Medicare cuts discussed, rejected in debt talks (Obama has nothing to offer in "negotiations")

washington post ^ | 7/11/2011 | By Felicia Sonmez

[tobyhill]

House Republicans brought up billions of dollars in potential cuts to Medicare on Monday, in the latest round of debt-limit talks, but the White House and congressional Democrats rejected the idea in part because it did not include any increases in tax revenue.

According to a Democratic aide with knowledge of Monday’s meeting, President Obama asked Republicans after the group’s Sunday-night meeting to return on Monday with specific deficit-reduction ideas put on paper.

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House Democrats pushed back Monday against the inclusion of any entitlement cuts in a final deal.

“We continue to oppose benefit cuts in Social Security and Medicare,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “These pillars of economic and health security should not be used as a piggybank to subsidize tax cuts for the wealthy.”

[LibLieSlayer]

“We continue to oppose benefit cuts in Social Security and Medicare,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “These pillars of economic and health security should not be used as a piggybank to subsidize tax cuts for the wealthy.”

They BOTH will fail to exist if their economics are not brought into a reality based expenditure schedule. There is not enough money in the world to pay for either program going forward, if they are not brought under control. Both programs will destroy the very people that they were created to help. Few in DC and NONE in the dim party give a damn.

LLS

[Caipirabob]

Why aren't they talking about repealing Obamacare as the main subject for cutting spending? I don't care if odumbo whines about it, they should be building the platform for 2012 right now.

I haven't been a republican for a while now, but it seems more and more the leadership is far more complicit in the destruction of our country than I believed before. They are doing nothing with the opportunity to politically eviscerate the damned socialists.

[ScottinVA]

Is there a reason ObamaCare hasn’t been mentioned as a bargaining chip in this negotiation? The GOPers should be making repeal the top priority in any conversation with the WH.

[ScottinVA]

Why aren't they talking about repealing Obamacare as the main subject for cutting spending?

Reading others' posts first is my friend. I should've read yours before saying essentially the same thing. }:-)

[algernonpj]

... I haven't been a republican for a while now, but it seems more and more the leadership is far more complicit in the destruction of our country than I believed before. They are doing nothing with the opportunity to politically eviscerate the damned socialists.

Yep.

Why aren't they bringing up repealing Obamacare, no more freebies for illegals (annual cost $ 300 Billion), ending foreign aid, moving all fed employees into SS, no more subsidies for Acorn, mosques at home and abroad, slashing funding for the EPA, FDA, HUD, HHS, Dept of Ed, no more bailouts of international companies/banks TBTF, etc, etc, etc