Super Committee Democrats Must Stop Saying Former Deficit Plans are "Balanced" [View All]

[jtown1123]

I've been observing the Debt super committee first two meetings and with exception of Becerra, I believe all the Democrats have said that Domenici Rivlin and Bowles Simpson plans are "balanced." No, just NO.

Patty Murray, John Kerry and Chris Van Hollen have praised these plans as bipartisan and balanced (2/3 spending cuts to 1/3 revenue increase is balanced? Not by my math). Oh, and Rivlin-Domenici turns Medicare into a private voucher system, just like Paul Ryan's plan.

I don't remember if Clyburn or Baucus said they liked these plans or not.

Becerra is a trooper and an amazing advocate, but he's the only strong voice for the lower and middle class I am hearing in this group so far. Jim Clyburn has said some good stuff but he's expressed support for reducing COLA and means testing in the past, so I'm not 100% confident. Link: http://strengthensocialsecurity.org/where-the-super-committee-members-stand-on-social-security-medicare-and-medicaid

Dean Baker (CEPR) Statement on Bowles Simpson:

"Over the longer term, the country is projected to face a deficit problem but this is almost entirely attributable to the projection that private sector health care costs grow at an explosive rate. This projected growth rate of health care costs would eventually lead to serious budget problems in addition to leading to enormous problems for the private sector. However, the underlying problem is the broken health care system, not public sector health care programs. For some reason, though, Simpson-Bowles never directly addresses these of the health care system.

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-releases/press-releases/statement-on-deficit-commission-proposals

Center on Budget Policy and Priorities

The Bowles-Simpson budget plan did not receive support from enough members of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to be issued as a final report.<2> Nevertheless, the co-chairs and several Senators have suggested that it serve as the “starting point” for a national debate on how to reduce projected deficits. Its recommendations for Social Security, however, are quite problematic.

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3402&emailView=1

On Rivlin-Domenici Health Care plan:

Although superior in other areas, the Rivlin-Domenici proposal is even more troubling than the Bowles-Simpson plan with respect to health care. Rivlin and Domenici propose $756 billion in health care budget cuts over the next ten years. Included in their plan is a tax on sweetened beverages, whose consumption contributes significantly to obesity.<11> Setting aside this sound tax proposal, Rivlin and Domenici propose reducing health care spending by $600 billion over ten years — considerably more than the $482 billion in reductions proposed by Bowles and Simpson. Three proposals, in particular, would likely result in harm to tens of millions of vulnerable Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3333

National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

On December 1, 2010, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released a report containing a set of recommendations for addressing the nation’s fiscal crisis. Their proposed changes to Social Security are especially troublesome, as they represent a completely unbalanced approach to changing Social Security. An overwhelming majority of the adjustments to the program come in the form of benefit cuts which will hurt generations of Americans, something repeated polls have shown the American people do not support.

The following outlines the changes and their impact on beneficiaries.

http://www.ncpssm.org/news/archive/Analysis_of_Commissions_Proposal/