House Judiciary Chair Introduces Unconstitutional Bill To Permanently Abolish The Income Tax

House Judiciary Chair Introduces Unconstitutional Bill To Permanently Abolish The Income Tax:Goodlatte believes that Medicare and Social Security are unconstitutional, so it is both unsurprising that the House Judiciary Chair is too unfamiliar with the Constitution to draft a constitutional tax bill and ironic that his bill actually permits taxes for the two programs he thinks are unconstitutional.

Sixty-nine members of Congress co-sponsored Goodlatte’s unconstitutional proposal to bankrupt the federal government.

Biotech Giants Battle to Stop Generic Competition | Common Dreams

Biotech Giants Battle to Stop Generic Competition | Common Dreams
"Biotech giants are fighting tooth and nail to prevent pharmacists from giving generic substitutes for biological drugs, which could cost the companies billions of dollars in annual sales but save consumers thousands of dollars."

Paul Ryan: Calling Out My Hypocrisy on 'Entitlements' is a 'Straw Man Argument'

Paul Ryan: Calling Out My Hypocrisy on 'Entitlements' is a 'Straw Man Argument'
"Apparently taking note of the fact that someone is s hypocrite and rightfully pointing out that their policies hurt the most vulnerable among us is now a "straw man argument." On this Sunday's Meet the Press, David Gregory asked Rep. Paul Ryan about this quote from President Obama's inaugural speech, and Ryan pretty well twisted himself in knots trying to pretend that he and his fellow Republicans really don't want to gut our social safety nets. And all of that talk about "makers vs. takers"... well, just disregard all that."

Don’t Buy Lies About Social Security | Common Dreams

Don’t Buy Lies About Social Security | Common Dreams
"Let’s be brutally frank today: The claim by some of those Wall Street money changers and politicians like Wisconsin’s own Paul Ryan and many of his Republican colleagues that Social Security is contributing to the national debt and therefore needs to be “fixed” is nothing more than an outright lie."

How A Pharma Giant Used The ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Deal To Profit At The Expense Of Elderly Americans

How A Pharma Giant Used The ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Deal To Profit At The Expense Of Elderly Americans: Amgen Inc. — one of America’s largest biotech and pharmaceutical companies — has had a rough couple of months. In December, the firm was fined $762 million for illegally promoting drugs and defrauding Medicare. And now lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are looking to undo a little-noticed provision that Amgen successfully lobbied for [...]/p

Faith Leaders Pressure Ohio Governor To Expand ‘Life-Saving’ Medicaid Program

Faith Leaders Pressure Ohio Governor To Expand ‘Life-Saving’ Medicaid Program: On top of slashing state funds for Ohio’s Medicaid program, Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) hasn’t yet committed to Obamacare’s optional Medicaid expansion — even though participating in the expansion would extend health coverage to an estimated 600,000 low-income Ohioans. But the state’s religious and community leaders are hoping the governor might be swayed by their [...]/p

Paul Ryan Throws A Hissy Fit, Rewrites His Recent History

Paul Ryan Throws A Hissy Fit, Rewrites His Recent History
"Paul Ryan believes 60 percent of the people in this country are takers. He's said that many, many times. And that category includes Medicare and Social Security recipients, no matter how much lipstickhe puts on that pig.

Always remember, this is a moral issue for Ryan. He can deny it all he wants, but this maker/taker belief rests at the core of his very being.

The only difference between Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney is a number: 13 percent. Romney said 47 percentwere takers; Ryan says 60 percent are takers.

Otherwise, there's no daylight between them."

Paul Ryan, Pathological Liar | Alternet

Paul Ryan, Pathological Liar | Alternet
"He got famous for telling fibs during the campaign and now he's spreading lies about his attack on society’s “takers"."

Support For Tea Party Budget Amendment Craters In The Senate

Support For Tea Party Budget Amendment Craters In The Senate: It’s worth noting that Lee has, at times, called national child labor laws, FEMA, food stamps, the FDA, Medicaid, income assistance for the poor, and even Medicare and Social Security unconstitutional. Meaning that every senator who does not believe that preventing children from working in coal mines is a violation of our founding document appears to have abandoned the quest to also turn that document into a blueprint for the Great Depression.

O'Reilly Attacks Obama for Promoting Social Justice in Inaugural Address

O'Reilly Attacks Obama for Promoting Social Justice in Inaugural Address
"What a shock. Sour grapes Bill O'Reilly didn't like President Obama's inaugural speech today. And what set Bill-O off that irritated him so badly about it? President Obama was advocating for... gasp... social justice! The horror! The only thing that was missing here was him calling us Greece. That and saying the words that didn't cross his lips, which is Social Security and Medicare. Apparently those are "welfare" now."

