The Gang of Six plan, Social Security and other entitlements
Jim Galloway’s Political Insider blog will return later this week.
Some additional points on the deficit reduction plan by U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss and the Gang of Six:
– When U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., withdrew from the bipartisan effort to reduce the deficit after five months of negotiation, many in Washington pronounced the Gang of Six dead – or at least, irrelevant. Which in D.C. is worse than dead.
But on Tuesday, there was Coburn in the members-only briefing of the Senate, endorsing the proposal. What brought him around? For one thing, an increase in 10-year savings from Medicare and Medicaid, from $370 billion or so to $500 billion. Just how those savings will be accomplished are details that would be left to the proper Senate committee.
– Look for a good deal of emphasis today on making Democrats more comfortable with the Gang of Six plan. “Balancing the deficit on the backs of the elderly” is the slogan they’re vulnerable to. Proponents today are emphasizing that savings from Social Security reform – means testing is a possibility – are to be plowed back into the Social Security system. They wouldn’t be applied to the deficit.
– The silence – so far — from the House Republican side is a sign that the Senate venture is being taken seriously. Certain elements of the GOP base and the tea party, of course, are another matter. One Tweet from this morning from Adairsville Rob to U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Marietta, who was celebrating his Tuesday vote for the GOP caucus’ cut-cap-and-balance plan:
Thank you, sir! Now PLEASE run against Saxby Chambliss! Pragmatism is killing the Republic!
That is a thought certainly worth discussing.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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246 comments Add your comment
Neil
July 20th, 2011
8:00 pm
What exactly am I ungrateful about “Ray” ….hmmm? I pay in the high five figures every year in taxes while a near majority pays NOTHING in federal and state taxes. What exactly am I “ungrateful” about and to whom? I think you have it backwards. I think many out there are not grateful that I and others like me pay the vast majority of the bills in this country while being maligned and called names by morons like you.
Pompano
July 20th, 2011
8:00 pm
@ray – such intelligent commentary on your part. Shows that you’re clearly part of the moocher class that doesn’t contribute to Society. An easy way to spot a low-IQ is resorting to name-calling (which explains your lack of understanding the difference between a conservative & a liberal).
You should avoid attempting to participate in blogs in the future that are clearly above your ability to comprehend.
Dummy
July 20th, 2011
8:03 pm
Only a knucklehead would continue to argue about who the tax cuts belong too…. You do not cut taxes when you are about to go to war…How do you pay for a war Mr. Bush? Wait I got it I am going to pass a tax cut bill that will take care of everything…Yes I did it again..
The Centrist
July 20th, 2011
8:05 pm
Neil. I will ask again. Please tell us what specific spending items of Obama’s can to directly contribute to the TRILLIONS of increased government spending. Entitlement increases don’t count, war spending doesn’t count, simulus monies were appropriated before he took office, and you know that the Part D GOP plan was much worse of a hit on the budget than the Affordable Healthcare Bill. Which by the way, the “administrative costs” on businesses are more than offset by grants, tax credits, and direct reductions in health care costs.
Dummy
July 20th, 2011
8:09 pm
Neal so how much do you money do you receive with your tax returns? I pay a high amount of taxes also but thanks to my business deductions and home deductions I receive a nice chuck of that money back…So when are you going to man and tell the complete truth about what you really pay in taxes?
The Centrist
July 20th, 2011
8:12 pm
Neil. If you pay high five figures in taxes, your problem is having a sorry tax accountant. Not some working person, especially female, making less than $10 per hour who does not have access to healthcare, and whose only hope for retirement is social security.
Neil
July 20th, 2011
8:17 pm
Centrist…you’re putting words in my mouth it seems. First, I would roll back the spending to 2008 levels….as a start. That would get the annual deficit down to roughly $500 Billion, depending on actual tax receipts. Not great by any stretch, but a HUGE step in the right direction. I would remove the increases that were made part of the budget baseline by the Dems as part of the “stimulus” bill.
