Exclusive: Democrats seek up to $3 trillion in budget savings

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Democrats are proposing $2.5 trillion to $3 trillion in measures to reduce the budget deficit, including revenue increases and significant cuts to Medicare, congressional aides told Reuters.

The plan was unveiled on Tuesday at a closed-door meeting of a special 12-member congressional panel, the so-called "super committee" that is tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.

It was the first formal proposal by Democrats on the committee and is aimed at galvanizing talks that are quickly running up against a November 23 deadline.

The congressional aides did not say why Democrats were proposing such a big deal, but Democratic congressional leaders have repeatedly called on the committee to go beyond its mandate to fix the country's fiscal mess.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/26/us-usa-debt-supercommittee-democrats-idUSTRE79P5AR20111026

[Arctic Dave]

1. But don't touch the MIC budget. NOOOO, never!

That would crash the system.

[zbdent]

2. Don't forget ... if it doesn't outright outlaw abortion ...

the Republicans won't approve of it ...

[StarsInHerHair]

35. then I would outlaw "abortion" & redefine it so it stays legal

I'm tired of so-called Dems NOT passing pre-emptive laws to protect all birth control & abortion rights-why isn't this being done in "blue states"?

[woo me with science]

42. +1000000 Representatives, my ass.

[okieinpain]

3. sounds smart to me. n/t.

[jeff47]

7. You should have your hearing checked. (nt)

[Lil Missy]

12. agreed. rebubs won't agree to anything, so it behooves Dems to shoot for the moon. n/t

[Kolesar]

4. Not much to "go on" there

Very sketchy

[DrDan]

5. medicare benefits cuts - aaaaargh

[defendandprotect]

32. Thanks, Obama --- !!! No one has an elderly parent to worry about -- !!!

[totodeinhere]

6. Democrats propose around $400 billion in Medicare savings, with half coming in benefit cuts and

and the other half in cuts to health care providers. These are super committee Democrats proposing this, not the Republicans. You would expect the Republicans to propose something like this, but now the Democrats are doing their dirty work for them. And the cuts to providers will merely be passed on to other patients in the form of rate increases, so in effect it is really $400 billion in cuts to patients.

This is not what I expect from my Democratic representatives in Congress. I think it's time to throw them all out, Republicans and corporate Democrats alike.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/26/super-committee-democrats_n_1032811.html

[Hell Hath No Fury]

14. Agreed.

Time to give ALL the fuckers the boot, regardless of Party. :mad:

[No Elephants]

44. Throw who out? The Republicarats or the Demlicans?

Getting what I would consider real Democrats into office will be very hard.

First, the current head of the Party is a New Democrat.

Second, those who pick candidates for the House and the Senate pick centrists. (Rahm had the job for the House a few years ago. You can be sure he did not anoint liberals.)

Third, the head of the DNC controls a lot when it comes to elections, including the purse strings to donations to the Party. And, thanks to President Obama, the last two heads of the DNC have been centrist (at best).

Fourth, the President and the head of the DNC are pretty much in control of which Democrats campaign for whom, in both primaries and the general election.

Fifth, ACORN is gone.

Sixth, If all else fails, there are always the voting machines and other election "strategies."

[Name removed]

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[SkyDaddy7]

9. Will Republicans come around to tax increases?

HELL NO THEY WON'T!

[Name removed]

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[Yupster]

36. No - I don't even think the Supercommittee

will end up with any proposal that can even be voted on.

The whole thing was just one more turn of the game "kick the problem down the road."

[SkyDaddy7]

39. If they don't then at least there will be...

sizable military cuts that will go into effect. It won't be a total loss.

[Yupster]

40. No there won't

There will be a third option.

Congress will pass a short term continuing resolution with a few spending cuts which will cancel the Supercommittee and it may happen a couple of times and then it will all be folded into next year's budget talks.

They'll just do nothing and kick the problem down the road again.

[SkyDaddy7]

53. No, they can't pass a short term deal...

It is LAW & it can only play out in one of 3 ways

There are 3 possibilities...

1. Super Congress comes up with at least 1.5 Trillion in deficit reduction & Congress passes it.

2. Super Congress comes up with at least 1.5 Trillion in deficit reduction & Congress rejects it...Then they must vote the House Balanced Budget Amendment which won't pass the Senate...The 1.2 Trillion in automatic cuts kick in.

3.Super Congress comes up with at least 1.5 Trillion in deficit reduction & Congress rejects it...Then they must vote the House Balanced Budget Amendment...And it passes. (But it won't)

The 1.2 Billion in automatic cuts half of which is defense cuts.

[Yupster]

55. Congress will just pass a new law

changing the terms of the old law.

Congress can do anything it wants.

They will pass a law repealig the early law, extending a continuing resolution and detailing a small amount of budget cuts.

Just my prediction.

[SkyDaddy7]

57. Obama would not sign it...

He has already said so.

[Yupster]

59. Yeah - he'll cut medicare $ 600 billion

that's likely.

