General Discussion

HiPointDem

(20,729 posts)

20. Hogwash. More than half of medicare costs are paid directly by beneficiaries.

Wed Jan 2, 2013, 01:13 AM

Jan 2013

1. Medicare payroll taxes
2. Beneficiary premiums
3. Taxation of social security benefits

Less than half the cost of medicare is paid via the general fund.

The biggest driver of deficit is military & related spending, period, full stop.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

64 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Did Obama say that Medicare is the biggest contributor to the deficit? [View all] Stinky The Clown Jan 2013 OP

It IS the biggest driver of our deficits! phleshdef Jan 2013 #1

Exactly! PragmaticLiberal Jan 2013 #3

SS is in better shape than Medicare. amandabeech Jan 2013 #6

He should mention all of the above. phleshdef Jan 2013 #9

Neither does defense. In fact, defense doesn't get anything except money from the federal HiPointDem Jan 2013 #49

A lot of what goes into the "Defense" budget actually does go into the domestic economy Alameda Jan 2013 #53

big deal, so does a lot of medical spending. Defense spending drives deficits. HiPointDem Jan 2013 #54

This message was self-deleted by its author Scootaloo Jan 2013 #55

After all this discussion how is it possible people still don't understand the basics? dkf Jan 2013 #11

Don't get what? GeorgeGist Jan 2013 #57

God damn. Be careful. Stinky The Clown Jan 2013 #12

Here: AgingAmerican Jan 2013 #13

So are those deficits from Bush tax cuts going to morph into deficits from Obama tax cuts? dkf Jan 2013 #15

Thats the past drivers of the current debt as it stands today. Future deficit projections phleshdef Jan 2013 #23

And the tax cuts got us here AgingAmerican Jan 2013 #48

They don't go away because unemployment is currently a far bigger problem than the deficit. bornskeptic Jan 2013 #58

Tax cuts do nothing to help employment AgingAmerican Jan 2013 #64

Hogwash. More than half of medicare costs are paid directly by beneficiaries. HiPointDem Jan 2013 #20

Wrong. phleshdef Jan 2013 #25

When you look at a budget, the amounts are fungible. Igel Jan 2013 #35

weasel-language. HiPointDem Jan 2013 #38

Explain what 'biggest driver of our deficit' means.... TheProgressive Jan 2013 #29

+1 HiPointDem Jan 2013 #43

Try a dictionary. phleshdef Jan 2013 #59

So,you have no idea - you just repeat what others say... TheProgressive Jan 2013 #60

LOL. Wow what a powerful argument! phleshdef Jan 2013 #62

The "aging population and the rising cost of health care" littlemissmartypants Jan 2013 #2

His words were: HiPointDem Jan 2013 #50

Probably Part D. Lone_Star_Dem Jan 2013 #4

And Part B-Doctors and outpatient care. dkf Jan 2013 #14

That is a falsehood. More than half of *all* medicare costs are paid by workers, through direct HiPointDem Jan 2013 #22

The payroll tax is only for part A. dkf Jan 2013 #26

... HiPointDem Jan 2013 #28

I am specifically addressing the part that we have paid into all our working careers... dkf Jan 2013 #46

Workers pay for close to 60% of ALL MEDICARE COSTS COMBINED. HiPointDem Jan 2013 #51

But Part B is paid for by recipients. It's cost is deducted from SS checks. nt brush Jan 2013 #37

That covers 25% of the cost of part b. Mostly it comes from the general fund. dkf Jan 2013 #45

It's a great article--worth the time from the local Austin, TX, rag. amandabeech Jan 2013 #19

Dunno about active duty or Tricare, but... TreasonousBastard Jan 2013 #21

yea, I just listened to it, those are exact words quinnox Jan 2013 #5

They shouldn't deny it. He said it. He has been saying it for years. And its 100% true. phleshdef Jan 2013 #7

He has said this since he started running for President in 2007 kaiserhog Jan 2013 #8

He did, because it's a fact frazzled Jan 2013 #10

Well, I certainly hope your second to the last sentence is true. senseandsensibility Jan 2013 #16

Bush Policies are the biggest drivers of the deficits AgingAmerican Jan 2013 #18

That is presuming nothing has or will have changed frazzled Jan 2013 #24

Subtracting the wars AgingAmerican Jan 2013 #47

That is the chart I have always used -- it draws a very clear picture, doesn't it? Samantha Jan 2013 #30

Defense spending is 19% of the combined federal budget. Medicare spending funded from general HiPointDem Jan 2013 #31

Asset (Wealth) tax to pay for defense? exboyfil Jan 2013 #34

You need to throw Medicaid in with Medicare, and include the impact of ACA. Hoyt Jan 2013 #56

I believe it's not about the portion of the budget represented frazzled Jan 2013 #63

End of life care is crazy expensive for a lot of people. Lots of elderly die in ICUs mucifer Jan 2013 #17

DEATH PANELS!!!!!! exboyfil Jan 2013 #36

He said he is willing to make cuts in ways that do not cut benefits Samantha Jan 2013 #27

you realize that these cuts for 'waste' and 'redundancy' have been ongoing, right? how much HiPointDem Jan 2013 #32

There's tons of waste jeff47 Jan 2013 #39

I'm all for that. I doubt it will ever happen; things are the way they are to ASSIST pharma in HiPointDem Jan 2013 #40

We'll see. jeff47 Jan 2013 #42

yes, indeed, we'll see. HiPointDem Jan 2013 #44

That is the place to start in the new year exboyfil Jan 2013 #41

Yes, I do realize that and I should have included fraud Samantha Jan 2013 #61

Medicaid Long Term Care exboyfil Jan 2013 #33

We need the system France has...100% best system in the universe...but graham4anything Jan 2013 #52