The Debt Commission, led by Republican Alan Simpson, is making recommendations to CUT & DELAY Social Security and Medicare, leaving our Seniors to EAT CAT FOOD!The formation of the Debt Commission (some media outlets are calling it "President Obama's Debt Commission" or "The White House Debt Commission") was originally a Congressionally proposed recommendation for a Commission to be formed to create bipartisan legislation requiring a Congressional vote on its recommendations as presented, without any amendments. In January of 2010, that bill failed in the Senate by a vote of 53-46, when six Republicans who had co-sponsored it nevertheless voted against it. Thereafter, President Obama established the Commission by executive order 13531. Republican Senator Alan Simpson was appointed as co-chair of this bi-partisan Commission.
Republican Simpson, initially supported by both Republican and Democrats as co-chair, has created a number of media frenzies with his blatant and radical outbursts. Back in August, Simpson sent an email to the executive director of the National Older Women’s League in which he described Social Security as being an entitlement program “like a cow with 310 million tits." (WOW!)
Now, Simpson, as co-chair of the Debt Commission, has foregone the support of the members on his committee and has blatantly come out and presented his so-called "committee recommendations" even though the members of the committee DO NOT AGREE WITH IT!
And now Simpson has sparked a political firestorm Wednesday with the early release of his recommendations...a report proposing sweeping changes to Social Security, Medicare and the tax code. Simpson’s plan would increase the Social Security retirement age and limit yearly cost-of-living increases to the rate of inflation rather than of wage growth. The cut in annual increases would affect current retirees! This was supposed to be off the table for the Commission. This means Seniors benefits would go down by about 3 percent after they’ve been retired for 10 years, and about 6 percent after they’ve been retired for 20 years. (Unbelievable!!)
And the retirement age increase is just a particularly cruel way of cutting benefits. The age at which the elderly can retire on full Social Security benefits is already increasing to 67 by 2027. Simpson’s plan would “index” the retirement age to increase in longevity, meaning it would hit 68 in about 2050 and 69 in about 2075.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) had this to say about it: “It is reprehensible to ask working people, including many who do physically-demanding labor, to work until they are 69 years of age. It also is totally impractical. As they compete for jobs with 25-year-olds, many older workers will go unemployed and have virtually no income. Frankly, there will not be too much demand within the construction industry for 69-year-old bricklayers.”
New York Times opinion columnist Paul Krugman also pointed out that “the people who really depend on Social Security, those in the bottom half of the distribution, aren’t living much longer. So you’re going to tell janitors to work until they’re 70 because lawyers are living longer than ever.”
At the end of the day, only Republicans/Tea Partiers will support these recommendations. After all, anyone who supports irrational tax cuts for the rich will have no qualms about asking the Elderly in our country to be forced to eat CAT FOOD!
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SmartMoney.com : Dow Jones Industrial Average could be pushing 14,000 by the end of 2011, a strong, multi-year rally is just beginning, thanks to aggressive monetary policy of the FED, thanks to the beginnings of job growth and the improvement in consumer confidence and expectations
In other words : this means that Mr Obama will be reelected - A president is always reelected when the Economy is doing well and jobs are provided to Americans. This is an undoubted Historical Fact.
SmartMoney.com
4 Signs the Rally's Here to Stay
Stocks by Sarah Morgan
November 10, 2010
http://www.smartmoney.com/investing/stocks/four-signs-the-rallys-here-to-stay--1289342314219/
Some excerpts :
Already, the Dow is up 13.9% since the beginning of September, and the fourth quarter is historically a seasonally strong one for stocks. Some investing professionals believe the rally will go on even longer. "You're set up for a best of all possible worlds," says Charles Lemonides, the chief investment officer at ValueWorks, a wealth-management firm with a value investing approach. A strong, multi-year rally is just beginning, he says, pointing to aggressive monetary policy, the beginnings of job growth and improvement in consumers' balance sheets.
