I've been reading through the executive summary of the "balanced" plan. This plan is unacceptable. No Democrat should vote for it. No Democrat should support it. Period. We are much better off with the McConnell/Reid plan (assuming that plan goes nowhere near Medicare and Social Security).
No good:
Shift to the chained-CPI (a more accurate measure of inflation) government-wide starting in 2012, along with the following specifications for Social Security: (1) exempt SSI from the shift for five years, and then phase in the shift over the next five years; and (2) provide a minimum benefit equal to 125% of the poverty line for five years. (According to CBO, the shift to chained-CPI would result in the annual adjustment growing, on average, about 0.25 percentage points per year slower than the current CPI.)
This is cutting Social Security. Pure and simple. There is no other way to put it. This is cutting Social Security. That's right folks. Going into an election year, Democrats will be on the record for cutting Social Security. Stupid. Just completely fucking stupid. We can't run on the economy because we suck. We can't run on housing because we suck. All we have left is defending Social Security. Cut it, and we suck the biggest pair of salty ones you'll ever see.
Finance would permanently reform or replace the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate formula ($298 billion) and fully offset the cost with health savings, would find an additional $202 billion/$85 billion in health savings, and would maintain the essential health care services that the poor and elderly rely upon.
What. The. Fuck. Look, if we want to win in 2012, we can't cut Medicare. We just can't do it. It is ALL WE GOT. Hello...Kathy Hochul, anybody?
Repeal the CLASS Act.
Yes, the late Ted Kennedy's pride and joy, the CLASS Act.
Simplify the tax code by reducing the number of tax expenditures and reducing individual tax rates, by establishing three tax brackets with rates of 8–12 percent, 14–22 percent, and 23–29 percent.
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Permanently repeal the $1.7 trillion Alternative Minimum Tax.
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To the extent future Congresses find that the dynamic effects of tax reform result in additional revenue beyond these targets, this revenue must go to additional rate reductions and deficit reduction, not to new spending.
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Reform, not eliminate, tax expenditures for health, charitable giving, homeownership,
and retirement, and retain support for low-income workers and families.
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Establish a single corporate tax rate between 23 percent and 29 percent, raise as much revenue as the current corporate tax system, and move to a competitive territorial tax system.
A fucking corporate tax cut?
Are you fucking kidding me???!!! A tax cut???!!!! Dynamic revenue?!!! Supply-side bullshit, again?!!!
Look, I'll keep it short and simple. This may be President Obama's "big deal" designed to spread "pain" all over the electorate, but this is about the furthest thing from shared fucking sacrifice I've seen so far. Even worse than his own stinker of a plan. This is tax cuts for the rich, tax increases for the middle class, and entitlement cuts for everyone. This plan fucking sucks and House Democrats should categorically reject it.
No deal.