What Obama had agreed to with Boehner (Medicare, Medicaid, SS...it's bad)

[CreekDog]

Medicare: Raising the eligibility age, imposing higher premiums for upper income beneficiaries, changing the cost-sharing structure, and shifting Medigap insurance in ways that would likely reduce first-dollar coverage. This was to generate about $250 billion in ten-year savings. This was virtually identical to what Boehner offered.

Medicaid: Significant reductions in the federal contribution along with changes in taxes on providers, resulting in lower spending that would likely curb eligibility or benefits. This was to yield about $110 billion in savings. Boehner had sought more: About $140 billion. But that’s the kind of gap ongoing negotiation could close.

Social Security: Changing the formula for calculating cost-of-living increases in order to reduce future payouts. The idea was to close the long-term solvency gap by one-third, although it likely would have taken more than just this one reform to produce enough savings for that.

http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/92539/obama-boehner-debt-ceiling-press-conference-concessions-revenue

Bluff or not, he's playing with fire --or worse, the fates of the most vulverable members of society.

Unconscionable.

[Enrique]

1. he'll get a lot of love if he can pull something like that off

lots of people on TV telling us how "courageous" it is. Including Al Sharpton.

[emulatorloo]

2. "imposing higher premiums for upper income beneficiaries"

Explain to me why this is bad. Seriously I don't get it. The wealthy can afford this.

[CreekDog]

4. turns it into a "welfare" program where the wealthy have no stake

and those who represent the wealthy try to gut it.

plus a bonus of the Republicans being able to truthfully say that Obama reduced their Medicare benefits.

[emulatorloo]

7. By that logic, the wealthy should pay less taxes then

"plus a bonus of the Republicans being able to truthfully say that Obama reduced their Medicare benefits"

Yes, the same way they try to claim "Obama raised your taxes"

[CreekDog]

8. No, they should contribute more in taxes...but you give them the same program

their income taxes should go up to support it.

[emulatorloo]

9. That's fair.

However you get back to the Republican claims that "Obama wants to Raise Your Taxes"

No Obama wants to raise the taxes of the top 2%.

[CreekDog]

10. yes, raise your taxes "if you're rich"

which is true.

has been true, etc.

[bornskeptic]

11. Medicare Part B is already means tested and always has been.

More affluent individuals pay higher monthly premiums. If that makes it a welfare program, then it's a welfare program. The Medicare portion of payroll tax only goes toward Part A coverage, which is provided without regard to income. The Republicans will try to gut Medicare anyway, so Why worry about what their talking points will be? The voters will be with the side that protects Medicare, but they won't be bothered by a little increase in cost-sharing by the wealthy.

[CreekDog]

18. has it always started out at age 67?

:shrug:

[DrToast]

16. It's not bad

People are mistaking it for welfare, a program that only benefits some, when it's a program that benefits all.

[dflprincess]

26. Generally when the government "means tests" a program

the income limits set have not basis in reality. For example, a single person with a gross income greater that $14,000/year (or slightly more) does not qualify for Medicaid - apparently it's thought they can afford to pay outrageous premiums.

Don't kid yourself that a means test for Medicare premiums will define "upper income" as anywhere near the top 2%. I have no doubt that this means test will hurt people by cutting their access to health care.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Lots of really nasty stuff in there....

Larceny against the least among us....

[LaurenG]

5. Have I said recently how much I abhor republicans?

Good god these greedy f'ing bastards suck, nothing is ever enough for them. Thank the gods that be the human cheeto walked out.

[tblue]

6. And we're sposed to believe this was a sneaky chess move to get Boner to say no?

How is this better than Bush?

[eilen]

23. Which raises the question, was Obama genuinely mad

that Boehner walked out or was that press conference an Academy Award winning performance-- if indeed he was trying to get him to say no deal....

[high density]

12. So, what "moderate" or "independent" voters were looking forward to these sorts of "reforms?"

I keep hearing from the DC talking heads speaking of these ideas in terms of "political pain," completely ignoring the fact that millions of peoples' lives depend on these programs.

[jenmito]

13. He WAS bluffing, which was proven when Obama "moved the goalpost" by demanding MORE

revenue after Boehner supposedly agreed to the $800 billion. Obama reportedly came back and said he wanted $1.3 trillion in revenue, and that's when Boehner walked out. Lawrence O'Donnell said as much last night.

[polichick]

32. WaPo reported that Dems demanded more, which is why he "moved the goalpost."

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[treestar]

15. But there was also raising of taxes

Which is why boner wouldn't agree.

Why are we so focused just on the cuts?

[Doctor_J]

19. Because there shouldn't be any cuts to programs for the needy

and elderly, period What the hell is so difficult for the True Believers to understand about that?

[treestar]

21. How deep are these cuts?

and how does it compare to letting the debt ceiling blow up into a default?

Is there any oversimplification of the issues that right and left extremes won't do?

[Doctor_J]

22. I don't care how deep the cuts are, and neither should any Dem

Jesus Christ, what the hell has happened to this party? As far as "letting the debt ceiling blowup", does that mean you think the president should give up everything that Boner asks for?

This particular issue is very simple - don't cut SS and Medicare benefits by a single penny, and tell everyone that any deal will be predicated on this.

[AlinPA]

17. Boehner was faking it all. The House will not vote to increase the debt ceiling and it does not

matter what kind of "deal" is worked out and Boehner knows it - that's why he quit talking.

[Doctor_J]

20. Horrible politics, bad governence, deplorable morals

Get a load of this: the Repukes can now run ads next year saying, honestly, that the president tried to cut trillions if sustenance for the elderly from social security and Medicare.

This is just dumbfounding.

[bvar22]

24. But I thought this was a BIG WIN for the President.

Didn't he make somebody "blink" by "looking like The Adult"?
I KNOW I read about this HUGE VICTORY on DU.

[jenmito]

25. It WAS a BIG WIN. There IS no deal. And as Lawrence O'Donnell (and Jay Carney) pointed out,

"Nothing's agreed to until/unless EVERYTHING'S agreed to." Nothing was agreed to, and now they're moving on to a whole new deal.

[Creideiki]

28. You realize the irony of using the words "new" and "deal" together when discussing Obama, right?

It would be fairer to say, "they're moving on to a whole new raw deal."

[bvar22]

29. If thats the case,

then I need to write a Thank You note to Boehner & The Republicans
for saving my Social Security & Medicare for me.

[Rosco T.]

27. He knew EXACTLY what he was doing...

.. cause he knew that they WOULDN'T TAKE THE DEAL AND IT WOULD MAKE THEM LOOK EVEN WORSE.

Now he's got them by the short hairs. A clean debt extension thru 2012, PAST THE ELECTIONS.

He's destroyed their reputation, and destroyed one of their talking points.

[polichick]

30. If so, he's also destroyed his own credibility as a principled Dem.

[cottonseed]

31. Wouldn't a bill like that not have a chance of getting past the Democrats in Congress?

Didn't he offer the Republicans something that if agreed to had no chance of passing?

[Big Blue Marble]

33. If they wait until the very last minute,

then terrify the Democrats with the possible consequences of not passing their give away plan saying it was the best that they could do,
that forces the Dems to pass it. And that is what they and the Republicans are waiting for. It worked for them with HCR and the Bush
tax cuts for unemployment benefits, didn't it?

[woo me with science]

34. That's the point of the faux crisis and closed door meetings and deadline.

They emerge with this at the deadline and threaten everyone with default.

Fucking sociopaths.