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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=tanstl@aol.com href="mailto:tanstl@aol.com">David Sladky</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, March 23, 2013 7:58 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Cave in Obama puts Social Security and Medicare in budget
deal</DIV></DIV>
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<H1 style="MARGIN: -12px 0px -3px" class=articletitle>Cave in Obama puts
Social Security and Medicare in budget deal</H1><SPAN
class=wwscontent><I>By <A class=wwscontent
href="http://www.opednews.com/michaelcollins" rel=author
target=_blank>Michael Collins</A> </I></SPAN><BR><SPAN
class=wwscontent></SPAN><SPAN class=wwscontent><B>OpEdNews Op Eds
3/22/2013 at 14:38:24</B></SPAN> <BR> <BR><FONT size=2><A
href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Cave-in-Obama-puts-Social-by-Michael-Collins-130322-842.html"
target=_blank>http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Cave-in-Obama-puts-Social-by-Michael-Collins-130322-842.html</A><BR></FONT></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="16%">
<DIV style="MARGIN: 2px" align=center><A
href="http://www.opednews.com/michaelcollins" target=_blank><BR></A></DIV>
<DIV align=left><SPAN class=wwscontentsmall><BR> </SPAN>
</DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<DIV class=wwscontentsmall> </DIV>
<DIV class=wwscontent align=left><BR><A href="http://www.opednews.com/"
target=_blank>opednews.com</A></DIV>
<DIV class=adsplatright>
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<DIV style="DISPLAY: inline-block"
id=google_ads_div_Google_Block_ad_container></DIV></DIV><INS
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; POSITION: relative; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 300px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline-table; HEIGHT: 250px; VISIBILITY: visible; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><INS
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id=aswift_1_anchor></INS></INS></DIV><I>(Article changed on March 22, 2013 at
14:47)</I><BR><IMG class=populumcaption alt=""
src="http://agonist.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mygoodfriendtim.jpg"
width=199 height=195><BR><CITE class=wwscontentsmaller>by <A
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/25062009@N05/3406910058" rel=nofollow
target=_blank>Downing Street</A></CITE><BR
class=endpopulumcaption><BR><BR>(Washington, DC 3/22) Yesterday we found out
that President Barack Obama put <NOBR><A id=FALINK_1_0_0 class=FAtxtL
href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Cave-in-Obama-puts-Social-by-Michael-Collins-130322-842.html#"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>Medicare</A></NOBR> and <NOBR><A id=FALINK_2_0_2
class=FAtxtL
href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Cave-in-Obama-puts-Social-by-Michael-Collins-130322-842.html#"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>Social Security</A></NOBR> in the budget deal mix;
<I>timely</I> but not <I>thoughtful</I>. Is this a profile in
cowardice? Maybe not. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and
assume that cutting these two programs is part of the Obama <A
href="http://www.themoneyparty.org/main/the-money-party-series-by-michael-collins/"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>Money Party</A> agenda. That's the elegant
explanation and explained below. (<A
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/25062009@N05/3406910058" rel=nofollow
target=_blank>Image: Downing Street</A>)<BR>Here's what Bloomberg reported
(thanks to Lauren Hallahan's list for the tip):<BR>
<DIV>"President Barack Obama told Senate Democrats that they should be open to
changes in entitlement programs to achieve a long-term budget deal, according to
several lawmakers who attended a meeting with him on Capitol Hill today." <A
href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-12/obama-tells-democrats-they-must-be-open-to-entitlement-changes.html"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>Bloomberg, March 21</A><BR></DIV>Social Security does
not contribute to the deficit. In fact, without the annual appropriation
of Social Security funds , cash flow for the government would experience serious
cash flow prolems. Each year, Treasury takes Social Security tax revenues
to fund the general budget. Treasury leaves an IOU promising to repay
beneficiaries down the road. The promise is guaranteed by the "full faith
and credit of the United States of America." Who would take the word of
the (s)elected "crooks and liars" given all the betrayals we see on a regular
basis?<BR>
<DIV class=adsplat>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 8px" align=center></DIV></DIV><BR><IMG
class="mceWPmore mceItemNoResize" title=More... alt=""
src="http://agonist.org/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif"><BR>Paul
Krugman called the process of cutting Social Security and <NOBR><A
id=FALINK_1_0_0 class=FAtxtL
href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Cave-in-Obama-puts-Social-by-Michael-Collins-130322-842.html#"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>Medicare</A></NOBR> an "austerity bomb."<BR>"We're
going to have substantial spending cuts, substantial tax increases at a time
when the economy is still very weak. And, of course, that's a recipe for sliding
back into recession/depression.<BR>
<DIV>"So, we set ourselves up with the land mine in the road in front of our
economy, which is not based on anything real. It's just based on our political
