb ladders til they are eligible or "raising the caps" --- which would destroy the Universally of the program and make it another welfare program.

There were options for FIXING SS back when it was running surpluses of $50Bill a year by allowing future recipients to agree to REDUCED future benefits by opting out a SMALL percentage of their contributions. The Dems --- who are generally financially and mathematically illiterate KILLED the idea. Instead -- they allowed the surplus to continue to be STOLEN by Congress with NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT in terms of reducing future costs.

So I'm all for ideas to make the program more stable for future gens, but not at a cost to the folks who WANT complete future benefits. And the WHINERS and the shrill idiots with NO IDEAS should just STFU... And quit PREVENTING the discussions to enhance the financial efficacy of the system...

$4 TRILLION stolen and squandered from the pockets of the working poor over the past 40 years and NOTHING to pay current deficits with. You were robbed TWICE. The first time why they overcharged you for 40 years and squandered the money. And NOW --- when the crisis hits, paying all deficits thru NEW DEBT that is in your name and in your childrens' name.

HIDING from this --- is why it's now an emergency. 70% of the budget is Medicare, Medicaid and SS and debt payments. If interests go UP -- 120% of the budget will be funded with nothing but bonds bought by China and the world.

McConnell suggested cuts. Don’t play dumb.

No where in that article were cuts suggested. Could be FICA increases. Could be just structuring the program to reduce the length of the Baby Boomer crisis.

The article is a bunch of hooey.. Especially claiming that the tax cuts would not bring increased revenues as things shake out. Exactly like I said - the folks IMAGINING the evils of TALKING ABOUT fixing or even MANAGING these programs have no ideas. They've thwarted meaningful reforms that would have brought relief to the entitlement deficits that are being run today.. EVERYONE was aware of the Baby Boomer crisis 40 years ago. And now we are IN it. And we're not supposed to even discuss MANAGING these programs.

It's lines like this that drive me away from MSNBC..

"""The Senate GOP leader helped create this mess; he hasn’t earned the right to complain about it."""

That's so wrong. And it borders on evil. Because BOTH PARTIES caused this mess by stealing $4TRILL in FICA surpluses out of working peoples checks ---- and NOW BOTH PARTIES want to steal from us and our grandchildren to pay for the running deficits in FICA.

WINNER...as always.

 

[protectionist]

Motive: HATRED for federal safety net programs!

Today’s Republicans want to avoid political accountability by destroying Social Security and Medicare without leaving clear fingerprints.

The Republicans are desperate to destroy Social Security and Medicare. These two programs demonstrate government at its best. The federal government runs these two extremely popular programs more efficiently, universally, securely, and effectively than the private sector does with its alternatives — or indeed could, no matter how well those private sector programs were designed.

Because Social Security and Medicare are government programs that work so well, the Republican elite — with its seemingly religious belief that the private sector is always the best — hates them. So obsessed are the Republicans in their desire to eliminate these effective government programs that the very first action that House Republicans took in the new Congress was to adopt a rules package that included a new rule that amounts to a stealth attack on Social Security and Medicare.

The Republican Obsession With Dismantling Social Security And Medicare

Your theory does not stand up alongside the facts. Republicans support MANY aspects of government > the military, ICE, DEA, local law enforcement, the presidency, the Congress (in GOP majority), the Supreme Court, Arctic Research Commission, Commerce Dept, CIA, DOJ, Border Patrol, CDC, DHS, DOE, VA, FEMA, Forest Service, NASA, Secret Service, Small Business Administration, TVA, et al

I've heard that McConnell and Ryan (who's leaving soon)want to cut SS and Medicare, but I don't think Trump and Pence do, and probably not most Republicans either - certainly not any who have to run for re-election in not 100% secure districts.

Lastly, your Huff Post (leftist biased) is nothing but 2 year old conjecture, which has never come to pass, as both Social Security and Medicare are still alive and well, and Tom Price hasn't been in the govt for over a year now. Nice try.

 

[Sun Devil 92]

Why won't we talk about these programs and the need to manage them. I know rich people who use their S.S. (in their own words) to pay for their green fees.