[SkyDaddy7]

62. Still have not figured out why you folks say that...

Just because Obama said everything was on the table does not mean he is going to kill Medicare or SS. Both programs could use some cleaning up that would not hurt benefits. To say they need nothing is just wrong & puts both in risk.

The rich need to pay more into both which Obama has said he would like to see.

I swear it is almost like you want Obama to kill Medicare?

[femrap]

10. Tax the

fucking RICH. I paid into SS and I want my damn money back. Plus I paid taxes. Tax the fucking Corporations. Legalize Pot and tax it. Stop the MIC.

Problem solved. No need to squash the Former Middle Class and Poor anymore. We're already toast...w/ nothing left to lose. OWS was only a matter of time.

May the Rich know the meaning of hunger.

[Name removed]

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[femrap]

19. The SS Trust

Fund is just a bunch of Treasury bills, notes and bonds....just more debt....all guaranteed by the 'Full Faith and Credit of the US Gov't.'

We finance everything, including wars, through debt.

Your effort needs to be toward those who are enrolling in the military. And in a bad economy, the military is more than filling all of its quotas.

No one stole SS funds....just replaced w/ debt.

The question is, "WILL THE US GOV'T HONOR ITS DEBT TO CHINA AND NOT TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO WORKED AND DEPOSITED THEIR OWN MONEY TO THE SS SYSTEM????" China has the same Treasury bills, notes and bonds.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

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[femrap]

27. Listen, you

really need to educate yourself a bit about financial investments.

A 401K plan is offered by a worker's corporate employer. You can contribute to it. Usually the company contributes to it as well....but fewer and fewer are.

It is up to the worker to decide what to invest in. Most of the time a Mutual Fund company offers different funds....stocks, bonds, etc. It is up to the worker to switch among those funds when the economy changes.

No one can steal your 401K...but its value can certainly fluctuate given what an employee has invested in....and IF there is a Money Market Fund which is stable.

The only one who can borrow from a 401K is the person who owns it.

If you don't understand something, google it or ask....don't try to BS. People on DU are more than willing to answer questions.

[Name removed]

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[femrap]

31. Good

luck to you. Less than 100 posts and you've hit my Ignore List. buh-bye.

Go visit a OWS and get your head on straight.

[alp227]

34. heard on NPR that Republicans rejected this plan due to $1.5 million in TAX REVENUES

because they'd prefer keeping the government gagged under water

[Yupster]

37. Republicans can't accept tax increases

It's a non-starter.

They would lose their base and get swept out of office next election.

Remember George Bush Senior?

He didn't get 38 % when he ran for reelection because Democratic voters didn't like him. He lost his base because he raised taxes.

The Super Committee will make no prgress.

My prediction.

[No Elephants]

45. Please remind me: Why are Republican issues non starters while Democrats put everything on the

table?

How come only Republicans get to draw lines in the proverbial sand?

[Yupster]

56. Just my guess

Their voters punish them for going against the base.

We accept anything from our politicians and never kick anyone out of office. We rarely even primary them.

[TiberiusB]

17. Oh noes! Boomers!

The only money that should be taken out of Government right now should come from the Military or lobbyists.

First, claims about the impending demise of Medicare have been going around for 40 years.
Really.

Social Security has decades left, and is painfully easy to "fix" without cutting benefits as all, but that might involve making some well off people ever so slightly less well off, so no can do.

Is Medicare in trouble? Sure, but it's the current for-profit system that is breaking the bank, not government spending. Both Medicare and Social Security are also suffering from depressed tax revenue, thanks to the ongoing recession. Get the economy back on its feet and that problem vanishes. Of course, there is also the problem of massive income disparity in the U.S., but that's the subject of 2/3 of the posts at DU, so I won't belabor the point.

Embracing Medicare cuts should go a long way toward undermining Obama and the Democrats chances in 2012, which is ironic given the evidence that Medicare was panning out to be a tremendous wedge issue for the Dems.

[Name removed]

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[DrDan]

18. sounds like a RW talking point

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

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[DrDan]

24. wrong - I don't think that at all

Being fiscally responsible doesn't necessarily mean cutting medicare benefits for our seniors.

You can be fiscally responsible in more responsible ways - defense cuts, increase taxes appropriately, go after medicare fraud, etc.

[Name removed]

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[marasinghe]

30. nothing remotely resembling fiscal responsibility, in forcing workers to pay insurance premiums -

in the guise of FICA payroll taxes - and then cutting their benefits after those benefits have been prepaid for.

this is stealing by any definition. i'm no X'tian; but, i believe it was supposedly Jesus, quoted in the bible, who said that those stealing from the poor & downtrodden, create a primordial scream to heaven for vengeance.

these are times which call for storming the Bastille; nothing less. those on the wrong side of the equation will learn the error of their ways soon enough, when justice & retribution come a calling.

[No Elephants]

46. I am not familiar with the primordial scream verse. However, Jesus would

probably be down with it.

[Laelth]

11. Democrats lose when they try to out-Republican the Republicans.

Cut the Federal budget during a recession/depression?

This is plain stupid.

