Medicare and Medicaid savings should be part of future debt-reduction efforts, but not on the table in talks regarding the impending "fiscal cliff," so says the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate. In the prepared remarks of 'Little Dick' Durbin’s speech today to the ultra-liberal Center for American Progress, he writes that 'progressives' cannot "pretend" the programs can "continue forever" without changes to ensure their solvency. But the majority whip from Illinois insists that any adjustments should come after the immediate budget is passed. "Progressives should be willing to talk about ways to ensure the long-term viability of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid," it reads. Going on to say, "But those conversations should not be part of a plan to avert the fiscal cliff." This is but one more example of how lying Democrats like 'Little Dick' operate when it comes to defining compromise.
Oddly enough, during the event, the illustrious 'Little Dick' skipped over that section of his notes, which had been released to the media, but he told reporters that he stood by every word. "We can’t be so naive as to believe that just taxing the rich is going to solve our problems," he told the crowd, adding that his caucus needed to be open to issues "painful and hard for us to talk about." 'Little Dick' said he continued to be opposed to some conservative proposals, including voucher programs for Medicare and a block-grant system for Medicaid. But he also maintained he’s wary of raising the eligibility age for the safety-net programs, for fear of creating coverage gaps. It was Barry "Almighty" who floated that same idea last year. The statements offer a window into what might be congressional Democrats’ proverbial "line in the sand" as each party sharpens their negotiating teams.
So how, exactly, is a budget agreement to be reached by Dec. 31, when one side is already busy taking things off the table? It would appear that while some members of Congress see the talks as an opportunity to reduce the national debt, others, like "Little Dick", would rather let things play out in the attempt to achieve some level of a political victory Members of both parties discussed cuts to entitlement programs earlier this month, in a meeting with Barry, as a way to bring about deficit reduction. According to the Office of Management and Budget, the sum total of US entitlement programs, including Social Security, make up a projected 62.4 percent of the entire federal budget in 2012. And yet, we have a dim-bulb Democrat stipulating what can and what cannot be on the table regarding any potential agreement regarding our impending fiscal cliff. Now just how much sense does that make? Ah, that would be, NONE!
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