From there, I would repeal Obama-care and the spending mandates contained within. I would repeal the Bush drug deal added to Medicare, and I would review the Pentagon budget to maximize value and remove unnecessary weapons systems and procurement waste.
After that low hanging fruit was picked, I would move to completely restructure Social Security and Medicare. Neither can survive as currently constituted. That’s not a political statement but rather a statement in fact, as confirmed by CBO and the Trustees. They cannot be made sacred cows that are off limits, or they will just cease to exist by their own accord.
As far as taxes go, JFK realized that a growing economy and lower rates bring in higher receipts. The class warrior hatred and the ignorance of basic economics by today’s Democrats has them fixated on raising rates and raising taxes on people as a way to punish them. Things have gotten so far from where they were even 50 years ago in JFKs day. We need to go back to what Democrats like JFK stood for….free enterprise, strong military, self reliance.
hl
July 20th, 2011
8:18 pm
The Centrist ..most folks don’t realize that the increase to the deficit are programs started under Bush. Although I haven’t read the gang of six proposal, I’m pleased to see the parties working together to pay our debts.
As far as earmarks go, I know in our state they have been lobbying for federal funds for the Savannah port. My feeling is that if a state feels that those funds are important, we should pay for them at the state level. Representatives get reelected by bringing home funds that help states grow. I don’t care what you call those funds. Under Republican house leadership they are no longer called ear marks, though.
Pompano
July 20th, 2011
8:20 pm
@Neil – excellent rebuttal!
hl
July 20th, 2011
8:21 pm
Neil, We are talking about federal taxation..for example if your gross is 100,000 and you pay 20,000 in federal taxation, that’s 20 percent.. We all pay a lot of taxes. Even those 40 million who have a family of four earning less than 24,000 who don’t pay federal income tax, they pay lots of taxes. Those lucky duckies btw not having to pay federal taxes.
hl
July 20th, 2011
8:25 pm
Neil, I assume you don’t want to go back to the JFK, tax rates though. Since then taxes have gone up and down and although I think some specific cuts help, generally graphs don’t prove that.
According to the CBO which you site, Obamacare lowers the deficit.
Lynn
July 20th, 2011
8:26 pm
Here are some items that the Federal Government is paying for with our tax dollars that should never be in the Federal Budget. $25 million to Save America’s Treasures Program, $167.5 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, $167.5 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities, $250 million for Hope VI Program (What the He….is this)?, $1.3 billion for duplicative education programs, H.R. 2274 (in last Congress), authored by Rep. McKeon, (again, What in the He… is this?)$55 million for U.S. Trade Development Agency (again, What is this?), $20 million for Woodrow Wilson Center Subsidy, $24 million for Heritage Area Grants and Statutory Aid (again, what the He.. is this)?, $95 million for Beach Replenishment, $2 Billion for New Starts Transit. This is a few more of many, many things our tax dollars are going toward that should never be in the Federal Budget. Do we smell PORK BARREL somewhere in all this Federal Spending? All of these and others could be cut out of the Federal Budget entirely, and our illustrious leaders could probably balance the budget by themselves without expert help. The BIG Question is, why are these things in the Federal Budget and being paid for with taxpayer dollars?
Neil
July 20th, 2011
8:27 pm
Obamacare does not lower the deficit, unless you use the fuzzy math they used where they showed 10 years of taxes paying for 6 years of services. I won’t even mention that most of the assumptions used for cost reductions have already been proven false.
hl
July 20th, 2011
8:28 pm
I didn’t sleep in a Holiday Inn, but I am still confused why some think supply side will help in this particular economy when we obviously have a demand problem. Banks and corporations are sitting on tons of money but not willing to take the risk.
