Who thinks raising the Medicare eligibility age and paring down cola in SS is a good idea?

[theophilus]

Anybody?

Well, I don't. I think we should allow all to buy in to Medicare or Medicaid and I think Social Security needs to be adjusted if things go up in price like energy and food, etc. Just my opinion.

[Richardo]

1. I don't think anybody thinks it's a *good* idea...

...including those who floated it. Such is the nature of negotiations.

[SharonAnn]

6. We should lower the Medicare age and increase Social Security payments.

[defendandprotect]

12. Exactly -- New Deal was one of the greatest stimulus programs ever put in place ... why destroy it?

And it has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the budget --

Only connection is that the huge surplusses which Social Security was forced

to raise based on "baby boom" BS -- $250 BILLION every year -- was used as

slush fund by elites for tax cuts for rich and wars --


The debt isn't the crisis that Obama/GOP are making it out to be --

OUR REAL PROBLEM IS UNEMPLOYMENT -- AND TRADE AGREEMENTS SUCKING JOBS OUT OF AMERICA --

AND OBAMA HAS JUST GIVEN US THREE NEW TRADE AGREEMENTS!!



We have a depression going on in America -- 23,000 more just laid off --

And the elites at the FED aren't providing any new stimulus --

and elected Democrats are SILENT again on this one --

WE NEED TO OVERTURN THE ENTIRE CONGRESS -- BOTH PARTIES --

Move out the right wingers -- move liberals in to defend a people's government and

safety nets!!

[JDPriestly]

15. Right.

[theophilus]

21. I tend to agree. Good points that need attention from all of us.

[elleng]

8. Right-o. Glad to see some understanding of things here!

[lumberjack_jeff]

18. No, the people who floated it think it's a good idea.

A far better idea than ending the wars, cutting the military budget or raising taxes on millionaires.

[Me.]

2. Pols In DC

Whose pensions are secure

[Cleita]

3. Apparently the Washington D. C. establishment does.

Of course they aren't dependent on those things. If they were, you would see legislation favoring those programs fly through both houses with no problems.

[sabrina 1]

4. I think SS benefits should be increased. The money is there

and there would be no better way to stimulate the economy as people with that little money are going to spend it.

So RAISE SS BENEFITS and help the economy.

Cutting them, otoh, would only INCREASE the debt. The extra money would go into the SS fund, NOT towards the deficit, so it certainly won't help reduce it. Then, the Corporate raiders and war mongers will borrow again from the fund, and that will RAISE the debt.

Who do they think they are kidding?

[B Calm]

23. Bingo! Also lower the retirement age to 60 for SS and MC

[handmade34]

5. I see a need for tweaking

as time changes all things... but what is being bantered about is ludicrous

[begin_within]

7. We should open up Medicare to anyone who wants to pay into it.

The more people are paying into Medicare, the more money it has and the more financially sound it will be. Younger people tend to have lower medical care costs than elderly people. So, younger people adding more money to the system, and making fewer claims, means a more stable, strong and sound system. So just open it up to anyone. Social Security should be a basic governmental service independent of political pressures.

[defendandprotect]

16. Yes -- and Clinton tried to open it to 57 year olds -- we need to do that ... and keep

accepting those of younger age groups until we have everyone covered --

except we should put kids in immediately --

MEDICARE FOR ALL -- We should all be wearing buttons every day calling for that --

[begin_within]

20. I actually gave up my private health insurance this year.

I'm 51 and I would gladly buy into Medicare. My former private insurance (Blue Sheild of California) wanted me to start paying $800 every 3 months for the premium, for coverage which sucked: $2900 deductible, $40 office visits, copayment for everything, only generic prescriptions, and even then a copayment for prescriptions. Lousy coverage and they jacked up the price to boot. I walked away from it. My doctor bills me less for office visits than he would have billed my insurance, because they save the cost of billing them now that I just pay directly. And I buy generic prescriptions at Costco for about $10/month for medication. It's actually cheaper for me to not have private health insurance. But I would gladly buy into Medicare if they would just go ahead and open it up to anyone. Private health insurance is a scam and there needs to be a public alternative.

[defendandprotect]

24. Great problem for all of us --

especially those with pre-existing conditions -- that's where it really hurts.

I would presume that when the Democrats had control --

Presidency, Senate and House they could have done it --

but it seems Obama's been more concerned with trying to suggest that the GOP is

running the show and he's just along for the ride --


It's pretty much over!!

[aquart]

9. It's a horrible idea. Evil, even.

[Faryn Balyncd]

10. Barack Obama and the "Democratic" leadership

[BeFree]

11. Just your opinion? (grin)

Well, Sir, or Mam, rest assured that anybody with any sense at all would be damn proud to acquire as much!

[PATRICK]

13. Regressive in too many ways

It hurts the economy and the spirit of the nation and by the numbers does probably more harm than "savings" could off balance. It puts terrible things on a balance against the human, just as pitiless as weak Dems juxtaposed with a horrid over representation of criminal profiteers. There is no balance in such a horror. It is NOT that people are selfish angry and scared. It is that they have a right, even duty to be, because all there work and lives and being are supposedly locked away in bank vaults until we pay more human potential/misery into the puffed up empty values.

The balloons must be refilled with blood?

Any reductions put Americans into the disorganized burden of still catching people falling through the net, all citizens benefiting less from the flow of capital back into society and having the arduous task of rebuilding the sane world all over again anyway. Or just dying as slaves to spirited away dollars.

[gateley]

14. We all think as you do, but I sure don't see it happening any

time soon.

[Warren DeMontague]

17. I think we should cut defense in half, end the drug war, legalize and TAX marijuana

and adopt a Single Payer Medicare-For-All Health Care System. Oh, and repeal the Bush tax cuts and institute an even higher marginal rate for those making over 7 figures per year.

THEN we can run the numbers, including the additional savings of not having the for-profit insurance industry adding a 20-30% surcharge to our overall health care costs... if we still can't pay for Social Security after that, well, I would be quite surprised.

[Lorien]

19. Seems reasonable to me

but you're probably not being "pragmatic" enough to the corporate class.

[B Calm]

22. Lieberman and Obama