Bernie Sanders Cracks The CODED THREAT To Entitlements In Obama’s State Of The Union [View all]

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"..Bernie Sanders gave President Obama good marks for his State Of The Union address, but he also warned about coded language in the speech that hinted at cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

SCHULTZ: Where was he weak tonight?


SEN. SANDERS: Well, I’ll tell you where he was weak. I get nervous when the president talks about working with republicans about reforming entitlement programs. You know what that really means? Let’s be frank, that means cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid


SCHULTZ: Are they come someday?


SEN. SANDERS: If he proposes that, I will be leading the opposition against that. Social Security has not contributed one nickel to the deficit because it’s funded by the payroll tax, has a $2.5 trillion surplus, I will defend to –


SCHULTZ: He didn’t say that tonight?


SEN. SANDERS: He didn’t say it, but its code language out there. When you work with Republicans to reform entitlement programs, that’s the code word.


SCHULTZ: Was he not strong enough on the big three tonight?


SEN. SANDERS: Of course he was not strong enough. He should have gotten up there and said, you know what, in the midst of a terrible recession, I promise you we are not going to cut one nickel of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. We are going to move toward deficit reduction, we are going to do it in a way that is fair and responsible. Ask the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes and end these absurd corporate loopholes.

Sen. Sanders gave the president a good grade for his State Of The Union address. President Obama does seem to have a weakness for buying into the Republican desire to change and kill Social Security and Medicare. There is no reason for Social Security to be included in any talks about possible cuts. Discussions on Social Security should begin with means testing and raising the taxable income cap. As more Americans enter the system, there will be a greater strain placed on Social Security in the decades to come. Both programs will remain solvent into the 2030s. There should be no urgency to cut entitlements right now. A plan to maintain the long term solvency of these programs is what will be needed.



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http://www.politicususa.com/en/bernie-sanders-obama-sotu


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