Posted on 08/16/2011 12:17:25 PM PDT by SkyPilot
President Obama has again acknowledged the necessity of doing something many Democrats fiercely oppose -- reforming entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Social Security.
On a Midwest bus tour stop in Minnesota, Obama spoke in favor of changes to entitlement programs being eyed by the 12-member congressional committee charged with finding budget savings that will get past partisan gridlock, stave off future credit downgrades and increase the federal debt.
"There have been times when our side, when Democrats aren’t always as flexible as we need to be," Obama said. "Sometimes I do get frustrated when I hear folks say, 'You can't make any changes to any government programs.' Well, that can't be right."
The president has repeatedly conceded that something must be done, saying Medicare in particular cannot survive without reform.
"We will not be able to sustain that program no matter how much taxes go up," he said in late July. "I mean, it's not an option for us to just sit by and do nothing."
In spite of that, just as the president suggested, many Democrats remain steadfastly opposed to any changes in any of the programs. In fact, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi boasted that Democrats had blocked such reforms in the deficit talks.
"We did protect the benefits, the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. That is a priority for us," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
But nobody is talking about cutting deeply enough to solve the imbalance, currently exceeding $1.6 trillion per annum.
Simply staggering.
The super committee is tasked to find $1.5 trillion spread over ten years, during which total federal spending in current dollars will be at least $35 trillion.
That is 4.2% in cuts, whether specifically by Congress, or across the board if the committee deadlocks.
Simply a mere pittance.
This isn’t amazing. It’s nothing more than Obama, once again, lying to the people as he has done countless times before.
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