Super Committee Democrats and Republicans Form Consensus over Medicare Cuts and Chained CPI

[jtown1123]

Nothing is official or agreed on yet, but it is outrageous Democrats are willing to cut Social Security a la Chained CPI and cut Medicare benefits...something the Republicans have always wanted to do.


From CBPP:

The new deficit-reduction plan from a majority of Democrats on the congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the "supercommittee") marks a dramatic departure from traditional Democratic positions — and actually stands well to the right of plans by the co-chairs of the bipartisan Bowles-Simpson commission and the Senate's "Gang of Six," and even further to the right of the plan by the bipartisan Rivlin-Domenici commission. The Democratic plan contains substantially smaller revenue increases than those bipartisan proposals while, for example, containing significantly deeper cuts in Medicare and Medicaid than the Bowles-Simpson plan. The Democratic plan features a substantially higher ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases than any of the bipartisan plans.

Link: http://www.cbpp.org/files/10-28-11bud.pdf

From Washington Post:

Rival deficit-cutting plans advanced by Republicans and Democrats on Congress’ secretive supercommittee would both mean smaller-than-expected cost of living benefit increases for veterans and federal retirees as well as Social Security recipients and bump up taxes for some individuals and families, according to officials familiar with the recommendations.

Link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/health-care/pelosi-shies-from-medicare-social-security-cuts-as-republicans-democrats-swap-deficit-offers/2011/10/27/gIQADdfJMM_story.html

And a great piece from RJ Eskow:

Wanna See a Real Ass Kicking (Itself)? Read the Dems' "Super Committee" Proposal-HUFFINGTON POST.

Representatives from the "party of the people" want to cut Medicare and Social Security, and they're looking for bragging rights on who'd cut government more in a time of need. If the regular folks' party is trying to impose this much pain on the elderly, poor, and disabled, what's the rich people's party going to do: sacrifice babies in Times Square on live television?

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/wanna-see-an-ass-kicking_b_1063022.html

[woo me with science]

1. "...marks a dramatic departure from traditional Democratic positions"

No shit.

This is what happens when corporations are permitted to buy parties.

[BadgerKid]

2. But what about Presidential veto?

I'm not particularly hopeful, but it's a possibility.

[woo me with science]

3. He has been pushing for this all along.

He is the one who put cuts on the table in the first place.

[anamandujano]

11. Don't you love those "if we lose the election" threads.

I'd be so scared that the R-Pukes would be running the country instead of the D-Pukes, like now.

[woo me with science]

10. A reminder of the chain of events leading to this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1660734&mesg_id=1661130

[BrendaBrick]

12. I think that it is a possibility

and probably a good strategic move to veto if it comes down to that!

[Rex]

4. They can do this, because we only have two choices in America.

Why is it our 'leaders' love diversity, but hate it when it involves politics? Two parties are easily bought off by the Billionaire Brigade. Probably be that way with 20 too.

[Javaman]

8. +1

the super committee has always been a sham.

all this half wit committee allows is the deferring to them a pile of shit, that our otherwise, behind the scenes politicians, were going to do anyway.

It give the faux smoke screen to those who are really doing the cuts an excuse to blame someone else.

If this were being done by congress, people would be pissed off, but only those paying attention will be pissed off while the majority of the mouth breathers in our society will just get mad at the committee rather than the over arching fucked up system that is promoting this.

What really insults me is the pseudo hand wringing and bullshit "serious" looks on their faces as if this really matters to them.

they walk away scott free while we the people get fucked once again.

I don't call congress and it's studio players retarded kabuki theater for nothing.

[asjr]

5. That's what happens when CongressPeople

outsource their jobs to a Super Committee.

[daa]

6. The only thing I want to know is who is going to vote for

the dems? Just leave the cuts to Ryan, who needs dems..

[hootinholler]

7. So what did they get for it?

Apparently lower taxes than they would have been.

W. T. F.

[jtown1123]

9. They may get some insulting tax loopholes closed that should never have existed

in the first place...victory for Democrats!!//sarcasm. Vomit.

[blindpig]

13. What's it gonna take...

for people to realize that a party of capitalism will primarily serve the capitalists?

[karynnj]

14. Words of caution

Every one of these articles is based on speculation. You can find the very bare bones quotes from anonymous staff about the Baucus proposal made to the committee. None have the specificity that you can say what the cuts actually are. In fact, I suspect that the idea that the chained index is there is because a staffer said that the Medicare cuts do not reflect what the Senators' positions might be, but they are things that Obama agreed to - and there is no increase in age.

Now, I did see one other thing that actually might indicate the Democrats are moving in a different, better direction on Medicare. On Blue Mass, a MA state Senator posted a letter that he and several other state Senators signed that lobbied Kerry not to agree to a plan that would lower the drug costs for the dual elibgibles (ie qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid) to those of Medicaid.

This was an idea brought up back when the Finance committee was debating the Healthcare bill. Bill Nelson proposed that they could save the government and people a lot of money if they forced the drug companies to provide the drugs for the dual eligibles at the lower Medicaid price. Several Democrats, including Kerry, really liked the idea, but it failed in committee as Carper and Menendez joined the Republicans in defeating it.

One Blue Mass poster found that similar letters were written in PA papers targeting Toomey and in Texas papers. (Link to thread: http://bluemassgroup.com/2011/10/letter-sent-from-massachusetts-legislators-to-u-s-senator-john-kerry/ )

My thought - if big pharma is organizing appeals in ads and from local legislators, this is an idea under consideration.