Now S.S. was not supposed be retirement. It was supposed to supplement it. But as companies have gotten rid of pensions and people have shown they won't save....well it was inevitable.

But we need to keep these programs focused.

ANYONE screwing the system should be kicked off and into the streets (of Montreal) to die.

 

[Kondor3]

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell blamed spending on these services for the growing budget deficit and wants to rein them in:

"It's very disturbing, and it's driven by the three big entitlement programs that are very popular: Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. That's 70 percent of what we spend every year," he said on Bloomberg News Tuesday when asked about the national debt. "There's been a bipartisan reluctance to tackle entitlement changes because of the popularity of those programs. Hopefully at some point here we'll get serious about this. We haven't been

McConnell eyes cuts to Medicare, Social Security to address deficit

NOBODY has suggested cuts. SOME Dems have suggested making 70 yr old roofers climb ladders til they are eligible or "raising the caps" --- which would destroy the Universally of the program and make it another welfare program.

There were options for FIXING SS back when it was running surpluses of $50Bill a year by allowing future recipients to agree to REDUCED future benefits by opting out a SMALL percentage of their contributions. The Dems --- who are generally financially and mathematically illiterate KILLED the idea. Instead -- they allowed the surplus to continue to be STOLEN by Congress with NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT in terms of reducing future costs.

So I'm all for ideas to make the program more stable for future gens, but not at a cost to the folks who WANT complete future benefits. And the WHINERS and the shrill idiots with NO IDEAS should just STFU... And quit PREVENTING the discussions to enhance the financial efficacy of the system...

$4 TRILLION stolen and squandered from the pockets of the working poor over the past 40 years and NOTHING to pay current deficits with. You were robbed TWICE. The first time why they overcharged you for 40 years and squandered the money. And NOW --- when the crisis hits, paying all deficits thru NEW DEBT that is in your name and in your childrens' name.

HIDING from this --- is why it's now an emergency. 70% of the budget is Medicare, Medicaid and SS and debt payments. If interests go UP -- 120% of the budget will be funded with nothing but bonds bought by China and the world.

McConnell suggested cuts. Don’t play dumb.

No where in that article were cuts suggested. Could be FICA increases. Could be just structuring the program to reduce the length of the Baby Boomer crisis.

The article is a bunch of hooey.. Especially claiming that the tax cuts would not bring increased revenues as things shake out. Exactly like I said - the folks IMAGINING the evils of TALKING ABOUT fixing or even MANAGING these programs have no ideas. They've thwarted meaningful reforms that would have brought relief to the entitlement deficits that are being run today.. EVERYONE was aware of the Baby Boomer crisis 40 years ago. And now we are IN it. And we're not supposed to even discuss MANAGING these programs.

It's lines like this that drive me away from MSNBC..

"""The Senate GOP leader helped create this mess; he hasn’t earned the right to complain about it."""

That's so wrong. And it borders on evil. Because BOTH PARTIES caused this mess by stealing $4TRILL in FICA surpluses out of working peoples checks ---- and NOW BOTH PARTIES want to steal from us and our grandchildren to pay for the running deficits in FICA.

Yes.

Both parties caused the mess.

The trouble for the GOP is, they're the ones who are perceived as wanting to pull the plug on those programs.

I think it's gonna cost them a great deal at the polls this year... true or false or in-between... fair or not... right or wrong.

A great many people are probably thinking that this is far too important to take a chance on the promises of the Robber Baron Party.

 

[kyzr]

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell blamed spending on these services for the growing budget deficit and wants to rein them in:

"It's very disturbing, and it's driven by the three big entitlement programs that are very popular: Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. That's 70 percent of what we spend every year," he said on Bloomberg News Tuesday when asked about the national debt. "There's been a bipartisan reluctance to tackle entitlement changes because of the popularity of those programs. Hopefully at some point here we'll get serious about this. We haven't been

McConnell eyes cuts to Medicare, Social Security to address deficit

NOBODY has suggested cuts. SOME Dems have suggested making 70 yr old roofers climb ladders til they are eligible or "raising the caps" --- which would destroy the Universally of the program and make it another welfare program.

