President Obama Will Veto Super-Committee Plan That's All Medicare Cuts And No Tax

[cal04]

Obama Will Veto Super-Committee Plan That's All Medicare Cuts And No Tax Hikes
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/18/obama-super-committee-veto_n_969056.html

President Barack Obama will veto a comprehensive deficit reduction package if it includes cuts to entitlement program benefits but no tax hikes on the wealthy or well-to-do corporations, senior advisers said on Sunday.

The veto threat is an addendum of sorts to a $3 trillion-plus set of deficit reduction proposals that the White House will make to the congressional super committee tasked with comprehensive deficit reduction. But if administration officials are to be believed, it is now a principle by which the committee must act and it raises the specter of gridlock. Just last week, House Speaker John Boehner insisted that tax hikes should be off the table.

"What the president is saying is he is not doing (beneficiary reforms) if the Republicans are unwilling to ask the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share," explained a senior administration official. "What they can't do is send something to us with the things we propose and without the stuff on the revenue side because we will veto that."

Previewing the president's proposal during a conference call on Sunday evening, the same administration officials confirmed that Obama would not be calling for changes to Social Security payments or a raising of the eligibility age of Medicare -- reforms that he had embraced during talks with Boehner over the summer.

[tblue]

1. He shouldn't allow cuts even if they DO include tax hikes on wealthy, etc.

No bargaining there. No no no!

[msongs]

2. that's a refreshing change instead of giving repubs "98%" and him getting 2% nt

[dkf]

3. Isn't that the result if no agreement is made?

Am I missing something?

[Pirate Smile]

4. They get the huge defense cuts they don't want and I believe any Medicare cuts could not be on the

beneficiary side.

[dkf]

6. And the bill he is threatening to veto is all Medicare cuts on the beneficiary side and no military

Cuts?

What are we comparing here?

[Pirate Smile]

8. He doesn't want the Republicans to just take the cuts he offers and ignore the revenues.

Republicans cherry-picking the parts they like and ignoring the parts they don't will get vetoed. I think that's the point. Republicans have to give on something or else POTUS will veto it. The cuts are only ok if the wealthy also have to sacrifice.

[Dragonfli]

11. You are correct, all along he wanted cuts to "entitlements" with some tax increases to make it sound

bi-partisan, he has been after cuts since he went with the Pete Peterson school of assholes he picked for his first commission.

[bluestateguy]

5. I don't see the committee's bullshit bill passing the Senate anyway

Senate conservatives will vote against tax increases, so will many of the Blue Dogs, and liberal Democrats will vote against cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

So Obama's veto threat--even if it is sincere--doesn't mean a whole lot.

[Pirate Smile]

7. Obama's already got some Senate Dems complaining about the tax increases. He couldn't get them

passed through the earlier Senate with even more Dems because some Dems complained.

Once again, the problem isn't Obama. It is the Republicans with an assist by certain Dems.

People spend a lot of time complaining about the wrong person.

[SwampG8r]

9. so...medicare IS on the table?

a lot of people saying it wasnt on the table to begin with are bragging about it not being touched while on the very table they said it wasnt on.

[Inuca]

13. Look just a bit deeper before you complain

markknollerMark Knoller (tweet)


The aides say about 90% of Medicare reductions is intended to come from reducing overpayments.

[mikekohr]

14. Quit with the facts and sound reasoning. You are confusing people.

[SwampG8r]

16. so it was on the table when everyone said it wasnt or

it just went on the table?

[saras]

10. It's supposed to be a bipartisan committe - a plan like that would be a South-Park level fail

...even before Obama got a chance to veto it.

[eridani]

12. But Medicare cuts are OK as long as some taxes are raised?

[COLGATE4]

15. Obama is much more a master of the use of conditional language

than Clinton, but it's the same proposition. With Clinton, it was "it depends on what "IS" is". With Obama it's I will veto blah blah blah IF blah blah blah. Those who ignore the glaring use of "if" in his declaration are going to be severely disappointed.

[totodeinhere]

17. I oppose cuts to Medicare even if there are some tax increases.

Is this just a way to try to get us to swallow Medicare cuts? Even if millionaires have to pay more in taxes, and I support that, is that somehow going to make a senior happy to see their Medicare benefits cut?