-Laelth

[Hell Hath No Fury]

13. Stupid on steriods.

And as usual, the cuts will go through, but not the revenue increases from the rich. :eyes:

[newspeak]

54. well, after little boot's increased the deficit at approximately 83%

while jobs were going down the shitter and hiring more corporate contractors doing government jobs (or like he says "his base) and allowing wall street to have a deregulatory field day, we knew his real job was to finally get rid of all those damned programs that help the undeserving plebes. It seems out to be working out quite nicely.

[SoapBox]

20. "...closed-door meeting..."

Nice.

Hiding behind doors...so that the 99% can't see what is going on.

And how about you NOT make "significant cuts to Medicare", but DO make cuts to "congressional aides".

[bvar22]

21. They are coming for your Social Security & Medicare...

..and they are going to get it too.
The "DEALS" have already been made.

Thats my problem with "Centrist" Democrats.
They agree with Republicans on Economic Issues.



Cherish Your Memories, SUCKERS!
Because we're TAKING Everything Else!
Hahahahahahahaha!


You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.
Solidarity99!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[alp227]

22. please grid lock, please grid lock, please grid lock!

geez, how did Kerry and Murray become so SPINELESS all of a sudden? the 2 santa claus theory in action!

[No Elephants]

47. I don't think they are being spineless. I think they are doing what they believe in.

Take that in any way you wish.

[AntiFascist]

33. The MIC is taking over half of our tax revenue...

but no one ever seems to talk about this.

[blackspade]

38. Wait, DEMOCRATS are proposing Medicare cuts?!

WTF?

[woo me with science]

41. Remember, our PRESIDENT offered 650 billion of SS, Medicare, and Medicaid cuts

way back in the spring. Now the Third Way Democrats on the Super Theft Committee are just taking Medicare even further.

This is what happens when Wall Street buys both political parties.

[blackspade]

43. I have been keeping up, thank you.

:eyes:

I was being facetious.

Having many knee jerk reactions lately?

[No Elephants]

49. Your post conveyed surprise, nothing else.

[blackspade]

52. So surprise warrants an attack, thanks for the tip.

[No Elephants]

60. What attack? You mean your snark at woo me with science for not being a mind reader?

[No Elephants]

48. I don't mean to be nosy, but where have you been for the past three years?

Obama talked to WAPO about cutting what he called "entitlements" a couple of weeks before his inauguration, then appointed the Cat Food Commission. And John Conyers said it was Obama, not Boehner or any other Republican, who put cuts to Medicare and Social Security on the table during the debt ceiling debacle.

[blackspade]

51. Seriously? Right here, in fact.

I guess my posting history is not enough for some folks.
Even if I wasn't aware of what has been done (or not done) over the last 3 years, there was no call to be denigrating to someone you know nothing about, especially when an helpful, educational post would have been more appropriate.

Next time I will use the proper smiley. :eyes:

But, just to be clear....

The assault on SS, Medicare, and the social safety net that has been the backbone of our society, by democrats, is unconscionable.
The fact that Obama, since his inauguration, has undermined the very social support network that befitted him and his rise to the presidency is a tragic reflection on the corrupting power of the 1% in this nation.

[No Elephants]

61. Let's review:

"blackspade (1000+ posts) Thu Oct-27-11 12:36 AM
Response to Original message
38. Wait, DEMOCRATS are proposing Medicare cuts?!
WTF?"


No indication at all in the above that you were being sarcastic. Maybe woo me with science and I failed to read your mind, but that is no reason to snark at her or at me or act like I ground you to a pulp. Neither of us were nasty to you, certainly not as nasty as your replies to us.


As far as an "educational post," it is not really wmws's job or mine to educate DU posters. That's why God made Google.


That said, wmws did give you substantive information very matter of factly, no intent to insult visible. So did I. So, you're welcome.

However, in response to the educational posts you claim were appropriate, you went off on wmws for allegedly being condescending and then on me for who knows what. Make up your mind, k?

If you think "I don't mean to be nosy, but where have you been" followed by a factual post trying to bring you up to date is a denigrating response to someone who appeared surprised to learn that Democrats are cutting Medicare, then I just don't know what to tell you.

FYI, "where have you been" is not a literal question about your activity at DU. It's a figure of speech meaning roughly, "I am surprised you don't this already."


As far as your posting history, it doesn't tell me much, except that maybe it will be a while before we run into each other again. And maybe you have a relative who registered here. but never posted.

It certainly doesn't tell me you've been right here for the past three years.

Blackspade

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blackspade08

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Thanks for playing, though.

[No Elephants]

50. I guess it's only fair that Democrats put something on the table.

Pelosi taking impeachment of Bush and Cheney off the table and then Obama took prosecution of Bushco off the table.

You can't just keep taking huge things off the table without at some point feeling compelled to put something on the table.

I just wish it wouldn't be things like fuel subsidies (which Obama already put on the table), Medicare or Social Security.

[Arugula Latte]

58. Here's a clue. Cut the fucking military.

When was the last time it was used for "defense"? ... World War II?