There were options for FIXING SS back when it was running surpluses of $50Bill a year by allowing future recipients to agree to REDUCED future benefits by opting out a SMALL percentage of their contributions. The Dems --- who are generally financially and mathematically illiterate KILLED the idea. Instead -- they allowed the surplus to continue to be STOLEN by Congress with NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT in terms of reducing future costs.

So I'm all for ideas to make the program more stable for future gens, but not at a cost to the folks who WANT complete future benefits. And the WHINERS and the shrill idiots with NO IDEAS should just STFU... And quit PREVENTING the discussions to enhance the financial efficacy of the system...

$4 TRILLION stolen and squandered from the pockets of the working poor over the past 40 years and NOTHING to pay current deficits with. You were robbed TWICE. The first time why they overcharged you for 40 years and squandered the money. And NOW --- when the crisis hits, paying all deficits thru NEW DEBT that is in your name and in your childrens' name.

HIDING from this --- is why it's now an emergency. 70% of the budget is Medicare, Medicaid and SS and debt payments. If interests go UP -- 120% of the budget will be funded with nothing but bonds bought by China and the world.

McConnell suggested cuts. Don’t play dumb.

No where in that article were cuts suggested. Could be FICA increases. Could be just structuring the program to reduce the length of the Baby Boomer crisis.

The article is a bunch of hooey.. Especially claiming that the tax cuts would not bring increased revenues as things shake out. Exactly like I said - the folks IMAGINING the evils of TALKING ABOUT fixing or even MANAGING these programs have no ideas. They've thwarted meaningful reforms that would have brought relief to the entitlement deficits that are being run today.. EVERYONE was aware of the Baby Boomer crisis 40 years ago. And now we are IN it. And we're not supposed to even discuss MANAGING these programs.

It's lines like this that drive me away from MSNBC..

"""The Senate GOP leader helped create this mess; he hasn’t earned the right to complain about it."""

That's so wrong. And it borders on evil. Because BOTH PARTIES caused this mess by stealing $4TRILL in FICA surpluses out of working peoples checks ---- and NOW BOTH PARTIES want to steal from us and our grandchildren to pay for the running deficits in FICA.

This is a summary of the 2019 Budget, IMHO Medicaid and Welfare are the first places to cut, jobs are plentiful, no reason to need welfare. We can tweak Medicare & SS, but those benefits were earned. Need to verify everyone who claims benefits:
Mandatory spending $2.74T
Social Security $1,050b
Medicare $625b
Medicaid $412b
Welfare $462b
Interest on the Debt $363b

Discretionary $1.3T
Defense $893b

 

[eagle1462010]

Hauser's law - Wikipedia

Hauser's law is the proposition that, in the United States, federal tax revenues since World War II have always been approximately equal to 19.5% of GDP, regardless of wide fluctuations in the marginal tax rate.[1] Historically, since the end of World War II, federal tax receipts as a percentage of gross domestic product averaged 17.9%, with a range from 14.4% to 20.9% between 1946 - 2007.[2]


No matter the rate of taxation.........the Historical averages will be about the same.........to spend over the historical average is guaranteeing we can't pay the bills.

The tax rates fluctuated during that time......all over the place........yet the averages remain mostly the same.......Why........because when you raise them too high they don't invest and jobs aren't created.........and the gov't loses revenue..........cut too deep and revenues go down as well..........

18% of GDP should be the maximum spending level of this country.........but it's higher........taxing different rates aren't going to change that.

 

[eagle1462010]

Source of Revenue as Share of GDP

 

[kyzr]

Not sure what point you're trying to make with Hauser's Law or the Revenues as shares of GDP?? Just pointing out other ways to say that the Budget shouldn't exceed the Revenue? What about the $363b in interest payments on the Debt? There are many fluctuations to deal with like recessions that also affect the Budget.

 

[eagle1462010]

Not sure what point you're trying to make with Hauser's Law or the Revenues as shares of GDP?? Just pointing out other ways to say that the Budget shouldn't exceed the Revenue? What about the $363b in interest payments on the Debt? There are many fluctuations to deal with like recessions that also affect the Budget.

The point should be clear..............The tax rates during that time have been very high and low..........No matter the rate the average is always about the same..........

