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An overview of some top Social Security and Medicare news items. Not all these articles represent our views, but it is helpful to see what people are discussing:
McConnell: Obama not serious about budget-CBS NEWS. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that Republican control of the House and Democratic control of the Senate means it is the "perfect time" to tackle budget matters, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, if both sides embrace a solution before the 2012 elections. "I haven't given up hope, but frankly I'm not optimistic," he said. http://www.cbsnews.com/...
Why Social Security is welfare-WASHINGTON POST. We don't call Social Security "welfare" because it's a pejorative term, and politicians don't want to offend. So their rhetoric classifies Social Security as something else when it isn't. Here is how I define a welfare program: First, it taxes one group to support another group, meaning it's pay-as-you-go and not a contributory scheme where people's own savings pay their later benefits. http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Robert Samuelson Wants to Take Money from Seniors to Make the Wall Street Boys Richer-CEPR. Yes, Robert Samuelson is at it again, spreading inaccurate and misleading claims about Social Security to justify taking money from retirees. http://www.cepr.net/...
How the House GOP Plans to Sell Entitlement Reform-POLITICO PLAYBOOK. Fearing they may be walking into a political buzz saw by proposing cuts to Medicare and Social Security, House Republican leaders are working to build support among rank-and-file members and among constituents before releasing the House GOP budget next month. http://www.politico.com/...
Democrats warn that budget cuts threaten Medicare enrollment-THE HILL. The GOP's budget slashing could "really bop the Baby Boomers" who are just becoming eligible for federal healthcare coverage, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said during a congressional budget hearing this week with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. http://thehill.com/...
Democrats request hearing on Medicare drug rebate program-THE HILL. Top Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday asked for a hearing on Medicare prescription drug rebates after federal investigators said the program could be saving taxpayers millions more. Republicans' 2003 Medicare Modernization Act bars the federal government from directly negotiating bulk discounts for drugs. The private plans that provide the coverage, however, are supposed to negotiate rebates to lower costs for beneficiaries and the government. http://thehill.com/...
Deficit hawks, debt panel heads work to keep focus on long-term solutions-THE HILL. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and the former heads of the president’s debt commission will strive in the coming days to turn attention away from the battle over 2011 spending and back onto the nation’s long-term fiscal woes. http://thehill.com/...
Restoring balance to Social Security-WASHINGTON POST. Reagan and O'Neill did not agree to an increase in the retirement age. That change was added later by Congress, in the 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act. http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Boehner to Obama: We'll get your back if you propose Medicare, Social Security cuts-DAILY KOS. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has privately assured President Obama that House Republicans will not attack him if he makes a proposal to reform entitlement spending, according to sources familiar with the offer. Moreover, Boehner has personally promised Obama that he will stand side by side with him to weather the strong political backlash expected from any proposal to cut entitlement costs. http://www.dailykos.com/...