Chambliss takes a leadership risk
By endorsing a $3.7 trillion deficit-reduction deal in Washington, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss has risked making himself a target of an angry Republican base here in Georgia, regardless of how the crisis is finally resolved.
The proposal embraced by Chambliss and other members of the bipartisan Gang of Six calls for major cuts in Social Security, Medicare and other programs,, which conservatives support. However, it also proposes collecting an additional $1 trillion in revenue over the next 10 years, and conservative orthodoxy insists that any plan that produces additional government revenue is betrayal.
Under the circumstances, the last thing Chambliss needs is some liberal columnist praising his willingness to lead on a tough issue of great national importance. And it would hurt the senator even more to contrast his leadership with the absence of leadership among his fellow Republicans in Georgia’s House delegation, most of whom have taken a deeply irresponsible approach to the nation’s fiscal crisis.
So I’ll make sure not to say those things.
Instead, maybe it would be better to condemn Chambliss for backing a plan that would cut future Social Security benefits by hundreds of billions of dollars. Yeah, that’s the ticket! Accuse him of being mean to old people!
Except that he’s not. The Gang of Six does propose to reduce future benefits by changing the way that Social Security benefits are adjusted for inflation. But that’s just common sense. Most experts agree that the current inflation-adjusting mechanism is set too high, and over time would boost benefits significantly higher than inflation would require. The new approach — borrowed from recommendations released late last year by a presidential commission — would be more accurate, and thus more fair.
And as Chambliss takes pains to point out, all savings generated by changes in Social Security would be used to make Social Security financially sound. It’s an important point: No revenue generated by the self-insurance program is being spent elsewhere.
In fact, any liberal groups or politicians who attack the Gang of Six proposals regarding Social Security are probably playing politics. The changes sought by Chambliss and his colleagues are reasonable and would be necessary regardless of the nation’s larger fiscal challenges.
Still, that doesn’t exactly improve Chambliss’ standing with his base.
How about ObamaCare? While the Gang of Six doesn’t propose to repeal the entire health-care reform package so hated by conservatives, it does call for abandoning one of its major new programs. The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program, also known as the CLASS Act, was created to be a voluntary self-insurance plan in which citizens paid monthly premiums in return for long-term nursing-home care should they need it.
The Gang of Six plan calls for outright repeal of CLASS, noting that recent analysis has cast doubt on the program’s ability to be self-sustaining, as required by law.
“Simply put, it could be difficult, if not impossible, to balance money coming into the program with the money that could ultimately flow out, and thus to create a program that would be solvent and sustainable,” as the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation reports.
So hey, killing part of ObamaCare ought to buy Chambliss at least some protection on his right flank, correct?
Still, there’s that little matter of $1 trillion in revenue increases. Poll after poll demonstrates that most Americans support attacking the debt problem through both spending cuts and tax increases. Politically, it’s the only way to cut a deal. And mathematically, it’s impossible to address the debt through spending cuts alone. The numbers just do not work.
As Chambliss noted in a discussion at the AJC back in April, non-defense, non-entitlement spending accounts for just 12 percent of the budget.
“Now you could cut out that whole 12 percent and you wouldn’t solve this problem of $14 trillion in debt,” he said. “You got to have enough money to run the government and you got to have excess money to start paying down on that debt.”
Yes, you do. Unfortunately, many of his fellow Republicans just can’t bring themselves to believe it.
– Jay Bookman
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484 comments Add your comment
Left wing management
July 22nd, 2011
9:41 am
zeke: ” am sick and tired of you leftist morons referring to SS and Medicare as entitlements! THEY ARE NOT!”
You’re right. SS is NOT a medicate. It’s a contract.
We’re being screwed out of it.
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
9:42 am
Removes the mortgage interest tax deduction which will plummett home values and continue the housing slump.
And don’t forget the ripple effect on the renter’s market. Without the mortgage interest deduction, which is really a “business” deduction, rents will have to go up across the board so that we “greedy” landlords can come close to breaking even at the end of the year.