You spend above Historical averages........you guarantee more debt...........Doesn't matter the Tax rates.........because it is a 2 edged sword.

 

[eagle1462010]

 

[kyzr]

OK, but we have a $trillion hole in the Budget and its getting worse. So I'm hoping that the DC coxuckers finally realize its past time to get back to reality and balance the budget.

 

[eagle1462010]

OK, but we have a $trillion hole in the Budget and its getting worse. So I'm hoping that the DC coxuckers finally realize its past time to get back to reality and balance the budget.

Dream on.............they will not fix it..............

 

[kyzr]

I hear that loud and clear, so the next step is to become a "doomsday prepper"? PREPPER'S DISCOUNT

 

[eagle1462010]

I hear that loud and clear, so the next step is to become a "doomsday prepper"? PREPPER'S DISCOUNT

That is correct........but I'm not a prepper............your outrage is at the wrong person.......

The Establishment Career politicians have to go.......and their lobbyist.........or nothing changes......that is Reality.........

Just as the border will not be allowed to be secured..........because they want the cheap labor.........and the left want the votes........

The Chamber of Commerce doesn't care who's in power..........only that those in power do what they are paid to do......

It could be fixed........but not with the batch of politicians we have in office.

 

[eagle1462010]

 

[eagle1462010]

Federal Assets Above and Below Ground - IER

Conclusion

The U.S. government owns assets both above and below the ground that could be better managed through sale or lease. The above the ground assets include underutilized buildings as well as roads, levees, rail infrastructure, and hydroelectric generating facilities to name a few. GAO estimated the cost to the taxpayer of annual expenses to underutilized buildings at $1.66 billion annually. These facilities could be sold but for onerous rules that the government has for environmental and structural issues regarding the properties.

In contrast, the government owns an enormously large mineral estate (oil, natural gas, and coal resources) that has an estimated total worth to the economy of over $150 trillion, over 9 times the national debt. These resources could be leased under the right government policies to earn the state and national government royalties, rents, and bonus payments that CBO conservatively estimates could total almost $150 billion over 10 years for the oil and gas leases alone. That figure excludes tax payments that would be provided to state and national governments from the direct and indirect effects of unleashing tens of trillions of dollars of economic activity here in the United States and the extended benefits of more supplies on reducing the costs of energy for consumers and businesses. It is well known that abundant, reliable and affordable energy supplies act as fertilizer for economic growth that in turn generates new revenue sources.

It is time to better utilize government assets owned by the U.S. taxpayer, and in turn, unleash the U.S. economy’s potential.

 

[eagle1462010]

Trump’s intriguing idea: Cut debt by selling off federal assets

Yet this is how we evaluate the federal government. We look at its liabilities while ignoring its assets. Think the feds are broke? Not so fast, says a 2013 report from the Institute for Energy Research, which points out that the government owns “above ground” assets such as “buildings, lands, roads, railroad infrastructure, levees, dams, and hydroelectric generating facilities, to name just a few, many of which are underutilized,” and “below ground” assets such as “rights to mineral and energy leases, from which they receive royalties, rents, and bonus payments.”

Let’s focus on a giant part of this: Mineral rights for oil and gas reserves. The IER report said they’re worth $128 trillion. But that was January 2013. Even though oil prices US:CLK7 have dropped 50% and gas prices US:NGK17 have fallen some 15% since, that’s still, as Donald Trump might say, a yuge amount of money.

Which brings us to one of the president’s more intriguing ideas: why not sell off some of those rights and pay down part of the debt?

Candidate Trump sold this in his usual simplistic terms: I’m a real estate guy, I know how to make the deals. We pay down the debt while putting Americans back to work in the oil and gas industry. We become energy independent and screw the Middle East. What’s not to like?

 

[danielpalos]

We are a federal Republic; left wing management provides for the general welfare better.

Bullshit.

no arguments, only fallacies from the right wight.

Apparently our fallacies are better than yours.

We won.

You lost.

Take a deep breath and suck on it.

FDR won; you guys are clueless and Causeless; women really are Equal to you.

 

[danielpalos]

we have a better understanding of economics; the right wing simply has a capital problem with capitalism because the Poor may benefit more than they should.