entitlement reform

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Trump Suggests He's Open to Entitlement Cuts

'At some point' they will be on his plate, he says in CNBC interview

(Newser) - Entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare could potentially get cut under President Trump, or so he suggested at the very end of a CNBC interview from Davos on Wednesday. In what the Washington Post describes as a "new openness" to the idea—he pledged to protect entitlements...

The Government Is Growing, Dying at the Same Time

Robert Samuelson argues that the Democrats are paradoxically the ones shrinking it

(Newser) - As the American people age, a pernicious paradox has taken hold of the federal budget: "We are slowly dismantling the federal government, even as its spending is growing larger," observes Robert Samuelson at the Washington Post . With every budget, lawmakers are slashing into discretionary spending, but with Social...

Finally, Washington Sees a Way Out

Obama, House GOP leaders to meet today

(Newser) - Signs of hope in DC: Both parties are increasingly pushing for an end to the government shutdown and a debt-ceiling increase, with President Obama set to meet with 18 top House Republicans today, the Hill reports. Those Republicans include Paul Ryan, who's at the forefront of a short-term plan...

GOP Leaders Like Obama's Social Security Cuts

Hearings to begin in House subcommittees this week

(Newser) - Democrats aren't happy with the part of President Obama's budget proposal that involves cutting Social Security benefits , but Republican leaders just love it, the Washington Post reports. John Boehner is trying to muffle any GOP criticism of the budget proposal, which is mainly coming from Republican lawmakers...

Fiscal Cliff Deal Coming Together

But Obama, Boehner still haggling over numbers

(Newser) - President Obama made a fresh offer on the fiscal crisis to John Boehner yesterday and while it was rejected, the two sides are now so close together that it is no longer inconceivable that a deal to avert the cliff could be wrapped up by Christmas. The rundown:
  • The Obama
...

Obama, GOP Dig Heels in, 'Hundreds of Billions' Apart

White House, Boehner not budging much in latest proposals

(Newser) - President Obama and John Boehner traded fiscal cliff proposals Monday and yesterday, but the two sides remain miles apart, and the Washington Post reports that they don't appear to be giving any ground. Yesterday's Republican proposal was basically the same as one Obama rejected a week ago, but...

At Fiscal Cliff, a Debt Ceiling Showdown Now Looms

Fiscal cliff debate roaring through Washington

(Newser) - Wrangling at the edge of the fiscal cliff is the main event in Washington right now, and the stakes might be even higher than most people realize. At President Obama's first meeting with John Boehner, he asked him to raise the debt ceiling before the end of the year,...

Entitlements Favor the Rich —Because They Live Longer

Peter Orszag: Social Security, Medicare formulas should be tweaked

(Newser) - Most people don't think of Social Security and Medicare as regressive programs that favor the well-off, but they are, former Obama budget director Peter Orszag argues in his Bloomberg column. Chalk it up to one simple reason: "Better-educated, higher-income Americans are living longer than everyone else." And...

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...

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