Republicans Plan to Use Debt Limit Leverage to Reduce Social Security, Medicare: Report

[Scott]

 

 

Republicans in the House are planning to use a potential showdown next year over raising the federal debt limit to make changes in Social Security and Medicare, Bloomberg’s Jack Fitzpatrick reports.

 

The developing plan hinges on Republicans winning control of the House in the midterm elections, an outcome that is looking likely. Four GOP lawmakers who are vying for leadership of the House Budget Committee in the event of a Republican victory told Fitzpatrick that the need to raise the debt ceiling could give them the leverage they need to force Democrats to make concessions.

 

“The debt limit is clearly one of those tools that Republicans — that a Republican-controlled Congress — will use to make sure that we do everything we can to make this economy strong,”  Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), the senior Republican on the current Budget Committee, said.

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/republicans-plan-debt-limit-leverage-222818100.html

[placeholder]

If the Democrats are smart, they'll campaign on this Republican plan.

[candide]

53 minutes ago, placeholder said:

If the Democrats are smart, they'll campaign on this Republican plan.

It looks like Republicans have been eager to provide arguments to the Dems for a few months.

Edited October 14, 2022 by candide

[Credo]

There are a lot of people that will not be happy.  Social Security is the life-line for many.

[FarAngMoh]

Is it not obvious just by the sheer timing of this “news” that it is spin by the left to increase votes for the midterm? 

 

It is the same dirty tricks they played to win the Georgia runoff, except that time it was over stimulus checks.

 

It doesn’t take much digging to discover that this “news” is not what it appears to be.

[Jingthing]

19 minutes ago, FarAngMoh said:

Is it not obvious just by the sheer timing of this “news” that it is spin by the left to increase votes for the midterm? 

 

It is the same dirty tricks they played to win the Georgia runoff, except that time it was over stimulus checks.

 

It doesn’t take much digging to discover that this “news” is not what it appears to be.

Yeah Bloomberg is just like the Daily Worker. 

[FarAngMoh]

Not sure which Bloomberg article you are referring to, but this Bloomberg opinion piece picked up on the “all too convenient” timing…

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-09-01/republicans-need-to-get-serious-about-social-security

[placeholder]

57 minutes ago, FarAngMoh said:

Is it not obvious just by the sheer timing of this “news” that it is spin by the left to increase votes for the midterm? 

 

It is the same dirty tricks they played to win the Georgia runoff, except that time it was over stimulus checks.

 

It doesn’t take much digging to discover that this “news” is not what it appears to be.

It takes very little digging to expose your comments for the BS that they are:

 

Rick Scott Can’t Even Get Fox News to Buy His Bu1lsh*t

REPUBLICAN SEN. RICK Scott couldn’t convince Fox News host John Roberts to buy his ridiculous 11 point “Plan to Rescue America,” which includes proposals to force all Americans to pay income tax, sunset all federal legislation within five years, and complete the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico to name it after former President Donald Trump...

Roberts continued, “So, that would raise taxes on half of Americans and potentially sunset programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Why would you propose something like that in an election year?”

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/rick-scott-fox-news-taxes-medicare-social-security-1328178/

 

Sen. Mitt Romney suggests he'd back cutting retirement benefits for younger Americans

Romney suggested he would favor cutting retirement benefits for younger Americans to address the debt.
He warned the US could find itself in "a heap of trouble" if it didn't take action.
Calls to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits haven't faded entirely among Republicans.

https://www.businessinsider.com/mitt-romney-retirement-benefits-for-younger-americans-2022-3

 

Ron Johnson calls for annual approval of Social Security, Medicare funding
Republican US Senator says mandatory funding of benefits drives up federal deficit

https://www.wpr.org/ron-johnson-calls-annual-approval-social-security-medicare-funding

 

 

 

[FarAngMoh]

Anyone can cherry pick a few things can make it seem like a threat. Fox News does it all the time. 

[placeholder]

"The Republican Study Committee, the largest group of House Republicans, released a budget plan in June that called on lawmakers to gradually raise the Medicare age of eligibility to 67 and the Social Security eligibility to 70 before indexing both to life expectancy. It backed withholding payments to those who retired early and had earnings over a certain limit. And it endorsed the consideration of options to reduce payroll taxes that fund Social Security and redirect them to private alternatives. It also urged lawmakers to “phase-in an increase in means testing” for Medicare."

https://www.businessinsider.com/mitt-romney-retirement-benefits-for-younger-americans-2022-3

 

And keep in mind that the Republicans tried this before in 2011. 

And in 2005 George Bush decided he had political capital and tried to use it to privatize Social Security

The same people who consistently vote to slash govt revenue then raise alarms about deficits.

It reminds me of the old joke about a son who murders his parents and then throws himiself upon the mercy of the court because he's an orphan.

[bendejo]

The GOP plan is to make the US economy as bad as possible to make the Dems look as bad as possible in 2024.

They can do magic the way they can oppose something and when it passes Congress and the people like it they make it look like passing it was their doing, when not one GOP rep or senator voted for it.  A lot of them are campaigning on the infrastructure improvements which they actually voted against.  If they succeed in cutting Social Security they'll tell the retirees it was those commie Dems that did it.

Unfortunately I don't think there are enough GOP voters intelligent enough to see through that, and it seems the RNC is well aware of that, and they would like to keep it that way.  I'll always remember Rick Santorum calling Obama a snob because he said every kid should get a college education.  Voter ignorance makes the Republican party strong!

 

 

[FarAngMoh]

Both sides are bad in their own way, and neither side is innocent of fear mongering. 
 

Democrats are not going to turn the nation into a socialist state, and Republicans are not going to cut social security, that would be political suicide. 

[placeholder]

24 minutes ago, FarAngMoh said:

Both sides are bad in their own way, and neither side is innocent of fear mongering. 
 

Democrats are not going to turn the nation into a socialist state, and Republicans are not going to cut social security, that would be political suicide. 

Well, they already did it once under Reagan.

And if they're not going to do it, why keep going on about it?