The original purpose of the mortgage interest deduction was to encourage home ownership which leads to a more stable society. Take that away and wealth will become even more concentrated in the hands of the super-rich. Bad idea, IMO.
josef
July 22nd, 2011
9:43 am
Yep.. Stands to reason it would be the Gang of Six. They had this worked out, too. Ho-hum. Same old same old at that level. Anyway, Saxby…All the folks who keep kevtching that our host “never” has anything good to say about Republicans (and let’s be real, he does sometimes trot out “them” for gratuitous purposes, but…). No wonder they don’t remember he DID. They seem to have trouble recognizing it when he IS.
It must be the upcoming vacation that’s got him in such an expansive mood…
Logical Dude
July 22nd, 2011
9:44 am
Rafe: 70% of Americans want a balanced budget amendment
As much as I would want a balanced budget amendment, I understand that the country, at times, needs to run a deficit for the good of the country.
Now, when you run deficits for about 40 years and reach a point where interest payments on that debt take up about 20% of your budget. . . well. . . then the balanced budget amendment looks needed to get these financial bozos on the right track.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
9:45 am
Bruno!! hey dawg! sorry I’ve missed you in your recent late-night forays!
how’s tricks? still digging the new gig?
got a new gig myself, these days
Chris
July 22nd, 2011
9:46 am
SinUK I was WRONG…according the NY Times and about 8 other articles I just glanced over…SS begain paying more thani it is taking in LAST year! http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/business/economy/25social.html
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
9:46 am
Bruno – “The original purpose of the mortgage interest deduction was to encourage home ownership which leads to a more stable society”
as I said to someone the other day – the UK hasn’t had the mortgage interest deduction in years and folks still buy houses every day – in fact, home ownership is as embraced here as it is in the US
Rightwing Troll
July 22nd, 2011
9:46 am
” Tax and spend is your downfall. You are killing this country.”
As opposed to the death you wish for, which is cut taxes and spend.
Left wing management
July 22nd, 2011
9:47 am
Rafe: “70% of Americans want a balanced budget amendment, you didn’t mention that stat, Jay.”
All observers agree the so-called “balanced budget amendment” is an idea so idiotic there just aren’t enough sneering laughs to drown it with.
It’s an idea fit for morons.
So drop it. Everyone else who thinks has.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
9:48 am
Chris – I refer you to the SS’s own announcement (prev page) – they took in $781, they paid out $713
you do the math.
josef
July 22nd, 2011
9:50 am
BRUNO
No problem with me on cutting the mortgage exemption…at least for non owner-occupied. CLASS is a good idea, but the feasibility at this time may not be there…it’s not exactly putting granma on an ice floe…
Chris
July 22nd, 2011
9:50 am
So you are denying that SS is paying out more in benefits than they are now taking ‘in”? Typical liberal….
Brosephus
July 22nd, 2011
9:51 am
Maybe I spoke too soon about the talking points. I wonder if the GWB spending figure includes the scuffling in the sandboxes. We know he never included it in the books. I also wonder who did the polling that came to the conclusions that 70% of Americans want a balanced budget amendment. I wasn’t asked, as I think it’s an absolutely assinine way to deal with current issues.
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
9:51 am
am sick and tired of you leftist morons referring to SS and Medicare as entitlements! THEY ARE NOT!
zeke–My view from the right is that they ARE entitlement programs when you compare what the average senior draws out of the system vs. what they contributed in their lifetimes. Not enough time to pull stats, but I think most seniors draw out about $1200 per month in SS and no telling how much in Medicare benefits. Just on the SS side, that equals $14,400 per year times probably 15 years or more which comes out to well over $200,000. Most seniors I know only paid a small fraction of that into the system. Obviously inflation factors into the equation, but I would have to believe that the benefit/contribution ratio is still pretty high. Maybe Jay can come up with some stats to confirm or deny my hypothesis.
RedEye
July 22nd, 2011
9:53 am
The gang of six plan to date has almost no details, therefor I don’t care about it until more information is provided.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
9:54 am
Chris –
“•Income including interest to the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $781 billion ($637 billion in net contributions, $24 billion from taxation of benefits, $117 billion in interest, and $2 billion in reimbursements from the General Fund of the Treasury) in 2010.