David Gregory Continues to Advocate for Gutting Social Safety Nets

David Gregory Continues to Advocate for Gutting Social Safety Nets
"Looks like Tommy Christopher at Mediaite figured out what we've been saying over here for a long time now... that David Gregory is a right wing tool who's constantly advocating for really bad Republican economic policies along with a bunch of his fellow Villagers in the media: David Gregory Tells Morning Joe That President Obama Must Gut Medicare To Succeed:"

Obama Finally Pushes Back On ‘The 47 Percent’: Entitlements ‘Do Not Make Us A Nation Of Takers’

Obama Finally Pushes Back On ‘The 47 Percent’: Entitlements ‘Do Not Make Us A Nation Of Takers’: In the months of campaign that unfolded after Mitt Romney was skewered for saying that “47 percent” of the country “believe that they are victims… believe the government has a responsibility to care for them,” President Obama was relatively silent about the remarks. But today, during his second inaugural speech, Obama got the last word [...]/p

CEOs Calling For Entitlement Reform

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Ezra Klein Knocks CEOs and Pundits for Wanting to Raise Retirement Age to 70

Ezra Klein Knocks CEOs and Pundits for Wanting to Raise Retirement Age to 70
"Klein discussed the recent news that CEOs and The Business Roundtable are pushing to have the retirement ages raised to 70, but don't want the income cap raised on Social Security, because heaven forbid we do anything to harm those uber-wealthy "job creators." As Klein notes, while they didn't mind pushing for those with much lower incomes to take a big hit on their retirement benefits, the wealthiest among us aren't willing to share in that sacrifice themselves. They're drawing the line when it comes to raising their own Social Security taxes as Reuters reported"

Corporate CEO 'Extremists' Target Social Security, Medicare | Common Dreams

Corporate CEO 'Extremists' Target Social Security, Medicare | Common Dreams
"CEOs from America's largest corporations—including its biggest banks, retailers, and insurance companies who helped drive the country into the worst recession in nearly a century— are now calling on Congress to punish the nation's working class and society's most vulnerable by advocating major changes to Social Security and Medicare in a new lobbying push that critics say reveal the cruelty and selfish nature of the country's corporate class."

How Extreme Is the Business Roundtable? Check Out Its Attack On the Elderly | Common Dreams

How Extreme Is the Business Roundtable? Check Out Its Attack On the Elderly | Common Dreams
"Rich CEOs have used every tax loophole in the book to add to their own wealth, have been bailed out directly or indirectly by the American taxpayer, and have rigged corporate governance so that they make far more than they’re worth.
Now, to make sure the milk and honey keeps flowing their way, they want to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits for the beleaguered American majority."

A Program for Combating Poverty -- Stop the Cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Expand Medicare to All | Alternet

A Program for Combating Poverty -- Stop the Cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Expand Medicare to All | Alternet
"A comprehensive program to combat poverty in America is long overdue. It should start by insisting on no cuts in Social Security or Medicare, and move on to a permanent fix of our healthcare system by upgrading Medicare with full funding and an end to the creeping privatization, and expanding it to cover everyone."

In Addition To Taxing The Poor, Louisiana Will Stop Providing End-Of-Life Care To Low-Income Americans

In Addition To Taxing The Poor, Louisiana Will Stop Providing End-Of-Life Care To Low-Income Americans: This week, potential Republican presidential contender Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) rolled out one of the country’s most regressive tax proposals, a plan that would shift Louisiana’s tax burden away from the wealthy by raising taxes on the bottom 80 percent of state residents. Apparently, the “austerity” measures don’t stop there. According to New Orleans CBS [...]/p

AARP comes out against COLA cut | Economic Policy Institute

AARP comes out against COLA cut | Economic Policy Institute
"AARP unveiled new research from its Middle Class Security Projectyesterday, with related papers focusing on topics ranging from rising health care costs to credit card debt. At the release, AARP CEO Barry Rand gave a rousing speech, coming out strongly against a proposed cut in the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), echoing a similar stance by the New York Times this Sunday. Rand focused on the need for both solvency and adequacy, emphasizing that Americans don’t want Social Security reform to be part of deficit reduction talks and were willing to contribute more to strengthen the program."