Neil, you willing to get rid of emtala along with obamacare? Just curious because the Reagan bill has raised costs more.
hl
July 20th, 2011
8:29 pm
Neil, You can’t site the CBO when it’s convenient for you…sorry..
ray
July 20th, 2011
8:34 pm
neil and pompano are too good for Ronald Reagan…
Yeah, I guess making enough to pay all those taxes is much worse than not making crap and getting your ass blown off in Iraq…
Ungrateful frat-boy silver spooners…go write daddy a thank you note..LOL!
Neil
July 20th, 2011
8:35 pm
I think we need fundamental reform in how we deal with medical insurance and emergency care. Just because Obama-care isn’t the right solution, that doesn’t mean the status quo is perfect either. The Dems always want to make things binary…either you are in favor of a gov’t takeover, or you want grandma to starve and babies to die in the street.
We need to address the other side of the equation that Obama-care IGNORES….tort reform and the cost of medical malpractice insurance. That is one of the big factors driving up costs. We also need to stop the insane fraud in Medicare and Medicaid…and please don’t dispute it. It’s pretty much acknowledged by everyone who will be intellectually honest. We need to deal with illegal aliens and those who use emergency rooms as family doctors, by providing subsidized high risk pools and ways to allow families and individuals to buy coverage. If they choose not to do so, then they’ve made a choice.
I have already seen an impact from Obama-care. My own company has instituted a high deductible plan to escape the tax increases. That means my out of pocket costs go up, simply because the gov’t has penalized my company for taking good care of its employees. So much for the “if you like your current plan, you can keep it” crap that Obama and his friends spewed.
td
July 20th, 2011
8:38 pm
The Centrist
July 20th, 2011
8:05 pm
Food stamps. Extended unemployment benefits. Did you happen to read the article in this paper a few weeks ago at what the cost to cover adults between 18 and 65 will cost with expanded medicaid the state will pay? How about covering children until they are 26? Do you want to know how high the classrooms will be when we have to cut an additional $1 to $2 billion per year?
td
July 20th, 2011
8:42 pm
Lynn
July 20th, 2011
8:26 pm
Do we really need to spend $42 Billion a year in Pell grants when we do not even place minimum educational requirements on the recipients during HS and no min. SAT score?
Neil
July 20th, 2011
8:42 pm
@Hi…never doubted CBO, so why can’t I quote them? They are the impartial source from Congress.
@Ray…you love making bad assumptions and bitter stereotypes. I was raised in a 2BR apt in NYC to lower middle class parents. I was never in a frat, and the only silver spoons I’ve ever seen were at Waffle House. Time for a new rant.
The Centrist
July 20th, 2011
9:16 pm
Hey td. Been awhile. Food stamps and extended unemployment benefits are not significant budget increases compared to the baseline. Besides, those monies go directly to supposed taxpayers for goods and services (regardless of legitimacy). I didn’t read the article in this paper a few weeks ago at what the cost to cover adults between 18 and 65 will cost with expanded medicaid the state will pay…because we are talking about the federal budget. Covering children until they are 26 is a horrid government mandate on insurance companies, that does not the federal budget. I’m not sure what you mean by “Do you want to know how high the classrooms will be when we have to cut an additional $1 to $2 billion per year?” If you mean that we can further prove that the under-and-unfunded “No Child Left Behind” is a total failure by design, and the increased student-teacher ratio, will increase the rhetoric of bashing of teacher unions. Yes. Lowering the Federal budget…also, Yes.
hl
July 20th, 2011
9:20 pm
TD.. Take away unemployment and food stamps and start adding how many layoffs walmart and other stores have. We have a demand problem, if we didn’t corporations, and banks would pump money into the economy. When our economy has slowed it has not always been a supply side or a necessarily a demand problem but this time it is clear.
How many jobs are created by that unemployment check?
BTW..I asked others previously, how do you feel about Reagan’s bill EMTALA?