•Total expenditures from the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $713 billion in 2010.”
Income = 781
Expenditures = 713
you. do. the. math.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
9:55 am
Chris –
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/pr/trustee11-pr.htm
read it for yourself
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
9:55 am
josef and USinUK–I’m sure that we would find a way to adapt to whatever changes come our way. I’m just looking out for my own pocketbook.
Also, so you know, USinUK, my 11:39 diatribe last night about women doesn’t apply to you.
Rightwing Troll
July 22nd, 2011
9:55 am
I’m game.
Do away with the DOE, but there does need to be a national standard for people like me (military brats) who moved every 2-3 years my entire life until the late teens.
Close out the useless wars, Obama accomplished our objectives in Afghanistan, and we never should’ve gone into Iraq to begin with.
Cut the defense budget and all foriegn aid.
Close loopholes but don’t neccesarily raise rates.
Get rid of redundant and bloated departments and “Czars”.
End the “war on drugs”, the “haves” have all the access they need to legal narcotics (Rush Limbaugh for example) while the “have-nots” turn to the streets for them.
End subsidies for Oil, and Farming, and make any money given to Pharma contigent on it being spent on R & D, not marketing (like Viagra).
What’d I miss?
Mick
July 22nd, 2011
9:58 am
usinuk
I actually once ran into paris hilton here in miami about five years ago, she was actually pretty cool and not a snob at all. So her “career” whatever that may be, will ebb and flow. What once was old will eventually become new again…
Southern Conservative
July 22nd, 2011
9:59 am
I’m proud to see our senior senator take a leadership position on an issue of national importance. We sent him to Washington to LEAD, remember? In life and in politics, compromise may be painful, but its often necessary for progress. Both Republicans and Democrats made concessions to form this “Gang of Six” proposal. It’s called being a “grown up”. Something you don’t often see on Capitol Hill and something many readers of the AJC are clearly unable understand. Regardless of whether the plan is adopted into law, Saxby Chambliss is to be commended for at least doing his part in offering a real solution.
Laurie
July 22nd, 2011
9:59 am
I don’t understand why people are surprised that Chambliss would help come up with a bill that cuts tax credits which benefit the middle class most, and gives top earners in this country a 6% tax decrease. That is, after all, what republicans want isn’t it? To keep the dwindling middle class working their fingers to the bone so rich campaign contributors can continue their greedy gluttonous lifestyles?
Brosephus
July 22nd, 2011
10:00 am
The mortgage proposal would only apply to second mortgages and mortgages exceeding $500k if I remember correctly. Most Americans wouldn’t notice the difference.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
July 22nd, 2011
10:00 am
USinUK… Yes I think that is what Chris is blaming liberals — his failure to understand what the problems truly are because its not easy to bumper sticker…. SS program non-interest income is below total program costs, but again, part of the entire plan is INTEREST on money paid and that is fine until 2036. There are some tweaks needed but SS is not a “disaster” as they imply. It is a viable operating program impacted by the baby boom. The Disability Insurance Trust Fund portion is more problematic but overall impact in included in 2036.
Rightwing Troll
July 22nd, 2011
10:01 am
” What once was old will eventually become new again…”
Like trickle down econimics? After 30 years being trickled on, and proof that it’s a useless concept, we still have to listen to all the bleating about “job creators” and how we should subsidize them.
Uncle Jed
July 22nd, 2011
10:02 am
Still, that doesn’t exactly improve Chambliss’ standing with his base.
+++++++++
Yep.
I haved voted for Saxby in the past and will likely do the same in the future, absent a better choice. But Saxby and “leadership” are distant cousins.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:03 am
Bruno – 9:55 – didn’t see it … won’t scroll back
so is life treating you well?? are you happy? hope so! you’ve been missed round these here parts!
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
10:03 am
it’s not exactly putting granma on an ice floe…
Oops, did I accidentally forward you a copy of my letter to my Congressman on how to solve the “Senior Problem” ??
