Grand Bargain by the President
From the Washington Post
At the top of the priority list: a promise to forge a bipartisan compromise that reduces rampant government borrowing and makes long-postponed decisions about taxes and spending. In the interview, Obama called a budget deal “one of the best things we can do for the economy.”
“We’re going to be in a position where I believe in the first six months we are going to solve that big piece of business,” Obama said. “It will probably be messy. It won’t be pleasant. But I am absolutely confident that we can get what is the equivalent of the grand bargain that essentially I’ve been offering to the Republicans for a very long time, which is $2.50 worth of cuts for every dollar in [taxes], and work to reduce the costs of our health-care programs.”
…
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he had expressed concerns privately to the White House that Obama appeared to be steering clear of firm promises to protect entitlement programs. “Unlike four years ago,” Sanders said, “the president has not been outspoken in saying he’s not going to cut Social Security.”
Angry Bear has clear and thorough descriptions on why Social Security is a well running program and accomplishes its goals.
reduce the costs of our health-care programs
Reducing the cost of health-care is essential. Reducing the cost of our health-care programs (without reducing health-care costs) is terrible policy – it burdens our most vulnerable and likely increases costs overall, as the programs are less expensive than alternatives.
Good catch foosian
they know republicans won’t deal.
Hey, I got a fucking idea. Why doesn’t Obama just cut a $1.50 and screw the tax raises. Then he could stop this fucking game of thinking the left/progressives, non DLC people can’t see the wall of mirrors. This is game is fucking insulting.
At least the pain of the cuts would not be so great and he gets is fucking grand bargain. Here’s news for ya Obama, it won’t get you listed in the history books next to Roosevelt. It won’t get you listed in the republican’s history books next to Reagan.
All I can say is someone needs to sit him down in front of that presentation of Stiglizts and Krugman and then make him write an essay on what he just learned.
It is well worth raising the issue, and keeping pressure up where ever and when ever possible to maintain the (fairly thin) social safety net we have. However, this close to an election, I would never expect a politician to violate his or her own campaign theme in order to tell us what they really intend to do. Romney has had his etch-a-sketch debate and Obama is having his DLC moderate-right-fest.
The worry is that a DLC-style campaign will boost support for Bowles to become Treasury Secretary, and then he’d never shut up about burying the middle class to make the US “more competitive”.
This is me Mcwop
Think about the math and how this works. If you cut taxes by a dollar and reduce spending by $2.50, you have actually cut governmnet spending by $3.50.
Lets say you are deficit spending at 100. Tax hike of 1 and now you are deficit spending 99. Cut 2.50 and that brings you to 96.50. Net private savings just decreased 3.50. Less money going into the economy at a time where we need the opposite to happen.
Unfortunately
Angry Bear is probably the only place where you heard that Social Security is running well.
We don’t need to talk about the Big Liars… we know who they are.
But the President doesn’t even hear from the progressive left that Social Security runs well. They want to “save” it by turning it into welfare and taxing the rich to pay for it.
And they won’t even say the words: the workers can pay for their own Social Security, as they always have, by raising their own tax one tenth of one percent per year… about eighty cents per week while their wages are going up eight dollars per week.
They can’t say this, you see, because it would spoil their dream of universal justice making the rich pay if the workers knew they could pay for their own retirement for a pocket change increase in the amount of money they save for it.
This is not only stupid of them, it is dishonest.
yglesias on obama’s “grand bargain” with the left: taxes on the rich for cuts in social programs…
year end, if obama’s still around, it goes right over the fiscal cliff…
Obama: “But I am absolutely confident that we can get what is the equivalent of the grand bargain that essentially I’ve been offering to the Republicans for a very long time, which is $2.50 worth of cuts for every dollar in [taxes],”
Grand bargain, AKA Grand sellout, AKA Great Recession 2.0.