Obama Looks for Big Health Cuts, Worrying Democrats

[cali]

By ROBERT PEAR
Published: September 13, 2011


WASHINGTON — As Congress opens a politically charged exploration of ways to pare the deficit, President Obama is expected to seek hundreds of billions of dollars in savings in Medicare and Medicaid, delighting Republicans and dismaying many Democrats who fear that his proposals will become a starting point for bigger cuts in the popular health programs.
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The president made clear his intentions in his speech to a joint session of Congress last week when, setting forth a plan to create jobs and revive the economy, he said he disagreed with members of his party “who don’t think we should make any changes at all to Medicare and Medicaid.”

Few Democrats fit that description. But many say that if, as expected, Mr. Obama next week proposes $300 billion to $500 billion of savings over 10 years in entitlement programs, he will provide political cover for a new bipartisan Congressional committee to cut just as much or more.

And, they say, such proposals from the White House will hamstring Democrats who had been hoping to employ Medicare as a potent issue against Republicans in 2012 campaigns after many Congressional Republicans backed a budget that would have substantially altered Medicare by providing future beneficiaries with a subsidy to enroll in private health care plans.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/us/politics/obamas-expected-plan-for-entitlement-savings-worries-democrats.html

[villager]

1. Well, thank goodness "change" doesn't mean cutting military budgets!

n/t

[TheWraith]

5. Actually, there are large cuts to the military budget, upwards of $1 trillion over 10 years. nt

[villager]

6. after all the previous raises, you mean?

We'll see.

[TheWraith]

13. So Obama is responsible for all history, now? nt

[villager]

14. so Obama's not responsible for anything that happened in the last three years, now? nt

[TheWraith]

16. Newsflash: Obama has REDUCED the military budget since he's been in charge. nt

[villager]

18. Newsflash: "Obama seeks record $708 billion in 2011 defense budget"

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/02/us-obama-budget-pentagon-idUSTRE6103C520100202

[TheWraith]

20. "Obama admin. plans defense cuts that nearly top GOP’s entire first-year austerity pledge"

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/06/obamas-oneday-defense-cuts-top-gops-entire-firstyear-austerity-pledge/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mr-obamas-defense-cuts/2011/04/20/AFlMqNEE_story.html

The actual ongoing military budget has been reduced several times, including cutting back from the larger and more aggressive strategy in Afghanistan advocated by the top brass.

Oh, and from your own link:

"He said the fiscal 2011 budget proposal included cuts of "unnecessary defense programs that do nothing to keep us safe," including annual spending of $2.5 billion for C-17 transport planes built by Boeing Co that has been added to the federal budget by Congress in each of the past four years....

He said it was "important to take a final stand" against lawmakers and ensure those programs were eliminated.

Cutting the alternate engine program would save $465 million in fiscal 2011, which begins October 1, and more than $1 billion longer-term, according to Pentagon documents.

...

Obama and Gates tried to kill both programs last year, but lawmakers revived them during the budget process.

PLANNING FOR THE UNEXPECTED

Gates said the 2011 budget and related strategy reviews were "shaped by a bracing dose of realism" about risks and resources, noting that programs already cut in 2010 would have cost taxpayers $330 billion."

[villager]

21. "Obama's spending freeze... did not apply to the military."

That's also from the article.

And while taking on the occasional wasteful weapons system is great, the point is, by promulgating wars, while at the same using his bully pulpit to go after cuts in the social safety net, we can see that ultimately, his budget priorities are the same as any other apparatchik's, of the military/ industrial state.

Alas.

[totodeinhere]

9. I'll believe that when I see it. For one thing, Obama won't be in office for the next ten years

and if a Rethuglican gets to the Oval Office look for those cuts to be reversed. And even if a so-called "moderate" Democrat replaces Obama there will always be a new crisis to give them an excuse to reverse the cuts.

[msongs]

2. har dee har Obama doing his republican policies are good thing. nothing new here nt

[Vincardog]

3. If BO volunteers to cut Medicare and Medicaid he does not deserve to call himself a Democrat.

Why the hell does he keep throwing lifelines to the GOP when they paint themselves into bad political corners?

[Cali_Democrat]

4. While Obama is looking to cut Medicare and Medicaid, the GOP is looking to prevent defense cuts

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63283_Page2.html

What will likely happen is that we will get cuts to SS, Medicare and Medicaid. But defense cuts will be extremely limited.

[totodeinhere]

10. I doubt it there will be any real cuts at all. They might slightly slow down the rate of growth of

defense spending but that's about it.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cali]

8. Actually I posted this here because I wanted to see what sort of defense

would be mounted for this. Btw, what does RDF stand for?

[Maven]

11. We shall see.

RDF stands for Reality Distortion Field.

[Starry Messenger]

19. (!)

Bwah!

[ProSense]

12. Nothing

"The president made clear his intentions in his speech to a joint session of Congress last week when, setting forth a plan to create jobs and revive the economy, he said he disagreed with members of his party “who don’t think we should make any changes at all to Medicare and Medicaid.”"

...stirs up outrage like the MSM time warp.

The speech was September 8. It's September 13. Yeah, the reaction to the President's words were reported. Democrats expressed concern, but they also acknowledged that they need clarification as to what those words mean, which the OP article does not provide.

Still, a lot has happened and been said since then, including the Congressional Black Caucus statement on the President's jobs proposal and the Progressive Caucus' press conference to unveil its own jobs bill.

[flpoljunkie]

15. Find it hard to believe he'd raise Medicare retirement age as it shifts, rather than lower costs.

Surely, he will not do something so unwise--for multiple reasons.

[elleng]

17. As I see it, this article adds NOTHING FACTUAL since POTUS' Thursday speech;

just a way to rile up 'the base.' DAMN!
:wtf: