Obama's proposal tomorrow...

[Modern_Matthew]

1.5 trillion in new tax revenue.

Allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire.

$250 billion reduction in Medicare spending, eligibility age remains the same.

"Administration officials said 90 percent of the $248 billion in 10-year Medicare cuts would be squeezed from service providers. The plan does shift some additional costs to beneficiaries, but those changes would not start until 2017, and administration officials made clear as well that Obama would veto any Medicare cuts that aren't paired with tax increases on upper-income people."

$72 billion reduction from Medicaid/other health programs.

Savings of $1 trillion from the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.

No changes to Social Security at all.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_DEFICITS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-18-23-33-29

[eleny]

1. If those tax cuts expire DU is going to rock like a bacchanal

[SugarShack]

2. Even if rich pay, you cut benefits from those who NEED them???

So what if the rich pay their fair share. Obama is asking seniors who are not rich to pay more in 2017.

DU will be rocking?????

What are you on?

[Firebrand Gary]

6. So we have until 2017 to tackle this issue.

[Firebrand Gary]

3. The beauty is that health care reform act has the ability to pick up these medicare reductions.

[SugarShack]

5. He should not make medicare cuts until his healthplan is safe. not until 2014 if not overturned

[Firebrand Gary]

8. Medicare cuts are coming from the provider. 2017 is plenty of time to adjust.

[SugarShack]

11. Time to "adjust"? What have we ever gotten back what we have lost?

[Firebrand Gary]

16. So let me understand you?

You would say no deal to this? The cuts come from providers, but the few cost that are shifted to seniors are un-acceptable. Then seniors need to support candidates who are going to vote their interest in 2012, 2014 and 2016. We are one nation, not just the progressive nation. We progressives cannot do this lifting on our own, seniors need to show up and help us fight for THEIR interest.

Medicare, no matter which way you slice it, is a massive expense and growing.

[InkAddict]

21. Few costs? I lost my job due to the mandated EMR legislation

Supposedly the job went to Connecticut, but I'm thinkin' India in reality, LOL. It's hard to know where those digital 0s and 1s go, huh? Though I have some college, a low-octane degree, what shall I retrain for at my age, just short of early retirement that will be based on a PT balanced lifestyle of work w/children sans paid childcare costs of pre-school or nanny.

Spouse is now nearing 99er status. We need to bring those jobs back but fat chance of that, I'm told. At a recent interview, he learned the young, soon-to-be-married Account Manager was most recently a nanny for a married co-worker who thought she'd be a perfect "fit" for this slot...really? She had not yet even graduated from college where she was majoring in Early Child Development. Hello? She had absolutely NO business experience. Hmmmmm...inquiring minds...nevermind.

Following up with another consultant opportunity, he was told that although the callee wasn't in office, the callee's office smelled really bad. LOL. Does business even care how their company is represented anymore? But we're the ones that can't find good jobs...Maybe they're not good jobs, so anyone will do? It's terrifying and sad this is what now passes for the best and brightest while we are called office slugs and considered to be fully depreciated resources ready for the heap.

An with what, pray tell, will I pay for that mandated HC policy, even if it is subsidized? Good looks on grannies? I gotta get a 2-year re-training certificate to even work in that daycare slot (see above) but not without a trip to the salon, which I can't afford either at this point. I don't think I'd qualify for bridge-building.

There is also still that modest mortgage-sized debt our government was only too happy to guarantee so our kids could get their feet in the doors -- too bad they did not first check w/the corporations plans about those offshore/H1B plans to reduce and entry-level salary/benefit costs, huh?

Save it, I'd rather die quickly than live in their system of repossesion and greed, and I see no incentive at all at this point to give up smoking cigarettes to live longer and reduce consumer costs that wind up directly in the CEO's bonus plan. One thing is certain besides death and taxes: all, all of the unemployed are getting older; even a 26-year-old can have multi-year unemployed parents or get a high-cost terminal disease or a serous injury. You can't make them hire you in this environment of volatility.

[me b zola]

12. Its beyond disgusting to see the push to privatize medicare on DU

:grr: :nuke: :argh:

[Firebrand Gary]

15. Who's talking about privatizing medicare?

[BeyondGeography]

4. It's a no brainer, America

Run with it.

[FarLeftFist]

7. This is about as Left-Wing as a proposal as possible in this political climate.

I like it. Don't love it. But this combined with the Jobs Bill could be a great thing. I hope the reductions in Medicare are waste, fraud and abuse. Lot of Medicare scams out there ruining it for all.

[gateley]

9. Yeah, it's not what any of us would want if we could sit down

and compose it ourselves - but I agree, I'm much more optimistic about this than I was led to believe he would be presenting.

Cautiously optimistic, as they say. :7

[Mojambo]

14. +1.

I can live with this more easily than some of the other things he's proposed.

[Firebrand Gary]

17. I completely agree.

It's not my first choice but it's a start.

[WCGreen]

20. Agreed..

[girl gone mad]

10. Troubling.

I see that he's pushing implementation off until 2013. I hope this plan is just an election ploy.

[NBachers]

13. I support this

[lovemydog]

22. so do I

[dkf]

18. "Still, the White House considers passing the jobs bill far more pressing"

Good.

[quinnox]

19. this seems pretty good at first glance

But I doubt the republicans would go along with it.