Fighting For The Soul Of America

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With Taxes At Record Lows, Multimillionaire Lobbyist Suggests Slashing Health Benefits To Reduce The Deficit

With Taxes At Record Lows, Multimillionaire Lobbyist Suggests Slashing Health Benefits To Reduce The Deficit: During his annual “State of American Business” address on Thursday, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue — who made $4.7 million in 2010 alone — called for lawmakers to tackle America’s long-term budget woes by enacting legislation that would slash entitlement spending on Medicare and Medicaid — the public insurance programs that [...]/p

Americans Die Earlier Than People In Other Wealthy Nations

Americans Die Earlier Than People In Other Wealthy Nations: Regardless of race, class, education level, and even healthy eating and exercise habits, Americans have a shorter life expectancy than their peers in other affluent nations. According to a new government-sponsored survey released Wednesday, part of the gap in life expectancy can be attributed to the fact that people living in the U.S. are much [...]/p

Rick Scott Used Fake Medicaid Numbers To Veto ACA Expansion - Updated

Rick Scott Used Fake Medicaid Numbers To Veto ACA Expansion - Updated
"This is the state governed by the man who bilked so much from Medicare that his company was forced to agree to a $1.7 billion fine, which represented only a fraction of what he actually stole. Yet, voters elected him, and now they're stuck with Governor Gollum, who thinks it's just too expensive to cover poor people in his state and would rather leave them in a gutter to die."

Obama Administration Prevents Maine From Kicking Thousands Of Low-Income Residents Off Medicaid

Obama Administration Prevents Maine From Kicking Thousands Of Low-Income Residents Off Medicaid: GOP governors across the country are so resistant to implementing Obamacare, they’re unwilling to expand their Medicaid programs under the health reform law at the expense of the low-income residents in their states. And Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) actually wants to go even further — not only does he oppose expanding Medicaid to extend [...]/p

Fool Us Again: 30 Years of Bait and Switch Budget Politics | Common Dreams

Fool Us Again: 30 Years of Bait and Switch Budget Politics | Common Dreams
"Republicans are trying to accomplish through the back door that which they could never accomplish directly: gutting social security; Medicare; Medicaid; Pell grants; unemployment insurance; and regulatory programs covering the environment, labor, worker safety, food and drug safety, the financial sector and anything else which might get in the way of giant giveaways to oligarchs, plutocrats and fat cats."

That Bad Ceiling Feeling: Unlike the Fiscal Cliff the Debt Ceiling Is the Real Deal | Common Dreams

That Bad Ceiling Feeling: Unlike the Fiscal Cliff the Debt Ceiling Is the Real Deal | Common Dreams
"Yup, that’s right. The debt ceiling is upon us again and Republicans are showing every sign that they will once again attempt to hold the country hostage to force a “grand bargain” they hope will result in major cuts to Social Security and Medicare."

Great Recession Forced All Americans To Cut Back On Their Health Care

Great Recession Forced All Americans To Cut Back On Their Health Care: Although the Great Recession has taken an outsized toll on African-Americans and Hispanics, new research suggests that the economic downturn has forced Americans across all racial groups to equally cut back on their medical services. After researchers at the University of Maryland analyzed more than 54,000 U.S. adults’ health care use, they found that — [...]/p

Florida Governor Inflates Cost Of Medicaid Expansion By 2,600% To Avoid Implementing Obamacare

Florida Governor Inflates Cost Of Medicaid Expansion By 2,600% To Avoid Implementing Obamacare: Internal email messages uncovered by Health News Florida reveal that Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) is knowingly citing inaccurate cost estimates to justify his refusal to expand Florida’s Medicaid program. Though the governor’s office is fully aware that the numbers are wrong, Scott continues to use them anyway, the documents show. Florida, which has one of [...]/p

Bernie Sanders Annihilates Mitch McConnell and Delivers a Lesson in Compassion

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The Hoax of Entitlement Reform | Common Dreams

The Hoax of Entitlement Reform | Common Dreams\
"Taming future deficits requires three steps having nothing to do with entitlements: Limiting the growth of overall healthcare costs, cutting our bloated military, and ending corporate welfare (tax breaks and subsidies targeted to particular firms and industries).

Obsessing about “entitlement reform” only serves to distract us from these more important endeavors."

Insurance Companies Seek To Bypass Obamacare To Make Americans Pay More For Their Coverage

Insurance Companies Seek To Bypass Obamacare To Make Americans Pay More For Their Coverage: Many of Obamacare’s most groundbreaking provisions involve protecting Americans from the private insurance industry, such as the measures to prevent insurers from denying coverage to Americans with pre-existing conditions and to keep rising insurance premium rates in check. Nevertheless, as the New York Times reports, some of America’s largest insurers are exploiting a lack of [...]/p

David Gregory Allows Mitch McConnell to Downplay Dangers of Defaulting on Our Debt

David Gregory Allows Mitch McConnell to Downplay Dangers of Defaulting on Our Debt
"After first allowing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to use the lie that people are living longer as a reason to raise the retirement ages for Medicare and Social Security and to push means testing for future beneficiaries, Meet the Press host David Gregory then allowed McConnell to play the same dangerous game that's becoming far too common these days -- downplaying the consequences of defaulting on our debt and conflating it with a government shutdown."