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:04 am
Keep up – and, lest we forget, once the return for treasuries rises again, interest income will also rise.
md
July 22nd, 2011
10:05 am
“Yeah, it’s the “government” that has trouble managing money.
And the evidence for this is what? ”
http://www.businessinsider.com/two-navy-ships-henry-eckford-benjamin-isherwood-scrapyard-2011-7
Glad 300 million is small change…………..
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:05 am
Mick – so you’re mixing with the rich and famous!!!
(we always suspected you were suave and debonair!)
Toby
July 22nd, 2011
10:08 am
I believe Bernie Sanders; the gang is cutting for profit’s sake & immorally putting money for few before the well-being of many.
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
10:08 am
Working my tail off for now getting our new clinic off the ground. Happy?? I think you know me well enough to know that word isn’t in my vocab. More fun to complain all the time.
Actually, quitting that last job turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise. Now, if I can only land a date with my new object of affection…….
Mick
July 22nd, 2011
10:11 am
usinuk
Well, not exactly mixing, more like at the right place at the right time. I didn’t think much of her before our encounter but she really was down to earth. I must have caught her at her peak of her 15 mins. when it was all good…thanks for the complement, I like to try to picture you rollerblading along south beach wild and free..
md
July 22nd, 2011
10:13 am
“The mortgage proposal would only apply to second mortgages and mortgages exceeding $500k if I remember correctly. Most Americans wouldn’t notice the difference.”
Maybe…..maybe not.
Depends on the reasons for buying that second house or bigger home. If it’s done as an investment, and returns are better elsewhere after the change, that may affect many in the housing industry (whats left of them anyway).
Doggone/GA
July 22nd, 2011
10:14 am
“Most Americans wouldn’t notice the difference.”
I wouldn’t notice it no matter what they did. My income & deductions have come out that it’s better to file the short form for nearly 10 years now. So, in effect, I don’t “get” to deduct my mortgage interest anyway.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
July 22nd, 2011
10:14 am
UK – yep, and when employment goes up so will non-interest income. SS is not the problem in our debt situation. The problem is paying back the money Congress borrowed from the SS fund as promised when they cut taxes because of a perceived surplus which never developed. But an honest discussion about that would likely lead to real discussion that taxes need to be increased as well as spending and waste cut.
Message from Matti
July 22nd, 2011
10:14 am
Uh-oh… now I’m compelled to go read a diatribe about women.
Today’s column about Sen. Chambliss has a lesson in here for all of us, or rather, those of us who are actually interested in lessons. I know what it is. How about y’all? Anyone? Anyone?
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:15 am
Bruno “Actually, quitting that last job turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise. Now, if I can only land a date with my new object of affection…….”
go Bruno – go Bruno – go Bruno!!
I am so glad that the move turned out to be a good one. well done, you!! and huzzah!!
josef
July 22nd, 2011
10:15 am
BRUNO
So, you told him to put Granma on an ice floe? Did he “reply” telling you how much he apprciated your in put and would seriously consider your ideas?
Left wing management
July 22nd, 2011
10:17 am
Toby: “I believe Bernie Sanders; the gang is cutting for profit’s sake & immorally putting money for few before the well-being of many.”
Exactly.
What’s being lost here is the fact — and it’s plain as day — that the VERY FACT that we’re having this pseud-debate ALREADY in and of itself means the situation has been hijacked by a right wing ideology that is seeking to shift blame for the financial crisis and shield the financial and corporate elite from any blame for the fact that they’ve ALREADY been able to go scot free and evade responsibility for maintaining our public institutions.
So what’s the best way to give them cover for their corrupt misdeeds?
The best way is to turn around and argue that we haven’t given them ENOUGH free rein. Orwellian doesn’t begin to touch what this amounts to. It’s almost too ghastly for words, the whole thing.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:17 am
Mick ” I like to try to picture you rollerblading along south beach wild and free..”
and I picture you blogging wearing a pink short, panama hat and sandals! (sipping a cuban coffee … yummmm)
Mighty Righty
July 22nd, 2011
10:17 am
Jay
Under the circumstances, the last thing Chambliss needs is some liberal columnist praising his willingness to lead on a tough issue of great national importance.