But the biggest indicator that stocks are set to rise may be all those investors fleeing stocks and piling into bonds. For the 25th straight month since October 2008, they put more money into bonds than stocks; for the week ending Oct. 27, equity funds lost $2.34 billion and bond funds gained $5.31 billion, according to the Investment Company Institute. And the equity aversion extends from individuals to professionals, says David Winters, manager of the Wintergreen Fund (WGRNX). "After the financial crisis, people basically decided all they really wanted to own was cash," he says.
No one ever said it was easy to be greedy when others are fearful, but contrarians say there are opportunities in equities. The Wintergreen Fund has about 90% of its money in equities right now, Winters says. Less than 18 months ago, they were only 77% invested. Although finding underpriced diamonds in the rough is usually difficult for a value investor, quality stocks are cheap enough now that "the diamonds are right in front of you, sitting on the sidewalk," says Charles Lemonides, the chief investment officer at ValueWorks. "Pick them up if you want." The S&P 500 currently trades at about 14 times earnings, which is already low by historical standards, notes Doug McEldowney, a portfolio manager at Northern Trust (NTRS: 51.10*, -0.34, -0.66%) . His fund's value portfolio is cheaper yet, at 12.7 times earnings.
Lemonides says he believes the Dow could be pushing 14,000 by the end of 2011 -- a 22% gain from its current level. Consensus views on the future -- that growth will be slow and markets will be volatile -- tend to assume the present conditions will continue, he says, but that means "You're never going to predict change. And change happens."
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Youth, Minorities, Demography and Politics :
Milenials.com
Vicente Duque
We have yet to see your suggestions for balancing the budget and paying down the national debt. If you have any knowledge of the federal budget, you would understand how difficult it is to accomplish that task without dealing with someone's sacred cow -- Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, ag subsidies, federal compensation, and defense. Everything has to be on the table. What we need now is some folks out of John F. Kennedy's book, "Profiles in Courage", people who are willing to risk their careers and livelihoods to do the right thing.
Until you are able to suggest alternative ways of solving the impending fiscal crisis, don't get you panties in an uproar.
Perhaps you overlooked the following provisions designed to avoid what you are calling "leaving our Seniors to EAT CAT FOOD!"
"Prevent the 22% across the board benefit cut projected to occur in 2037.
Reduce elderly poverty by putting into place a new, effective special minimum benefit."
"Reform Social Security for its own sake, not for deficit reduction."
The Draft of the Commission will require 14 votes before it can be presented to the congress for an up or down vote.
Ultima,
Apparently you did NOT see my previous columns on support of NOT renewing Bush's tax cuts to the top 2 % (millionaires). That alone will save billions each year.
You also forget my recommendation to stop outsourcing jobs offshore and doing so by incenting business to keep jobs in America; those that do would receive the tax cut extensions.
Think of the revenue in taxes gained and the improvement in the employment rate.
Remember, the Bailouts of the Auto companies have been repaid; the treasury also profited from the Bank Bailouts which have been repaid.
You forget the wrong turn to Iraq cost us Trillions of dollars in loans from China as well as countless lives of Americans and many innocent residents in Iraq caught in the crossfire.
Under President Clinton, we were in a budget surplus. Given time and some honest assistance from the Rethuglicans, the improvement to the economy would be much quicker. The party of No has been fighting our President and his adminstration since they assumed office. It is tragic!
You right wingers are quick to want to end Medicare, Social Security and Unemployment compensation..something YOU all call "entitlements." You forget we working taxpayers have PAID for these benefits and these are our returns.
The problem with Big Business is they are too busy sending jobs offshore, looking for tax shelters and tax cuts, and are refusing to staff employees here in America. They have Rethuglicans in their hip pockets and you know it. They also have brain washed the Tea Partiers, particularly carpetbaggers like the Koch brothers who have funded many of the Teaparty bashed like ole Glenn Beck's 9/12 party. None are so blind as those who will not see.
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