Posted on 12/17/2012 6:47:38 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has agreed to curtail future cost-of-living increases for recipients of Social Security and softened his demand for higher taxes at upper income levels as part of accelerating negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner to avoid a "fiscal cliff," people familiar with the talks said Monday.
Speaking a few hours after Obama and Boehner met at the White House, these people said the president was now seeking a higher tax rate beginning at incomes over $400,000, up from the levels of $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples that were cornerstones of his successful campaign for re-election.
Obama's willingness to reduce future cost-of-living increases in Social Security, government retirement and numerous other programs marked another clear concession to Boehner, although it came with an asterisk. The president wants lower-income recipients to receive protection against any loss from scaling back future cost of living increases, these officials said.
Nor did Obama's offer include raising the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67, a Republican goal that has drawn particularly strong objections from Democratic liberals.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Beavis and Butthead hard at work..........
“Speaking a few hours after Obama and Boehner met at the White House, these people said the president was now seeking a higher tax rate beginning at incomes over $400,000, “
Actually, Boehner may be playing some good poker ... IF he keeps the debt ceiling card in his pocket.
Here’s why: SPENDING IS THE REAL PROBLEM. Boehner needs to minimize the tax increase while keeping the ball on the spending side.
We know that. We also know that the Democrats want and will demand their ‘tax the rich’ and they have the recent victory in the elections to feel their oats. Obama cannot and will not back down on insisting on raising taxes, he needs something.
But raising the bar to $1 million puts the top rate on the smallest group of Americans, and at the same time makes this even less of a real solution to the budget deficit.
IF Obama is backing up to $400,000, then that’s more than most had thought Boehner would get.
once we get this ‘deal’ done, we will find:
- Obama is taxing too much (Obamacare tax increases)
- he is spending too much
- the deficit is still one trillion
in effect, Obama will have ‘won’ and he will own the fiscal mess that will continue. THEN comes the hammer blow. Debt ceiling increase? What, without a real deal to fix entitlements, cut spending and get back on track? You kidding me? More painful negotiations, but GOP House will have more leverage and Democrats less excuses... “oh you want MORE tax increases? you just GOT your tax increases!”
LOL, they will run out of excuses and rich people to go after!
I am upset about the SS COLA because it affects my federal retirement check. Guess I’ll have to buy one dollar gloves from the bargain bin instead of my recent purchase of $3.99 gloves at Walgreen’s. I’m such a spendthrift! For those of you who begrudge the COLA’s, here’s wishing you a future where you find out what living like a senior citizen means.
“Would the Democrats go along with it?”
Would you go along with it?
No Real conservative ever would.
“I am upset about the SS COLA because it affects my federal retirement check. “
Moocher. ... I kid, I kid.
Seriously, we are one trillion in deficit / year. We cant afford what we spend and this is actually just a tiny nick compared to the meat ax we need to take.
They should be keeping the whole sequester, cut ALL the govt across the board 10%, raise all the SS and medicare elibility ages, AND means-test them all, AND repeal Obamacare, AND abolish the DOE and 50 other agencies, AND repeal every new spending idea since 2000. Only then could we balanced the budget.
I’m not counting on SS. Nobody should. Its a worthless system outdated and wrong and we should let people escape from it. make it voluntary, and give people an account that THEY own, not Congress. They might as well pay me in zimbabwe dollars by the time i’m ready for it.
Not sure I agree with means testing SS....I mean you pay into it ....isn’t that enough of a means test for ya?
No, no, no, no, no!
The left has steamrolled them, but not because the GOP wants to be nice. It is because they want the same things. The lib GOPe party wants the same as the lib dem party.
The only reason Obama has offered up the CoLAs is that he knows the retired people will exact a price for anyone dem or rep who supports it. So in the end, it is something he can give up that will come back.
Why don’t they ask for something no one will demand returned such as income tax refunds for illegals. Also, the income tax system should not be a part of the Welfare system. No one who pays no tax at all should ever get an income tax check. A refund check should never be larger than the taxes paid in.
They should also demand that crazy checks (SSI) be limited to children in US families. There are plenty of things they can cut that will not automatically be reversed come next election. The GOP needs to focus on demanding those things.
Does this negotiating with the Obama Regime instead of the Senate seem odd to anyone? Obama is doing more legislating now that he is out of the Senate than he did while he was in it.
This is just the AP helping their president look like he’s serious. That way, when we go over the cliff, Ubama looks like he tried, he really tried.
It’s nothing but bukkake theater.
Yes, the lib GOP wants the same. Why else would there be this phony debt ceiling discussion? Like in the phony healthcare debate, Maobama has no power at all to spend or tax or go into more debt. Only Congress does. They can vote whatever they want and Maobama doesn’t get power handed to him on this, unless they amend the Constitution.
The full implementation of Obamacare will steadily reduce the population of senior citizens except for those in the privileged elite. There are lots of savings to be obtained by reducing the number of covered citizens who fail the life cost model assessment for expensive health care.
That's not it.
They "let" the Left steamroll over them because they agree with the Left on most fundamentals. There are some minor quibbles over details, but no substantive disagreements.
I’d say it actually brings up a good point...that the GOPe would never dare use: It shows that Congress can not be bound by an earlier law (IE: Tax hikes now, spending cuts later).
But I digress, this is for those that would do their jobs and know how to debate w/out throwing out-the-window the Constitution.
I’d still love to see an lawsuit brought up using the 13th and taxes/debt. How can we not have slavery if we must pay for D.C.’s spending habits....one MUST conflict, no?!
I really wish we’d get to using the correct numbers, which include all unfunded liabilities. Either it’s to be paid or it isn’t.
It’s bad enough even ‘our side’ thinks SS/Medicare/etc. are something ‘I paid for’ instead of the taxes/Ponzi scheme they have always been.
You mean like Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter had a tough time finding areas of disagreement? So Ford “liberated” eastern Europe in his mind 15 years prematurely.
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