Confession is good for the soul. Say three “hail Marys” take two aspirin and call me in the morning. You will feel much better.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:17 am
josef-
Uncle Jed
July 22nd, 2011
10:19 am
This from The Drudge Report:
HEATWAVE: Women Brawl Over Seat On NYC Subway…
Stunned Straphangers Look On As Women Brawl Over Seat On L Train In Brooklyn
Attend mud wrestling, maybe? Sub wrestling, doubtful. Straphanging, never. Not even when visiting San Fran.
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
10:19 am
got a new gig myself, these days
Didn’t see that until now, USinUK–Are you still in the financial field??
BTW, you likely missed it, but I got a chance to schmooze with your favorite Governor the other day. My personal guess about you is that you would probably be happiest in some kind of political position. You just don’t share my excitement about crunching numbers.
Mick
July 22nd, 2011
10:20 am
josef
Enjoying your summer downtime? The cheating scandal in georgia has gone national news, sorry that all teachers in the state will be tainted with this scandal. Keep your head up and keep making unnoticeable miracles occur daily…
josef
July 22nd, 2011
10:21 am
logical…
“move to the front porch…” To go into retirement, sit on the front porch in a rocker…watching the world go by…
bill arp
July 22nd, 2011
10:22 am
maybe that risk is something the Prez should take….
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
10:22 am
go Bruno – go Bruno – go Bruno!!
Obviously no one told you how old she is.
You’re still beautiful on both the outside and the inside, no matter what the right-wingers say about you here on the blog. And I’m jealous as hell that Paul got to spend an afternoon with you. Lucky dog.
Mick
July 22nd, 2011
10:23 am
usinuk
No hats for me, got a full crop of thick hair and I aims to keep it that way. I do like coffee con leche and guava’s but I still am loyal to my local dunkin donuts – it’s the simple things in life…
Mighty Righty
July 22nd, 2011
10:25 am
Saxby might want to remember why we got rid of “Ironsides”, I can’t think of his name, the one that blew himself up playing with hand grenades, for pretending to be conservative when he was in Georgia while coming out of the closet in D.C.
Ben The Independent
July 22nd, 2011
10:25 am
Even though the ‘Gang of Six’ plan buys into a degree of the liberal ‘tax and spend’ orthodoxy, I as a free thinking independent, think the ‘Gang of Six’ plan is the best compromise available.
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
10:27 am
Hey Matti (waving vigorously)–Any luck helping your neighbor?? I put up 3:1 odds that you would. Don’t let me down or I might go broke paying out.
josef
July 22nd, 2011
10:28 am
mick
Enjoying the last few days…I have to be back early myself…don’t know which day yet, but next week. That scandal has gone international! Our school had no problems at all, but we have to wear the sh*t right along with the rest…that 800 page report was “light summer reading!” But. it’s all about what can be expected with NCLB and the Atlanta “bidness community” PR pep squad…and about all that’s going to come of this is a damage control frenzy…
Message from Matti
July 22nd, 2011
10:28 am
Ewwwww…. Bruno, your diatribe about women was utterly FETID.
What Mr. Bookman describes about Sen. Chambliss is a subset of a more universal truth: NO ONE is all good or all bad. While I despise this Senator for many things that he’s done, not the least of which was his shameless slander of War-Hero Senator Max Cleland (whom I know, but as a man, is also neither all good nor all bad) , and find his special-interest pandering to be a true betrayal to the people of this state and nation, he does appear to be trying to do the right thing on this issue. (Hope my glimmer of faith is not proven to be worthless!)
People need to cut the partisan, “our side” vs. “your side” cr@p already and face the reality that we’re all Americans, and sometimes, we need to support the greater good instead of just whining about our own needs or elevating the “us vs. them” — aka your need to be “right” — thing to an importance it does not deserve. IMO, the discourse in this country has for too long been a bad episode of the Itchy and Scratchy Show.
Mighty Righty
July 22nd, 2011
10:28 am
Ben The Independent
July 22nd, 2011
10:25 am
I might like the plan as well if I knew what it was. Since you know what it is, can you explain it to me?
