Politics
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- hallelujah0
"John McCain really does hate government spending. For weeks we've been hearing about McCain plans on providing tax credits for Americans to buy their own health care - a scam, as Obama points out, paid for by taxing health benefits.
Well, if only that were the extent of it. The Wall Street Journal has the scoop:
John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs.
Say what?!?!?!
The Republican presidential nominee has said little about the proposed cuts, but they are needed to keep his health-care plan "budget neutral," as he has promised. The McCain campaign hasn't given a specific figure for the cuts, but didn't dispute the analysts' estimate.
Said little? In fact I'd say McCain has said nothing about them. And with good reason. His best hope for victory is a large margin of victory amongst the oldest voters. Well, if the market's tanking and the notion of McCain's privatizing social security wasn't enough for them, how about a trillion dollar cut in Medicare?
Mr. Holtz-Eakin said the Medicare and Medicaid changes would improve the programs and eliminate fraud, but he didn't detail where the cuts would come from. "It's about giving them the benefit package that has been promised to them by law at lower cost," he said.
Okay, I don't dispute there are ways to improve the programs and that there might be some fraud. But $1.3 trillion in cost-savings simply by "improving" these programs? No. If McCain is committed to funding his health care proposal this way, he will simply cut the money first and push Medicare and Medicaid to figure it out. But realistically this will mean massive reduction in benefits at best.
At worst, this is the beginning of the end of these programs. And let's be clear: that is most likely McCain's ultimate goal. He wants to phase out these government programs and phase in "tax credits" for consumers to buy their own health plans.
Obama campaign, you have yet another gift that fell into your lap. Quietly, stealthily, the McCain has planned the wholesale destruction of some of the most vital social safety nets this country has."
- lackofcolor0
These pictures of people reacting to the stock market are always great.
- Dow is down below 10,000. Man, that bailout is powerful stuff!TheBlueOne
- effective.lackofcolor
- Well thank god our economy is stabilized now!! *breathes sigh of relieftommyo
- I thought that was a reaction too, but he's just cupping his mic so he can be heard.Point5
- lackofcolor0
few more...
- TheBlueOne0
Cool, I can wear the "Dow 10,000" hat I got from my brother back in 1999 again when he was working at Chase:
Good times are here again
- GeorgesII0
barack hiting hard
http://www.keatingeconomics.com- i dl'd the .mov file - pretty damaging. obama better play this card tomorrow nightBonSeff
- tommyo0
Whhhhhhaaaaaat?! Wow. Taliban splits from Al Qaeda and seek peace??
- there is sooooo much too this that we don't knowsikma
- it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for McCain.
/sarcasmmonkeyshine - hahatommyo
- monkeyshine i was just going to say it's only a matter of time before mccain and the repubs take credit.kona
- Will he be suspending his campaign to fly there and manage the situation?TheBlueOne
- Did we bribe them too?Mimio
- Sheesh, the political climate in here is stifling sometimes.tommyo
- we wired the Tali $700B for peace.Point5
- don't make this news bigger than it is right now. thanks. taliban is not to be trusted.janne76
- the logic of this is unpossibleKwesiJ
- Is it April Fool's Day on the Taliban calendar?BusterBoy
- mightcould0
Last day to register to vote in some states...
http://www.rockthevote.com/
- saw a really nice Shepard Fairey showing at the shooting gallery on saturday, nice stuff.robco
- robotron3k0
NICE....... so the schmo who is going to take the reins of the "Banker Bailout" of 810 Billion is none other than 35 year old ex-Goldman Sachs exec named Neel Kashkari. This will be for the new Office of Financial Stability...
- Is he trying to hypnotize us?Mimio
- at least he looks like an assholeBattleAxe
- It's hedge!ukit
- http://images.hollyw…
SteveJobs - Why are Wall Street douches being allowed to man the doors of the chicken coop??tommyo
- he looks like a character on 24monkeyshine
- tommyo0
I heard another interesting perspective on why this bailout was a horrible idea. The baby boomers are all going to become a HUGE drain on the economy in the next few years. If they had allowed the economy to simply adjust, instead of trying to inflate the deflated balloon, then we might have cleared this mess by the time the boomer effect started. Now they've most likely delayed the depression straight into that next crisis.
Awesome!!! Our politicians are wonderful!! Just through their involvement they created the problem, now they think they can solve the problem. They're driving us straight into a fucking wall.
- //Nice, I've been looking for someone to blame.Mimio
- hat ethos efucking hippies and the damn anti-hippies they spawned. You all can stop fighting Vietnam now...TheBlueOne
- era4O40
This is a new video we made for The Friends of Arthur Ashe to spur Virginians (and fans of his) to register to vote before the deadline.
- tommyo0
hahaha!
"BIDEN: Can I respond? Look, all you have to do is go down Union Street with me in Wilmington or go to Katie’s Restaurant or walk into Home Depot with me where I spend a lot of time and you ask anybody in there whether or not the economic and foreign policy of this administration has made them better off in the last eight years. And then ask them whether there’s a single major initiative that John McCain differs with the president on. On taxes, on Iraq, on Afghanistan, on the whole question of how to help education, on the dealing with health care.
Look, the people in my neighborhood, they get it. They get it. They know they’ve been getting the short end of the stick. So walk with me in my neighborhood, go back to my old neighborhood in Claymont, an old steel town or go up to Scranton with me. These people know the middle class has gotten the short end. The wealthy have done very well. Corporate America has been rewarded. It’s time we change it. Barack Obama will change it."
I guess it turns out that Katie's Restaurant was closed in 1990. Doh!
- BURN! ya dude, good catch! I'm totally changing my vote. Hard hitting info. you got there!sofakingbanned
- Just illustrating how out of touch our politicians are. Don't need to get all sarcastic about the ONLY Biden post.tommyo
- TheBlueOne0
"Hey, I made my $300 million..you guys are all suckers..."
