David Gregory said this morning that Medicare and Social Security contribute to debt

alp227

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Sun Jul-31-11 04:02 PM
Original message

David Gregory said this morning that Medicare and Social Security contribute to debt

But I thought that Social Security didn't have a damn thing to do with the deficit, so how could SS contribute to the debt? Gregory mentioned this while Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) today:

MR. GREGORY: Senator McCaskill, you were in your office yesterday. We have pictures of you on the phone talking to constituents. And you sent a tweet out in the day that caught my eye. "Just spent a couple of hours answering the phones in my office. Dominant message: Don't cut Social Security or Medicare, and compromise." And yet, the big fight we know right now is over the enforcement mechanism, again, more Washington talk. What it means is you cut a certain amount up front to raise the debt ceiling, and then there's a second stage of cuts that come; and there is this committee that tries to agree on those cuts. And if you don't do it over this 10-year span, something forces Congress' hand. So how do you not put Social Security benefits or Medicare benefits into that potential enforcement mechanism when they're what are driving the debt?

SEN. CLAIRE McCASKILL (D-MO): Well, I think you have to have a lot of faith that the American people are going to continue to weigh in. And, and here's the bottom line, this fight has not been about nothing. This hasn't just been political theater. There's a philosophical difference here on the Hill between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. And it's pretty simple: They have voted to keep giving taxpayer checks to big oil while they voted to convert the Medicare system to vouchers. Now, that doesn't compute for us. How can you be more willing to push money, public money, to the most profitable corporations in the history of the world at the same time you're willing to dismantle Medicare? So that's really the fight here. So if they're not willing to look at--and, you know, John and I agree that we can do tax reform and--but we can generate some revenues there by leveling the playing field, by lowering tax rates for businesses and individuals, but let's get away from the situation where the people who have power in Washington don't have to pay any taxes.

Gregory earlier asked White House adviser David Plouffe about possible SS/Medicare cuts:

MR. GREGORY: I want to be clear on what the president would accept. In terms of cuts, in the first state or the second stage, in other words, that--what's called in Washington a trigger, which means that whatever forces Congress' hands if they don't continue to cut government spending, something would happen. We know the president is open to tax increases automatically. Would he also accept a deal that would cut Social Security benefits or Medicare benefits if Congress doesn't act?

MR. PLOUFFE: Well, first of all, when you say open to tax increases, let's remember what the president's for: closing tax loopholes; making sure that millionaires and billionaires, large corporations, through tax reform contribute. What you see the Republican Party largely wanting to do is ask senior citizens, college students, the middle class to pay all the freight here. And people are outraged by that. Everyone's going to have to do their part here. So, in deficit reduction--and again, this next stage, the first stage is going to be some domestic spending cuts in Defense and non-Defense, that both parties largely can come to agreement on. Not easy, but a first stage. Second stage is going to be a discussion in Congress about things like tax reform and entitlement reform. Our view is things like Social Security and Medicaid, you know, they can't be part of the solution here unless you've got a balanced package that includes tax reform.

So is Gregory accurate in his assertion about SS contributing to the debt or is he advancing right-wing talking points? Please attack the idea if he's wrong.