mess." <A
href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec12/krugman_12-04.html"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>Paul Krugman, PBS, December 12</A><BR></DIV>The
Social Security program is secure. It doesn't need a backdoor fix like <I><A
href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/12/20/1172407/-The-Chained-CPI-Cut-If-You-Can-t-Dazzle-Them-With-Brilliance"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>chained CPI</A></I> which sneaks in cuts by
redefining the <NOBR><A id=FALINK_3_0_2 class=FAtxtL
href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Cave-in-Obama-puts-Social-by-Michael-Collins-130322-842.html#"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>consumer</A></NOBR> price index. It certainly
didn't need Bailout Tim Geithner of Wall Street as Chairman of the Social
Security and <NOBR><A id=FALINK_1_0_1 class=FAtxtL
href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Cave-in-Obama-puts-Social-by-Michael-Collins-130322-842.html#"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>Medicare</A></NOBR> Board of Trustees during a
critical period. Nor do those programs need the carefully crafted
propaganda in Geithner's <A href="http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/index.html"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>2012 report</A> from the trustees that justifies the
Obama proposal. Obama referred to Geithner as "my good friend Tim" when he
nominated him for Secretary of the Treasury. He should have called him "my
good friend and future partner in crime."<BR>Medicare is a victim of its
success. People are living longer. As a result, the use benefits
longer. Medicare costs are actually stabilizing as a portion of gross
domestic product (GDP), based on data from the last five years. In an <A
href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-19/medicare-cost-slowdown-could-close-u-s-budget-gap.html"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>excellent article</A> on future trends, Peter Orzag
shows that a continuation of this trend puts Medicare at 3.8% of GDP by 2085
instead of the common projection of 6.7%. Medicare was 3.6% of GDP in
2011. The flat rate projection is not firm but, clearly, the near doubling of
Medicare as a percent of GDP needs some serious revision.<BR>A major program
contributed to cost reduction. The federal government's <A
href="http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/Partnership-for-Patients/"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>Partnership for Patients</A> developed and
implemented successful efforts to reduce hospital re-admissions (within 30
days of discharge). It worked and the impact is substantial.<BR>Two other
actions would add a greater chance for Medicare's financial viability.<BR>Allow
Medicare to negotiate medication discounts with big pharma. Congress
barred the program this logical form of cost reduction. The Veterans
Administration achieved extraordinary savings with this tactic. Barring
Medicare from the same negotiated deals is a subsidy for the <NOBR><A
id=FALINK_2_0_2 class=FAtxtL
href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Cave-in-Obama-puts-Social-by-Michael-Collins-130322-842.html#"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>pharmaceutical companies</A></NOBR>. It
violates free market principles and hurts seniors. How can Republicans and
Democrats allow this to stand? (That's an ironic, rhetorical question.)<BR>
<DIV><A
href="http://agonist.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/prescriptioncomparison.jpg"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><IMG class=populumcaption alt=prescriptioncomparison
src="http://agonist.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/prescriptioncomparison.jpg"
width=493 height=323><BR><CITE class=wwscontentsmaller>by <A
href="http://agonist.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/prescriptioncomparison.jpg"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>Michael Collins</A></CITE><BR
class=endpopulumcaption></DIV><FONT size=2>In addition to cutting medicine
costs, Medicare research could </FONT><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2>begin</U></FONT></FONT><FONT size=2> an intensive best
practices program to prevent and mitigate two major conditions common among
seniors; congestive heart failure and diabetes. The costs of these ailments
could be reduced substantially with a highly focused approach.<BR>President
Obama was elected to deliver on more jobs and to protect Social Security and
Medicare. We all know how well he's done on jobs. Now we see his approach to the
two entitlement programs. God forbid, he should stop endless wars, military
meddling, and cut back on the 1,000 U.S. military bases overseas. Saving mega
contracts for the defense industry is clearly much more important than
protecting two programs vital to the health and well being of citizens --
programs that can be optimized without needless benefit
reductions.<BR>Geithner's rhetoric as Chairman of the Social Security and
Medicare Board of Trustees is the proof of Obama's alignment with The Money
Party's position that the programs need serious cuts. He knows the story on his
good friend Tim before he appointed him.<BR>The president and Geithner don't
care. They don't have to. Benefits, retirement, and an overly abundant lifestyle
are guaranteed. All that's required is delivery on demand. The bosses need
"change they can count on."<BR>
<DIV align=center>END</DIV>
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