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rick, You do realize that Republicans have absolutely refused to roll back tax cuts to the ultra wealthy, don't you? They've hardly been secretive about that. They have also refused to put forward a new budget plan of their own.

Obama has a debt-reduction plan and there is nothing in that that wasn't already included in Obama's previous budgets and wasn't part of his 2012 platform or both. His proposed tax increases would raise $1.6 trillion over ten years. As part of the 2011 Budget Control Act, Obama agreed to spending reductions of $1.5 trillion over ten years. Yet, Republicans pretend Obama is a big spender even though Boehner bragged that the deal was "all spending cuts" at the time. Obama's latest offer proposes billions more in spending cuts.

Republicans are vague about the specifics of cuts they would make. McConnell finally hinted at a few to the WSJ, raising the Medicare age, higher premiums on more affluent Medicare recipients and changing the price indexing of Social Security. Raising the Medicare age would raise only $113 billion, higher premiums about $20 billion and SS price indexing change $186 billion. Quite a difference from Obama debt reduction plan. A little more than $300 billion in Republican "savings" doesn't do much for the deficit and would directly reduce benefits and greatly increase out of pocket spending to seniors.

Rep. Tom Cole doesn't think the Republicans need to put a formal debt reduction proposal out there. Senator Bob Corker said Obama's Medicare and other program cuts aren't "serious" enough. Corker thinks there should be more cuts, very serious, painful cuts. They don't want to get specific because they know Americans, no matter what party they belong to, won't approve of big hits to their Medicare and other programs to keep taxes from rising on the 1 to 2% wealthiest. 67% of Republicans don't want the Medicare age raised.

You believe benefits must be cut now or taxes will be raised on everyone. Medicare and Social Security are earned benefits, btw. Republican leaders believe the rest of us must sacrifice so the 1 to 2% can keep their tax breaks plus they'd like to give them even more tax cuts.

Obama debt-reduction plan would reduce the deficit many times more than the Republican's proposals. David Stockman, Reagan budget director, admitted that Republican's professed concern about deficits and debt impact on our children and grandchildren was just a ruse to allow Republicans to avoid responsibility for the adverse consequences of lowering taxes on the rich. Former Reagan treasury official, Bruce Bartlett has explained in detail that the rightwing push against deficits over the past 30 years was not a sincere commitment to fiscal prudence. Instead, the goal was to reduce taxes on the rich, which would starve government of funds resulting in reducing spending for those deemed underserving by Republicans including poor children, struggling elderly and others. Remember VP Dick Cheney said, "deficits don't matter". Stockman and Bartlett are conservatives, supply side experts who were right inside the Republican circle and the WH. I believe they know what they are talking about.

From: Lessons learned from an extraordinary election

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