Senate Dems insist they'll protect Medicare in debt talks

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., center, accompanied by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., left, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 6, 2011.

/ AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Amid reports that the White House is ready to accept cuts to Medicare in its debt reduction negotiations with Republicans, Senate Democrats today reiterated their pledge to protect the government health care program.

"Social Security and Medicare are great American success stories," Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said in a press conference, "and we are committed to keeping them for the future."

President Obama yesterday implored both Democrats and Republicans to leave their "comfort zones" to achieve "real compromise" on the budget, adding, "I'm ready to do that. I believe there are enough people in each party that are willing to do that." He has invited Republican and Democratic congressional leaders to the White House for a meeting Thursday to work through the "real differences" that he says remain to get a deal done to raise the debt ceiling.

But in their press conference today, Senate Democrats blasted Republicans for seeking spending cuts without agreeing to revenue increases, particularly tax increases on the wealthy.

"We've seen people on the other side of the aisle who have walked away from the table to protect millionaires and billionaires," Stabenow said.

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said the top 1 percent of wage earners account for 24 percent of all income in America and asked, "Where are the jobs from the Bush tax cuts?"

The Democrats acknowledged that some spending cuts were necessary, but also emphasized the need to end "tax loopholes for people with yachts and subsidies for oil companies."

In a Republican press conference today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he's "open" to closing tax loopholes as part of the deal, as long as it doesn't involve "cherry-picking" in certain industries.

"What I think we all agree to, is that tax reform needs to occur again," McConnell said. "It is, however, a big complicated subject and it has unintended consequences... When you target particular industries, you get fewer jobs. And our biggest problem right now is the job problem."

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said the U.S. has "had a luxury tax on yachts before. It was in 1990. The Congress decided to tax luxuries including yachts. What was the effect of it? It about put the American boating industry out of business."

[ARoyalPayne]

"Under the concept of the unified budget, however, money that is collected by the federal government for whatever purpose (such as Medicare and Social Security payroll taxes) is spent on whatever bills are coming due at that time. Social Security and Medicare will get a credit for taxes collected that are not immediately spent on Social Security, but those taxes are quickly devoted to other federal spending."

Can't cut what is already spent. How's that "Locked Box" workin' for ya?

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures of all those Obama vacations ... cause that is all that is left!

[DrKnowe]

Obama extended the Patriot Act, the Bush Tax cuts, he put together a financial team of crooks & liars, bailed out Wall St while Main St. keeps getting further underwater, now he wants to cut Medicare...

Either my eyes are going or my glasses are dirty, but this President is starting to look an awful lot like a Republican.

[sjc_1]

Income/net worth test Social Security and Medicare. If you are wealthy enough and have sufficient income, you pay for your own policy and do not get Social Security checks.

[hsinco-2009]

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said the U.S. has "had a luxury tax on yachts before. It was in 1990. The Congress decided to tax luxuries including yachts. What was the effect of it? It about put the American boating industry out of business."


So people only buy boats for the tax breaks?

I don't think so.

[sjc_1]

Yachts are luxuries and not necessities. Maybe we should be creating the most good for the most people and stop some of the excesses.

[mattcat25]

Americans deserve what we've all worked and paid for and, that is not for our tax monies to support corrupt (foreign owned) Private Corporations being represented by the Republicans in Congress.

[Frosed]

I don't read much (any) talk about cutting overseas spending instead of homeland cuts. I reserve my donations, outside my home, to when I am in a better financial condition, not when I am in major dept. I really have a hard time grasping why our government is giving away money we don't have and asking for more from us, which we don't have. Our Government could reduce donations / aid outside our own country until our dept is lower. They need financial advice from my wife.

Frosed

[DrKnowe]

LOL. Lots of wisdom in the last sentence.

[chaos05]

You've got to love the way Republican s condemn ordinary Americans for wanting to secure decent wages, health care and retirement benefits through union representation or a social safety net, but see no problem at all with corporate crooks grabbing hundreds of billions through "deregulated" financial manipulations that ruin the national economy and benefit no one but the CEOs' Swiss bank accounts.
Why not give the rich everything, kill the middle class, and leave the working people and the poor with no hope, no options, no education, and no health care. After all, that plan worked so well for the rich aristocrats in France, right up to 1789.

[SnowCritter]

The situation really does parallel pre-Revolution France, doesn't it? Let's hear it for neo-feudalism!

[askagain]

It is all political posturing. On the radio, an economics professor from the University of Maryland stated that the government is already collecting record high taxes, that there is enough tax revenue to meet our obligations, and that there is no need to raise the debt ceiling.

[ALBrainTrust13]

"Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said the top 1 percent of wage earners account for 24 percent of all income in America and asked, "Where are the jobs from the Bush tax cuts?""

THEY ALSO ACCOUNT FOR WELL OVER 50% OF ALL TAX REVENUE.

[RedDeath50]

We need to go back to the Eisenhower tax rates. It's as simple as that!

[RobAla]

This is total BS! Democrats cut Medicare by $400 billion when they imposed this horrible health care law on the nation. They did this in an attempt to pay for the lousy thing. It didn't. The stupid health care law cost $105 billion in NEW spending each year. They have already cut Medicare, so this is total BS!

[RedDeath50]

Americabeforecorporations,

Forget trying to present facts and logic to a teabagger/republiClown. It's just not possible for those morons to understand those concepts.

Their motto is: If they say it on Fox, it has to be true!