Obama To Discuss Inequality With Pope Francis In March

[ProSense]

104. Wait

He has often appointed advisers and other high officials who come from the same Elitist and Corporate Swamp that has caused these problems. The same Wall St. Crowd that brought us financial deregulation, the same lobbyists who have screwed over the media, the same...etc.

...what does your opinion of his advisers have to do with policy? The President signed pushed for and enacted financial regulation.

There is no question that Dodd-Frank was a strong bill—the strongest in three generations. http://www.warren.senate.gov/files/documents/AFR%20Roosevelt%20Institute%20Speech%202013-11-12.pdf

He threw truly universal health care under the bus, did not even support the public option and put in place a system that further enslaves us to the health insurance industry.

So he shouldn't discuss inquality because the health care law didn't go far enough? I'd say providing tens of millions of Americans with access to health care, expanding Medicaid, qualifies as addressing a critical related issue.

ACA Signups: KA-POW!! Medicaid Overhaul Posted, CA Updated, Grand Total approaches 12M!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024368026

He floated the idea of a chained CPI to SS, and has bought into the whole Austerity Uber Alles mantra of the conservatives.

OK, now you're saying talk matters, your citing a proposal that hasn't been enacted, and likely never will be. As it stands now, the President strengthened the safety net.

MEDICARE’S FINANCIAL CONDITION

Medicare’s financial condition is measured in several ways, including the solvency of the Part A Trust Fund, the annual growth in spending, and growth in spending on a per capita basis. Average annual growth in total Medicare spending is projected to be 6.6% between 2010 and 2019, but 3.5% on a per capita basis (assuming no reduction in physician fees).

The Part A Trust Fund is projected to be depleted in 2024— eight years longer than in the absence of the health reform law—at which point Medicare would not have sufficient funds to pay full benefits, even though revenue flows into the Trust Fund each year. Part A Trust Fund solvency is affected by growth in the economy, which directly affects revenue from payroll tax contributions, and by demographic trends: an increasing number of beneficiaries, especially between 2010 and 2030 when the baby boom generation reaches Medicare eligibility age, and a declining ratio of workers per beneficiary making payroll contributions (Figure 4).

http://www.kff.org/medicare/upload/7305-06.pdf

The ACA increased the Medicaid rebate percentage.
http://www.medicaid.gov/AffordableCareAct/Timeline/Timeline.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024309532#post2

He has negotiated bad trade agreements and is now trying to push through an awful one, the TPP.

This is, again, an opinion without evidence. I mean, you say they're bad, but can you point to the effects? Also, the TPP hasn't even seen the light of day yet. I understand protesting the potential negatives (http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024365795#post24) in the proposal, but it has yet to impact anything.

I'd feel a lot better about him if he was consistent in favor of liberal/progressive goals and his deeds matched his rhetoric more often.

Given your objections, that's never going to happen.