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:29 am
Bruno – nope, got the heck out of the financial field
back in tech (where I spent a good deal of the 90s / early 00s) – aaahhhh … loving life.
it was great to meet Paul … and I’m always happy to buy a pint for any fellow Bookmaniac crossing the pond (well, okay, maybe not ANY … but many)
Brosephus
July 22nd, 2011
10:31 am
MR
Of all things said that has to be one of the most vile things I’ve heard about someone who served his country in a time of war. If that’s how you really feel about Max, may an elephant stomp your nuts while you’re being attacked by red ants in your eyes.
Message from Matti
July 22nd, 2011
10:32 am
B,
Took several days, but was able to spring the captive last night. Now it’s time to report some serious medicare fraud. Everybody seems to focus on slashing these programs, but I don’t hear anyone talking about cutting waste and fraud and making them more efficient! When there’s no one on the payroll to investigate fraud, how will we do it? Spend some to save some, I say, but that’s easier said than done.
TaxPayer
July 22nd, 2011
10:33 am
The fresh indictment said that as of autumn 2008, the bank “maintained thousands of secret accounts for U.S. customers with as much as $3 billion.” One client out of the 35 cited in the superseding indictment took $250,000 to Switzerland by concealing it in panty hose she wrapped around her body underneath her clothes.
We lower the taxes on the wealthiest and what do they do. They continue to cheat. What is the Republican solution. Lower their taxes even more. After all, if they get to live here and take billions out of our economy every year tax-free, then they will not cheat on their taxes any more.
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
10:33 am
Sorry for not staying on topic today, Facebook-haters, but I just can’t generate much interest in these budget talks. I, nor any of us here, have any real input in the process, other than writing that fat check out to Uncle Sam every year. And while Jay believes to his core that it’s pretty much good vs. evil here, I don’t see it that way. Just one more case of competing interests being forced to compromise.
josef
July 22nd, 2011
10:33 am
Mighty
I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Cleland either, but that was not called for…
Mick
July 22nd, 2011
10:34 am
Brosephus
@
July 22nd, 2011
10:31 am
You beat me to it…ditto
Uncle Jed
July 22nd, 2011
10:35 am
Heat ‘Dome’ Covers 1 Million Square Miles Across US
Looks like another hot one here in Beverly Hills.
Ellie Mae: “That ceemint pond looks mighty refreshin’.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXrc1XZayp4
josef
July 22nd, 2011
10:36 am
matti
Thanks for the update on “springing the captive!” Way to go, Girl, and now I’ll eat my words, apologize and tip my hat. But, don’t it make you feel good?
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:38 am
I third Brocephus’s 10:31
well said and amen.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
July 22nd, 2011
10:38 am
Well, I might of knowed Saxby would cave. He probly looked down the road and saw that default might could get in the way of his golf and the therapy for his bum knee. You can’t swing too good with a bum knee. Gets in the way of the turn. Next time around, we’ll run a Bible-toting, Tea-partying real Conservative against that RINO. He’s a disgrace to GA and the things we hold so dear.
Am I the only one that thinks Bookman gets more vacation time than our late great President Bush? I mean, there’s fishing trips and going to Oregon and driving back with his girl and all kinds of stuff. Maybe he keeps working just to get a break from vacation. I’m just hoping this time Paul don’t step in and kill the blog again on the 2nd or 3rd day. I mean, some of the people on here don’t have a life if the blog ain’t working.
Have a good Friday everybody. I’m hauling and lugging, trying to get you drunks set up for swapping weird music.
Brosephus
July 22nd, 2011
10:39 am
Mick
Politics aside, I don’t take too well with slamming combat veterans anywhere or anytime. If I get banned for defending vets, I will wear it as a badge of honor.
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
10:39 am
Ewwwww…. Bruno, your diatribe about women was utterly FETID.
As compared to some of your diatribes about men, dearie??
