Here is a roundup of the top trending stories on Social Security and Medicare for 3/21:
DEBT/DEFICIT
Bennet, Johanns Lead Bipartisan Call for President to Support Comprehensive Deficit Reduction-JOHANNS PRESS RELEASE. In a letter to the President, 64 Senators ask him to engage in budget negotiations beyond FY2011 that include discretionary spending cuts, entitlement changes and tax reform, to create meaningful deficit reduction. The letter notes that a bipartisan group of Senators has been working to craft a comprehensive deficit reduction package based upon the recommendations of the Fiscal Commission, and that the group’s work represents an important foundation to achieve meaningful progress on our debt. http://johanns.senate.gov/...
More than 60 senators call on Obama to join deficit-reduction talks-WASHINGTON POST. More than 60 senators from both parties are calling on President Obama to lead them in developing a comprehensive plan to rein in record budget deficits, a powerful sign of bipartisan willingness to abandon long-held positions on entitlement spending and taxes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
OPINION: Senators' 'Dear Barack' letter a must read-LEHIGH VALLEY LIVE. An astonishing number of senators — 64, divided equally between the two parties — have signed a letter urging President Barack Obama to support the work of his own fiscal commission. They didn’t put it in quite that cheeky way, of course, but the message was clear: Action on the debt demands presidential involvement, if not presidential leadership. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/...
SOCIAL SECURITY
Hammer Misses the Mark-OMB BLOG (JACK LEW). This is the most important point: the problem is not with Social Security, but in the near term the mismatch between what we take in and what we spend in the rest of the budget. Working people had payroll taxes taken from their salaries to pay for future benefits, and instead the money was used to pay for tax cuts and other initiatives. It is hardly fair now to say that those working people caused the problem just when they are ready to collect benefits. http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
Democrats Split on Social Security-WALL STREET JOURNAL. The idea of putting Social Security into play has triggered a firestorm of opposition from several corners of the Democratic party. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), two of the Senate's most powerful lawmakers, have said revisions to Social Security shouldn't be attached to a deficit-reduction plan. They argue the program's benefits are covered by giant trust funds that have no impact on the deficit. http://online.wsj.com/...
How Would You Fix Social Security?-WALL STREET JOURNAL. Changes to the program now seem likely, but even minor repairs could be painful. A look at some of the options. http://online.wsj.com/...
MEDICARE
Shaping GOP entitlement reform plans-THE HILL. Medicare: For those 55 years old and older, there would be no change. Younger beneficiaries would receive a cash payment to buy coverage from an insurance plan “similar to what is now available to members of Congress and federal employees.” http://thehill.com/...
Gazette opinion: Don't throw out good health care reforms with bad-BILLINGS GAZETTE. The Medicare Rights Center finds good things for Medicare enrollees in the AFA: “The law phases out the doughnut hole — the gap in the Medicare drug benefit when consumers have to pay full price for their medicines and their premiums — by 2020. The law also eliminates copays and deductibles for many preventive care services, and provides coverage for an annual wellness visit.” http://billingsgazette.com/...
BLOGS
Senators Urge Obama to Confront Debt and Deficit-NEW YORK TIMES CAUCUS BLOG. Amy Brundage, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement Friday that the president agrees with the need to include a discussion about entitlements and tax reform as part of the conversation about the nation’s debt. “The President also has moved forward on specific recommendations of his Fiscal Commission, like reforming the nation’s medical malpractice system and instituting a pay freeze for federal workers,” Ms. Brundage said. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/...
The Post Tells Readers that Brave People Do What the Rich Tell Them to Do-CEPR. This is an interesting perspective. Politicians and policy workers around Washington and the country are being paid billions of dollars by wealthy people like investment banker Peter Peterson to support cuts to programs like Social Security and Medicare. It is interesting the Post apparently thinks that it is brave to harm poor and middle class people to benefit the wealthy, while it is "timid" to support the less privileged. http://www.cepr.net/...
GOP Rep. Todd Akin On Social Security: ‘I Don’t Like It’-THINK PROGRESS. AKIN: Now, Social Security through the years, for many many people, has been a terrible investment. It’s really a tax, that’s all it is. Social Security is a tax. The government has taken the tax. There’s been more money coming in than going out. And we spend it. That’s not been responsible. I don’t like it. I didn’t design Social Security. It actually came from Bismarck, FDR put it in place. http://thinkprogress.org/...