Rachel Maddow: Social Security and Medicaid are NOT Broke

Run time: 08:52 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SVmV7xsXzw   Posted on YouTube: July 26, 2011 By YouTube Member: NewsPoliticsInfo Views on YouTube: 365   Posted on DU: July 27, 2011 By DU Member: democracy1st Views on DU: 1498

 
Why the Republicans Resist Compromise

By NATE SILVER

The chart that I’m going to show you is one of the more important ones that we’ve presented at FiveThirtyEight in some time. It helps explain a lot of what’s going on in American politics today, from the negotiations over the federal debt ceiling to the Republican presidential primaries. And it’s pretty simple, really, although it took me some time to track down the data.

Here’s what the chart will show: The Republican Party is dependent, to an extent unprecedented in recent political history, on a single ideological group. That group, of course, is conservatives. It isn’t a bad thing to be in favor with conservatives: by some definitions they make up about 40 percent of voters. But the terms ‘Republican’ and ‘conservative’ are growing closer and closer to being synonyms; fewer and fewer nonconservatives vote Republican, and fewer and fewer Republican voters are not conservative.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/why-the-g-o-p-cannot-compromise/




Robert Reich's Blog


Budget baloney: Social Security isn't to blame for deficit

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican presidential hopeful, says in order to “save” Social Security the retirement age should be raised. The media are congratulating him for his putative “courage.” Deficit hawks are proclaiming Social Security one of the big entitlements that has to be cut in order to reduce the budget deficit.

This is all baloney.

In a former life I was a trustee of the Social Security trust fund. So let me set the record straight.

Social Security isn’t responsible for the federal deficit. Just the opposite. Until last year Social Security took in more payroll taxes than it paid out in benefits. It lent the surpluses to the rest of the government.

Now that Social Security has started to pay out more than it takes in, Social Security can simply collect what the rest of the government owes it. This will keep it fully solvent for the next 26 years.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2011/0218/Budget-baloney-Social-Security-isn-t-to-blame-for-deficit

and they are not Democrats.

"If this is a real offer (cutting SS and Medicare) from President Obama and not just a test..." "...a trial balloon"

What F__KING planet is she on?...THAT IS OBAMA'S F__KING OFFER...he is endorsing Reid's bill...AND THAT'S REID'S BILL!

The story is not that the Rupukes are refusing to negotiate. The story is that Obama is working hand in hand with the Repukes to F__K 99% of Americans as fast and as hard as possible.

The even bigger story is Rachel's delusional reporting of Obama's actions.

Reid's bill is simply spending cuts in other areas, with no tax increases.

Obama remains firmly committed to cutting SS and Medicare, though.