Save Social Security: Paul Krugman for Treasury Secretary | Common Dreams

Save Social Security: Paul Krugman for Treasury Secretary | Common Dreams
"The two most dangerous proposed cuts from the point of view of the long-term interests of the majority of Americans are the proposal to cut Social Security benefits forever by reducing the annual cost-of-living increase ("chained CPI") and the proposal to cut Medicare benefits forever by raising the Medicare retirement age to 67, forcing more seniors onto the private insurance market. Many establishment Republicans want these cuts; many Wall Street Democrats want these cuts; the President has signaled his potential willingness to agree to these cuts as part of a "big deal." Most liberal groups vehemently oppose these cuts, and the majority of Americans would never go along with these cuts - cutting benefits for working families for which they have already paid through their payroll taxes - if they have effective say."

Bernie Sanders: 1 in 4 Profitable Corporations In America Pay 0 Federal Taxes

Senator Sanders talks taxes, CPI, Social Security and more.

'Fix the Debt' Shill Ed Rendell Argues for Chained CPI and Raising Medicare Age

'Fix the Debt' Shill Ed Rendell Argues for Chained CPI and Raising Medicare Age
"Here at C&L, I and a few others been bashing MSNBC and demanding that Ed Rendell be kicked off for impersonating a Democrat. He shouldn't be allowed to go on the air since he joined up with a gang of rich, arrogant scumbags, fronting for a group called Fix The Debt. They are demanding that working class Americans and seniors pay for the federal deficit that the wealthy elites on Wall Street created by having their social safety nets gutted. So when Susie says Rendell is no liberal, she's absolutely right!"

Jonathan Alter Goes On a Hippie-Punching Spree

Jonathan Alter Goes On a Hippie-Punching Spree
"They're drawing the battle lines, and Jonathan Alter is leading the charge for Bloomberg News, trumpeting Third Way wah-wahs over what he calls "entitlements" and what I call earned benefits; that is, Social Security and Medicare."

Colorado Governor Will Expand Medicaid, Saving $280 Million And Extending Health Coverage To Thousands

Colorado Governor Will Expand Medicaid, Saving $280 Million And Extending Health Coverage To Thousands: Now that the presidential election is behind us and a new legislative session is about to begin, officials across the country will spend much of 2013 taking the steps to prepare to fully implement the Affordable Care Act. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) made significant progress in that area this week when he announced his [...]/p

GOP Senate Leader Pushes Republicans To ‘Seize’ Debt Ceiling Hostage

GOP Senate Leader Pushes Republicans To ‘Seize’ Debt Ceiling Hostage: Several Republican senators have recently said that they intend to take the federal debt limit — and thus the creditworthiness of the nation — hostage in order to force Democrats and President Obama to accept cuts to critical federal programs, including Social Security and Medicare. “Before we vote again to address the debt ceiling — [...]/p

Spending More On Health Care Doesn’t Guarantee Better Treatment

Spending More On Health Care Doesn’t Guarantee Better Treatment: Considering that the United States spends more than any other developed nation on its health care — the U.S. spent almost $2.6 trillion, nearly 18 percent of its GDP, on health services in 2010 — Americans might hope they’re getting some bang for their buck. But since the U.S. health care system is ranked a [...]/p

House GOP Fails to Act on Violence Against Women | Common Dreams

House GOP Fails to Act on Violence Against Women | Common Dreams
"Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the Democratic point person on VAWA, condemned the House leadership in astatement calling the failure to take up and pass the Senate's "bipartisan and inclusive" VAWA bill "inexcusable"."

U.S. Could Enact More Austerity Than European Countries In 2013

U.S. Could Enact More Austerity Than European Countries In 2013: Had the United States gone fully over the so-called “fiscal cliff,” it would have enacted policies that led to more austerity than the European debt crisis has caused across the Atlantic. Congress averted much of the fiscal cliff this week, while punting other parts to deadlines later in the year, but even without a full [...]/p

John McCain: GOP Will Destroy America’s Solvency Unless Entitlements Are Cut Drastically

John McCain: GOP Will Destroy America’s Solvency Unless Entitlements Are Cut Drastically: In an interview Monday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) confirmed that Congressional Republicans plan again to use the upcoming debt limit to hold the nation hostage to their demands for massive cuts to Medicare and Social Security. His comments echoed earlier remarks by Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and anti-government activist Grover Norquist. Raising the debt ceiling [...]/p