Per Medicare fraud (and all insurance fraud), there are two levels of fraud–There is “hard” fraud, i.e. billing for a service that wasn’t performed, and there is “soft” fraud–billing for a service which wasn’t truly medically necessary. The first is easy to prove, the second nearly impossible. Ultimately it comes down to the honesty of the practitioner. In your neighbor’s case, it sounds like it falls into the second category.
At any rate, you have a good soul, Matti. Likely you’ll never see any “reward” for that other than your own satisfaction and peace of mind, but know that at least one other person on this planet recognizes that trait in you.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:39 am
could you guys just slice off a bit of that warm and ship it over here??? at this rate, I’ll never get tomatoes on my vines!!!
yuzeyurbrane
July 22nd, 2011
10:40 am
Jay, you are just wrong on the facts about SS cost of living formula. But you are correct about current COLA being inaccurate measure. The current COLA materially understates the real cost of living increases that Seniors experience because it is a general COLA for all age groups. As you probably know, SS recipients have not received a COLA increase in 2 years, using this formula. At the same time their out of pocket costs for items that impact Seniors disproportionately such as healthcare have skyrocketed. Now, the so-called “linked COLA” which has been proposed by the Gang of Six does nothing to address the uniqueness of Senior cost of living increases, but instead imposes an untested formula that actually is even more distorted than the present COLA. I would not be opposed to what you claim the proposal does–namely, a more accurate cost of living measure for Seniors—but the linked COLA simply does not do that and in fact takes a bad situation and makes it worse. Finally, as a matter of process, all proposals (including linked COLA) effecting SS should be considered in the normal legis. process (you know, hearings, votes, etc., aka the democratic process) and not at the point of a debt ceiling gun.
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
10:41 am
Way to go, Girl, and now I’ll eat my words, apologize and tip my hat.
I’ll be by later to collect on our bet, josef.
Uncle Jed
July 22nd, 2011
10:41 am
I’m hauling and lugging, trying to get you drunks set up for swapping weird music.
+++++++++++++++++
LOL
Mick
July 22nd, 2011
10:41 am
Well, it’s raining down here in paradise and with all our materialistic concerns every day it occurred to me that this water is free and clean. Much of the world is in short supply of this vital element.
Bud Wiser
July 22nd, 2011
10:41 am
Left wing management
July 22nd, 2011
8:28 am
Yeah, it’s the “government” that has trouble managing money.
And the evidence for this is what?
Try looking at the $14.5 TRILLION dollar deficit, moron.
No one can really be that stupid to leave themselves so wide open, can they?
Oh yes, I am referring to a liberal koolaid drinker that worships at the feet of yet another moron.
How can you make it so easy?
Duh.
Mighty Righty
July 22nd, 2011
10:42 am
TaxPayer
July 22nd, 2011
10:33 am
I believe the gang of six proposal that Obama supports calls for a reduction in the top tax bracket from 29% to 26%. This would be an additional 3% cut from the Bush rates you folks have been railing about! So before you start on Republican tax cuts you might want to check the facts. Nothing is going to happen without the Democrats approving it.
AmVet
July 22nd, 2011
10:42 am
“…the one that blew himself up playing with hand grenades…”
GFY.
And that doesn’t stand for good for you.
Message from Matti
July 22nd, 2011
10:43 am
USinUK,
If I could send you a slice, I would!!! Want a side of hungry skeeters to go with that?
Left wing management
July 22nd, 2011
10:44 am
That was hilarious USinUK about Paris Hilton. Sadly true about the sex tapes getting smaller.
Uncle Jed
July 22nd, 2011
10:45 am
@USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:39 am
If, or when in London, just head on down to the House of Commons (is that right?) with some Mason jars and collect all the hot air you can tote.
Seriously though, it has been very hot here in the Atlanta area and August is still resting.
Message from Matti
July 22nd, 2011
10:46 am
Bruno,
Thanks for the encouragement and the hard vs. soft breakdown. I know you’re right, but I’m really good with “strongly-worded” letters. I can, at the very least, embarrass those who did it, if not get them on a list of suspected defrauders.
Left wing management
July 22nd, 2011
10:46 am
These are interesting times — and I mean that in the worst way. — Krugman
Uncle Jed
July 22nd, 2011
10:47 am
AmVet
July 22nd, 2011
10:42 am
“…the one that blew himself up playing with hand grenades…”
GFY.
