A majority of the Democrats on the behind-closed-doors “Super Committee” have proposed slashing $400 billion dollars from Medicare in exchange for tax increases and $200 billion to $300 billion for new stimulus spending.
From Reuters:
The Democratic plan was presented on Tuesday behind closed doors to a special congressional panel tasked with finding ways of cutting the budget deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over 10 years, the sources said.
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The Democratic plan proposes cutting the deficit by $2.5 trillion to $3 trillion and calls for between $200 billion and $300 billion in new stimulus spending to boost an ailing U.S. economy. It would be paid for with lower interest payments from reducing deficits.
It also seeks around $400 billion in Medicare savings, with half coming in benefit cuts and the other half in cuts to healthcare providers. Details of that proposal were scant but tackling the popular Medicare program is always politically risky for politicians in Washington, especially Democrats.
The Democratic proposal also identifies $100 billion in cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor, according to a lobbyist in contact with the committee.
Not all Democrats are on board with slashing Medicare and other social insurance programs, though this approach reflects President Obama’s stance on budget negotiations.
From the New York Times:
A Republican Congressional aide said the Democrats’ proposal was not serious. “I do not know why anyone would believe that Republicans would ever agree to more than $1 trillion in taxes,” said the aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, in keeping with restrictions imposed by the co-chairmen of the panel. “It is ridiculous, nothing more than political posturing.”
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Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., a New Jersey Democrat who is not on the committee, said that Republican resistance to new taxes was reducing the probability of a deal.
Democrats will never agree to substantial savings in Medicare and Social Security if the deal does not include new revenues, Mr. Pascrell said.
So the Republican position is to fight tooth and nail not to raise taxes by a single penny on the top 1%. The Democrats on the other hand are willing to throw the 99% under the bus to cut a deal with people who have no intention of giving an inch.
Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are the most popular and successful programs we have. Beyond the damage cutting these programs will do to people who work for a living, how is this move politically astute? Offering to cut Medicare does not make the Democratic Party look like the adults in the room, it makes them look like the other party that wants to screw over the 99%.
