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NEWS ABOUT: entitlement programs

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Don't Raise Taxes on Rich; Redirect Money to Poor

Raising taxes would only create stagnation: Barone

(Newser) - "What should be done about income inequality?" This question "underlies the arguments hashed out in the supercommittee and promises to be a central issue in the presidential campaign," writes Michael Barone in the Washington Examiner . Barone's answer, based on a recent paper by Republican lawmaker Paul... More »

Taxing Rich Won't Help Middle Class

Government has hurt Americans, not the rich, says Ross Douthat

(Newser) - You can raise taxes on the rich to fight inequality, but that will only "trim the tallest poppies" and won't do anything to help the middle class, says Ross Douthat in the New York Times . "True social mobility and broadly shared prosperity are not so easily achieved,... More »

Yes, It's a Ponzi Scheme —but We Can Fix It

Social Security can be easily saved, with political courage: Krauthammer

(Newser) - Rick Perry keeps riling people by calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme . But guess what, writes Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post : It is a Ponzi scheme. In fact, it's almost the very definition of one. The big difference is that a Ponzi scheme is illegal while Social Security... More »

Obama, Boehner Near 'Grand Bargain'—Maybe

Reports cite $3T deal with tax reform, entitlement changes

(Newser) - President Obama and John Boehner are reportedly back at the bargaining table, and they could be near a deal to cut the deficit and raise the debt ceiling. The rumored $3 trillion agreement between the administration and top Republicans could include entitlement changes and set plans for tax reform, reports... More »

Obama Ready to Cut Social Security

President pushing $4T deficit reduction plan

(Newser) - With Medicare already on the table , President Obama has signaled that the other big budgetary time bomb isn't safe from cuts: Social Security. The president is pressing congressional leaders to accept an ambitious plan to slash $4 trillion over the next decade, insiders say. He hopes to use the... More »

AARP Open to Modest Cuts in Social Security Benefits

It denies major shift in policy, but move shakes up debate

(Newser) - The debate on entitlements reform got a jolt today when the Wall Street Journal reported what it sees a major shift in policy at AARP: The group will no longer oppose cuts in Social Security benefits. Given the group's massive clout, the story raised a ruckus on Capitol Hill... More »

Paul Ryan to Obama: You're Distorting My Plan

Republicans meet with president on debt

(Newser) - Republicans met with President Obama today to talk about the debt, resulting in what the Los Angeles Times describes as a "pointed exchange" between Paul Ryan and Obama. Ryan accused the president and Democrats of distorting his proposal to overhaul Medicare. "It's been misdescribed by the president... More »

Raising Debt Limit Again Invites US Ruin

Marco Rubio: We need a reform plan now, or the next generation is in trouble

(Newser) - Marco Rubio vows to vote against raising the debt limit in a few weeks—unless it's the last time and accompanied by comprehensive reform—and he casts the decision not as a wonky economic debate but as a "defining moment in American history." In his op-ed in the... More »

Dems to Offer GOP Another $20B in Spending Cuts

...bringing total to $30B, which may not satisfy Republicans

(Newser) - With the threat of a government shutdown less than two weeks away, all eyes are on the budget. The White House and congressional Democrats are working on a proposal to cut another $20 billion in spending, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . It’s the biggest cut the administration and... More »

Obama's Lying About Social Security

Charles Krauthammer thinks Obama's being dishonest about the so-called trust fund

(Newser) - Entitlement programs are choking our budget, but one of them, Social Security, ought to be “back-of-an-envelope solvable,” argues Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post : “Raise the retirement age, tweak the indexing formula, and means-test so that Warren Buffett’s check gets redirected to a senior in need.... More »

America's Young Should Be Mad, Too

Our leaders aren't focused on investing in the future

(Newser) - Fareed Zakaria sees a lesson for America in the youth-driven revolts sweeping the Middle East. No, America’s democracy is nothing like a Middle Eastern dictatorship. “But if the troubles of Arab youth make us shine a light on the state of America’s youth, the picture that emerges... More »

Old People Rule America

Budget shows that AARP has all the power

(Newser) - The unspoken question looming over Washington’s budget battle isn’t how much discretionary spending tol cut; it’s “whether our elected politicians will take back government from AARP,” writes Robert Samuelson of the Washington Post . Both parties obviously quake in fear of the senior citizens’ lobby, unwilling... More »

Social Security to Be Drained by 2037

System will be permanently in the red unless Congress acts

(AP) - Sick and getting sicker, Social Security will run at a deficit this year and keep on running in the red until its trust funds are drained by about 2037, according to bleaker-than-previous estimates from congressional budget experts. The massive retirement program has been suffering from the effects of the struggling... More »

Poll: Majority Want Action on Deficit Now

Public wants spending cuts ... just not to Medicare or Social Security

(Newser) - Some 56% of Americans want the massive federal budget deficit dealt with now instead of when the economy improves, according to a New York Times / CBS poll, and 62% say they would prefer the deficit be addressed through spending cuts, rather than higher taxes. That preference, however, changed when... More »

Social Security Is Just Fine

There's no crisis, conservatives just hate the program

(Newser) - Social Security turned 75 last week, but nobody felt much like celebrating, because the program is under an “unnecessary, unfair and—let’s not mince words—cruel attack,” writes Paul Krugman of the New York Times . Some Democrats and most Republicans claim social security is in crisis, and... More »

Tea Partiers Decry Socialism But Want Gov't Jobs

Turns out not all 'socialist' programs are bad

(Newser) - Upwards of 90% of tea partiers are convinced that the US is creeping away from capitalism towards socialism, but they aren’t as stridently opposed to that as you might think. Sure, roughly the same number think the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new Bloomberg... More »

Eying Deficit, Obama Plans $447B Freeze

17% of US budget affected, not including defense, entitlements

(Newser) - The latest detail to trickle out about initiatives President Obama plans to serve up in Wednesday’s State of the Union address is one aimed at cutting the $1.4 trillion federal budget deficit. Obama will announce a 3-year freeze on $447 billion in spending, a measure that could save... More »

Forget the $250 Checks, Obama: Say No to Grandma

To cut deficit, we have to cut benefits to seniors

(Newser) - Economists are none too impressed with Barack Obama's proposal to send each senior a cool $250, and David Leonhardt can see why. The over-65 set has weathered the recession better than anyone—many of them purchased real estate well before the housing bubble burst, and few work in the most-battered... More »

Medicare, Social Security Will Go Bust Sooner

(Newser) - The recession has hurt the already-shaky finances of Medicare and Social Security, the Washington Post reports. Medicare is now projected to run out of money in 2017, two years earlier than the last projection. Social Security, meanwhile, is expected to be insolvent in 2037, four years earlier. The annual report... More »

Obama's Secret Plan to Control Your Healthcare

President serves candy now, spinach later: Krauthammer

(Newser) - President Obama is going to need more than a “cash-cow carbon tax” to fund his goals of “nationalized health care” and “federalized education,” writes Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post. Obama’s going to have to slash Social Security and Medicare. But his current health plan... More »

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