The Centrist
July 20th, 2011
9:24 pm
td. There are minimum entrance requirements. Except, for those for-profit institutions of “lower learning” that some folks want to protect. These are the same folks who fought tooth and nail to try and keep for-profit banks in the education loan business, at high interest rates, knowing they could make sorry loans with 100% guarantee from taxpayers.
hl
July 20th, 2011
9:24 pm
EMTALA is not a government tax but it indirectly it costs those buying health insurance 1200.00 a year and yeah..obamacare is bad.
The funniest thing is to hear Rush saying he’ll move to Chile..hahahahaha…cuz they have universal health care..what?? There are several countries without regulations, without health care mandates and with low taxation. Personally I wouldn’t move to any of them.
I like Ayn Rand’s approach ..write a novel and then use medicare.
The Centrist
July 20th, 2011
9:26 pm
Neil, Hate to butt in, but where you came from has nothing to do with you having a sorry tax accountant.
td
July 20th, 2011
9:40 pm
The Centrist
July 20th, 2011
9:16 pm
Maybe I did not state the article clear enough. We the taxpayers of Georgia will have to pay for 20% of the medicaid cost for covering poor adults between 18 to 65 we will also now have to cover children under Peachcare until they are 26. The estimated cost to the state will be $1 t0 $2 billion per year. That means the Federal cost to the budget for Georgia is going to be $7 to $10 billion a year. The state does not have the revenues for this additional amount so they will have to cut something. Education is the biggest expense so it have to be cut more for this mandated increase in spending.
hl
July 20th, 2011
9:42 pm
Neil, When they looked at the ten year program under obamacare the savings are greater so I’m not sure what you are reading. BTW..you do know that the Ryan proposal which gives vouchers uses the same deductions. Well I assume you do.
Why were we paying insurance companies more to do what medicare did but better? That’s our government for you.
hl
July 20th, 2011
9:45 pm
td..how do you feel about emtala? That was a Reagan program.. Wouldn’t it cost me less to pay for clinics than emergency rooms? I wrote my rep about emtala and he never responded but maybe you will. I’d rather my health care insurance be decreased and pay more for state taxes for clinics. IMO…
Somehow, I’d be paying less.
Timothy Mitchell
July 20th, 2011
10:06 pm
Here’s what i personally think if us middle class and poor people are going to be this way then why not the poltians giving up thewre salary and live like the rest of us. They get free medical dental and all these other perks,while all these america people are suffering there living beyond there means so let those in DC cut there saleries. SS and medicare people in this country has worked for and payed into this system that’s what people look forward retirement so why is it that the elderly and people that depend on ss and medicare while the rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer cutting the miltary’s pay that’s not right either
td
July 20th, 2011
10:26 pm
hl
July 20th, 2011
9:45 pm
I must admit I do not know much about the law or if it was a Reagan initiative or a Democratic lead effort. I may be mistaken but I think there was a Supreme court case close to 1986 that required hospitals to perform emergency services.
Hamilton
July 21st, 2011
1:02 am
The stock market has already been affected by the Fools in the US House who are either un-American or too stupid to understand you don’t tie these two issues together. The budget is something we can argue over, but to hold our promises hostage is near criminal and will, at the least be punished on election day.
Madison
July 21st, 2011
1:10 am
Funny that the discussion has turned to how the mean ole Feds are forcing the state to spend money it doesn’t have. I cant feel sorry for Georgia whose state reps. for a decade, have been shifting the stae’s obligations to local governments who cant afford them. Georgia simply doesn’t use it’s money wisely. We are an attractive place to relocate, but our poor support of public education keeps all but the low paying jobs from coming here.
Don’t take my word for it ask a county commissioner or city councilperson. They will confirm the cram down by the state. Ah, the irony.
Birdie
July 21st, 2011
2:55 am
If children are fed at school, is the parent’s food stamp allotment reduced?
kc
July 21st, 2011
6:10 am
The proposal also calls for the Finance Committee to switch to a territorial tax system, under which U.S. multinational companies wouldn’t face taxes on income they earn outside the country. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups have been urging Congress to make such a change.
Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has proposed his own bipartisan tax-code overhaul, said yesterday that driving rates down that far would require making big changes to breaks that many taxpayers enjoy. Those include the mortgage interest deduction and the deduction for charitable contributions.
“You would have to cut back very dramatically on some of the middle-class tax incentives,” he said.
Looks like middle america will take it on the chin under the gang of 6 charade.
guess what folks the corporatists are buying the repubs and dems in this act of bad cop, good cop ….don’t think anyone from prez on down can really be trusted by john q citizen.
dorisswartz
July 21st, 2011
6:52 am
I was told by a friend that something called “Penny Health” is offering health insurance plans starting just $1 a day. That is some thing we all can agree.
J D Eubanks
July 21st, 2011
8:02 am
Here is an idea that the American voters should embrace. Why not have every member of Congress and their staff cut their salaries by 50% and share the pain. Most are rich and many are millionaires that are out of touch with America so why pay them to waste the resources of our country. You laugh? Senators, Reps and the Tea bag gang would not be laughing if you trimmed their benefits by 50%a but that is a good place to start looking for reductions in expenditures. Serving the people of America should be an honor not an occupation. Comments, Mr. Cantor, Mr. Coburg??
Hemi
July 21st, 2011
8:09 am
All of them are a bunch of crooks. If you look into Social Security, there is no emergency or need to mess with this now. The only reason to cut SS now would be so that they can use the money just like the last time. Social Security is fully funded for the next 25 years, and after that tax revenue would cover approximately 75 percent of promised benefits until 2085. Talk of the bankruptcy of Social Security is hot air. And it has zero to do with deficits. The report also says that if we fixed this economy, there wouldn’t be any shortfall. And if there is a shortfall, SS could be fixed easily by raising the cap a tiny bit. Why should the top 18% only pay into Social Security on 106,000 of their earnings? Their crooked trade deals and tax loopholes has the top 18% holding about 93% of the wealth now, they can afford to put back what they stole from us all these years. Why are taxpayers subsidizing Exxon oil cronies that made 341 billion last year? This is crazy. Every Republican, and like 6 oil-patch Democrats just killed a bill to end more than a billion a year in taxpayer subsidies to these shysters. I’ve never seen such greed in my life.
sho'nuff
July 21st, 2011
8:10 am
In my opinion Pres. Obama should not have extended the Bush Tax Cuts. But, he could not just check his advisors. The economy would have been in a much better place had he let them expire. Secondly, about this super secret cabal. History teaches me that the last time people met and agreed in private when the details were released to the public: Women could not vote. Blacks were counted as 3-5 of a human beings, and Native Americans did not exist. So, these secrets meetings are not in my opinion the best way to go. What happened to open government?
td
July 21st, 2011
8:17 am
Birdie
July 21st, 2011
2:55 am
If children are fed at school, is the parent’s food stamp allotment reduced?
The short answer is no. Any child on FS and in school is eligible for free breakfast and lunch.
zeke
July 21st, 2011
9:32 am
The problem with “mans testing” for SS, Medicare or any other taxpayer funded program is IT IS A REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH FROM THE SUCCESSFUL, HIGH WAGE EARNER AND THOSE WHO SAVE AND INVEST AND ACCUMULATE SOME WEALTH! NOT AMERICAN!!!!!
Centrist
July 21st, 2011
10:11 am
New subject while Galloway is on vacation – Creation of the Immigration Enforcement Review Board is underway. Thankfully, it is aimed to stop government officials from ignoring the law and creating sanctuaries for ILLEGAL immigrants. Additionally, the panel could look into complaints about government officials failing to require people to show certain forms of identification before issuing them public benefits, such as food stamps, housing assistance and business licenses.
Since the Obama administration has encouraged government entities to ignore laws they don’t agree with, this is a way to stop such action in Georgia.