And that doesn’t stand for good for you.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HERE, HERE!
josef
July 22nd, 2011
10:47 am
USinUK
I’ll probably regret asking you here, but I seem to recall you said you have worked with a Soros project. Which one? Are you familiar with the Gandhi School in Pecs, Hungary?
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:47 am
Matti – our windows in the UK have no screens cuz we got no skeeters in southern england … B-L-I-S-S!!!
but I’ve needed to wear a jacket for the last 2 weeks cuz it’s been chilly. CHILLY!!! In July!!! that’s jsut wrong.
Mighty Righty
July 22nd, 2011
10:47 am
Brosephus
July 22nd, 2011
10:31 am
I appreciate the thought.
Mick
July 22nd, 2011
10:48 am
I just hope that all who are moaning and groaning about the heat, will be more appreciative of the cool weather when it gets here…
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:48 am
josef – no, a company that I used to work for received funding from Soros Fund Management.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:48 am
uncle jed – (actually, it’s hear, hear … not here, here)
Uncle Jed
July 22nd, 2011
10:49 am
Wrong YouTube link…I really meant to post Ellie Mae frolicking about in that tiny bikini.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:49 am
Uncle – “If, or when in London, just head on down to the House of Commons (is that right?) with some Mason jars and collect all the hot air you can tote”
I’m afraid my house would look like the one in UP!
AmVet
July 22nd, 2011
10:50 am
Jed, I do not care what one’s politics are, but that kind of repulsive garbage indicates what a low life some people truly are.
Friggin’ swift boating pieces of ____.
Left wing management
July 22nd, 2011
10:50 am
Bud Wiser: “Try looking at the $14.5 TRILLION dollar deficit, moron.”
Careful with the language there buddy, or a rap on the knuckles will be in order.
Considering the trillions in debt, why are you so upset when it’s largely due to your policies?
It’s because of the Bush tax cuts, the Bush prescription drug plan, two unfunded wars, combined with a disastrous recession.
So why are you so upset all of a sudden about the soaring debt there my friend?
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:50 am
LWM – just picturing Paris as Gloria Swanson … “I’m ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille!”
Uncle Jed
July 22nd, 2011
10:50 am
uncle jed – (actually, it’s hear, hear … not here, here)
But of course,or coarse
Much obliged for the tip I shouldn’t have needed, but did. Thank you.
Swede Atlanta
July 22nd, 2011
10:52 am
I am not a big fan of Chambliss but I applaud him for acting like a grownup, acknowledging facts and recognizing that politics is now and always has been an exercise in compromise. Two competing parties rarely get everything they want.
I would like to see more details about the plan but it sounds sensible and balanced. Therefore it is probably headed to defeat.
With respect to eliminating CLASS, I only want to observe that a program of that type is badly needed. It may need to be re-worked but as people age and require nursing level care it is the taxpayers, through MEDICAID, that pay for it. What are we going to do to Grandma when she is in her 80s and needs care? We are going to fund her care. So wouldn’t it be better to let people buy into a plan on a group basis? I was lucky enough to be offered long-term care insurance through my employer. I jumped at the chance and take advantage of every opportunity I get to increase that coverage.
My father is in an Alzheimer’s home and his monthly bill that comes to me is right at $6100.00. He saved money and invested wisely so we are able to afford that on a self-pay basis. Part of that is covered by his long-term care insurance.
Caring for the elderly will bankrupt this nation if we don’t take sensible steps now to anticipate what awaits us.
USinUK
July 22nd, 2011
10:52 am
wow. huge explosion in Oslo.
I mean.
who blows up Norwegians?
Bruno
July 22nd, 2011
10:52 am
swapping weird music.
Just for that, Redneck, I’m going to go with an all-Eno theme tonight. I’ll dedicate “King’s Lead Hat” just for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGOC4Hib4OM
md
July 22nd, 2011
10:53 am
Personally, I like the heat……..people watching is a whole lot more fun than in the winter when all you get to see is a walking coat………….