It seems that it might make more sense for Democratic interest and policy organizations to be lobbying the Senators - as Big Pharma clearly is. The difference being they have the high ground. This seems better than stating what as yet undefined plans are. Now, it could be that I am totally wrong and they had sources beyond the claimed source of getting all this from the news accounts.

You might get a better idea of the members' positions actually watching the open hearing. http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/JointDef

[jtown1123]

16. Groups will be lobbying Senators because they have clearly gone rogue here.

I've watched every Super Committee hearing to date. What these people say in hearings is meaningless. The offer vague platitudes about their commitments to seniors and social programs while in the same breath spouting Pete Peterson deficit bond market nonsense. Groups will be lobbying Senators. Pelosi is furious with this Baucus proposal.

I hope I'm wrong...we'll know soon enough what this group may or may not come up with. I prefer to push back hard against any cuts...regardless who claims they support these programs.

[karynnj]

18. Believe me I think it is incredibly important to push back on cuts

I actually think that the committee has an impossible task. The Republicans came in saying no tax increases and Kyl further ruled out any military cuts. This leaves no possible reasonable solution.

Who was speaking Pete Peterson deficit bond nonsense?

I hope that the actual details are better than the leaked suggestions - I was encouraged that Big Pharma was clearly trying to protect its interests - rather than have part of the solution come from better negotiations on Medicare drugs. What do you mean by the Senators "going rogue" here - it certainly does not look or sound that way to me.

Part of the problem is that unlike the earlier groups, they essentially have the consequence of major cuts across the board if they don't get a solution - and that trigger hurts the democrats more than the Republicans.

[jtown1123]

23. What part of the trigger hurts Democrats more? The trigger is better than anything else at this

juncture.

I am referring to Baucus as going rogue with this proposal. Pelosi was NOT happy with it. Who knows if Reid was privy to it.

Patty Murray is concerned about the bond markets...which is Pete Peterson bs nonsense. It is very alarming that she has been convinced cutting Social Security and Medicare is the only way to "appease" these markets.

[karynnj]

24. The trigger cuts all the discretionary spending

The Republicans think they can pass a bill that eliminates the cuts to the military - and they may be right. Democrats would then be forced to be the ones voting to do those cuts and it plays into that whole Democrats are weaker on defense meme. It is not likely that a similar bill could pass that undoes the cuts to the non- defense discretionary spending - and that cuts many programs that help people. (There is no similar pressure on the republicans.) I do think that it might be possible to have both sides prevent cuts to Medicare, but that would be a gamble (Medicaid and SS were protected in the original bill - it seemed odd that Medicaid, not Medicare was protected.)

[JoePhilly]

15. Didn't the GOP members already REJECT this proposal????

[jtown1123]

17. Yes. But the issue remains there are things that appear in both proposals

doesn't take a whiz to figure out what their compromise will ultimately entail...draconian cuts to entitlements with few minor tax loopholes closed, which should have never existed in the first place. Hey kids, the Republicans agreed to new revenue! Not really.

[JoePhilly]

19. I doubt it.

The GOP is so screwed up, it won't agree to anything. Which is the point.

The Dems put something on the table, the GOP screams NO. And if the GOP says ok, we like that (which we all know they won't), then Dems can say ok, now you give something ... which the GOP won't do.

The GOP wants NOTHING to happen.

And so sure, we should scream at the Dems who put this up, but we should also recognize the political side of it.

The Dems make a "grand offer" ... the GOP says "NO!!"

[jtown1123]

22. I think the GOP wants a deal. All they need is for one weak Democrat to vote for their plan

They would rather not have the automated defense cuts go through...however, even McCain has said the next Congress will just overturn them so who knows. It's a shit show.

[stillwaiting]

29. Just like with the health care deal right?

This is big. Cuts to the Big 3 are something that the Republicans have wanted for a very, very long time.

And this could not be happening without the Democratic Party's support.

I think we're about to see a mind fuck of immense proportions that is going to make most liberals furious (what's new?).

I see one of two things happening here:

1. The Republicans will have a few "traitors" vote for the Democratic plan ensuring its passage. Then the Republican Party can blame the Democrats for the cuts to the Big 3 (at which point the Democratic Party should fade to the pages of our history books).

OR

2. The two parties know that the overwhelming majority of Americans do not support cutting the Big 3 so they agree to share the responsibility close to 50/50. There will be sizable minorities of both parties that LOUDLY object to the plan (so that Americans can believe they have representation in Washington), but near equal numbers of BOTH Republicans and Democrats will vote to pass the bill. In effect, this will hopefully open up even more people's eyes to the kabuki theater being perpetrated against us.

I'd bet on #2 right now.

We have a lot of work to do.

[woo me with science]

20. This deal is sweeter. Dems have significantly upped the percentage of Medicare cuts

that will directly hit beneficiaries. Now it's half.

[redqueen]

21. K&R

*sigh*

[woo me with science]

25. "Representatives," my ass.

[Enthusiast]

26. They know it.

They know they are going against the wishes of the American people.

This is no longer a representative democracy.

We should all be in the streets. We will be in the streets, eventually, anyway.

[woo me with science]

27. You are absolutely right.

The committee and the process were was all planned, carefully, to minimize citizen pushback.

The pushback has only just begun.

[Scuba]

28. That's because they're all really Republicans. No real Democrat would support this....

... do they think we can still afford the tax rebates to Exxon and GE?

[blkmusclmachine]

30. Occupy DC