Tracy
July 21st, 2011
10:51 am
I have a question.Lets see how many can answer it. How much more than the average family of 2 does Obama eat,medicate,use of electricity,pay rent? If he pays the same amount as the average 2 person house hold then why is he getting paid so much just to be a president? Isnt he supposed to be like the rest of us citizens? just a few questions.
ctm
July 21st, 2011
10:56 am
Reed’s – Buckhead money but no votes is funny; Franklin on the DL Board even more undeserved. Such payback…this is a really funny small town!
clearwax
July 21st, 2011
11:07 am
How can Social Security be an “Entitlement” when you and your employer pay into it????? What school did you go to???? Russian?
Centrist
July 21st, 2011
11:27 am
There are large entitlement portions in Social Security, and why payouts are greater than receipts. The disability insurance does not cover claims, and Supplemental Security Income pays benefits based on financial need. These ever expanding entitlements have bought a lot of votes for Democrats. Those who EARNED basic Social Security benefits will have to take less to pay the vote buying bills.
Baby Boomer Aunt
July 21st, 2011
12:20 pm
I’m not a usual commenter, but I’m tired of the words social security and entitlement linked. My mom paid into social security for decades and depends on it now for her existence. I don’t think she’s entitled – she’s earned the benefit because she paid into our federal insurance program. There’s a reason social security and Medicare came into existence. Seniors were eating dog food and dying before their time. Now is the time not to forget why we have such programs. We can be pragmatic and adjust, but be careful. Focus on the billions that military contractors are making off privatized wars.
mark
July 21st, 2011
1:35 pm
legalize weed and regulate!!! tax it at 20%, stop enforcement and imprisonment for having a plant. We will saved well over $100billion. It goes along with a lot you have already said. “govt out of my life”
Jerome Horwitz
July 21st, 2011
1:44 pm
Not every high wage recipient works hard and not every low wage recipient is lazy. There are many factors influencing where one stands in life. That’s why we have programs such as SS and Medicare to ensure folks have dignity in life.
Is it Un-American to have a society where a few reap massive rewards while a majority live hand to mouth. That sounds like a third world nation. Was forced to watch one of those home shows – picking a condo in Central America. The condo compound was beautiful. Outside the compund looked like a massive slum. Is this the kind of America you want?
I have no use for a bum, but, anyone who works hard (no matter the wage scale), plays by the rules, etc. deserves some level of health care and SS in retirement.
kc
July 21st, 2011
2:54 pm
watch these clowns include corporate tax holiday….http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/holiday-in-scambodia-20110720
Neil
July 21st, 2011
2:55 pm
@Jerome Horwitz….
Jerome, it is not the function of the US Gov’t or the State of Georgia, under either Constitution to “ensure that folks have dignity in life” any more than it is the gov’t who should be responsible for deciding who works hard and who doesn’t. The gov’t should ensure that the playing field of opportunity is level, and then it’s up to individuals to work hard and compete to make their way.
Do you think it’s just luck that some people become successful executives and others are working for minimum wage? Do you think it’s just some fluke of the cosmos? In fact, any time I hear about a person who came from poverty and got great grades in school, earned a scholarship to college (which in GA is very simple to do…just get a B average), and then went on to do great things….I just want to jump up and down for joy. It proves that it can be done. Life isn’t fair, and some people have advantages, but sitting around doesn’t overcome those disadvantages. Only hard work and a positive attitude can.
I cannot stand those people who assume that they are owed “dignity” or owed a living or owed something just for breathing. You earn diginity and respect. You earn what you get….in one way or another. Years ago, you earned a living or you starved. Today, people expect handouts from gov’t, and then they rant and rave about the people whose money they so eagerly take. This country has changed from a bunch of pioneers and explorers who took risks and fended for themselves to a bunch of whining babies who want the nanny gov’t to provide them with everything.