“Mitt Romney has his own plans.” Said Party Boss Reinhold Reince Priebus so once again we are left with... I can't tell you what we will do but... Trust Us.

Obama has no plans for Medicare except let it go bankrupt before long. Denial of the problem is not a plan as far as I am concerned.

You take the for-profit aspect out of any type of healthcare and like magic all the financial problems go away.

Healthcare should have never ever been a for-profit industry.

.

Romney's only plan is to cut and tax. That is not a solution just more of a problem. Yeah, it looks good in math for Romney but bad in application for us all.

Ryan has a plan and a budget which is more than Obama has. Doing nothing medicare will go broke. Ryan wants to give people under 55 a choice to participate in medicare as is or accept a voucher for private insurance. 55+ will have no change in medicare benefits. Ryan's plan puts the savings back into medicare, Obama is taking 500 BILLION out of medicare to fund Obamacare. Who exactly is gutting medicare? I encourage Americans to research this before November.

UNited States, Profit motive does serve a purpose by at least giving an incentive to cut waste. Government has no incentive and a very poor track record.

,

Ryan has proposed budgets, Harry and Co, with Obama's blessing won't even discuss it having produced NO Budget of thier own in all the time Obama has been in office. When Obama finally proposed one it was so outrageous and ruinous that even Harry and Co. would not pass it.

Now Obama has the unmitigated gall to call Ryan's plan to revamp Medicare a way for Ryan to say we can't afford to give our seniors the health care we promised them. Have you ever heard such a flagrang pot calling the kettle black statement in your life?? Obamataxcare just by being passed caused doubling of medication costs for a lot of seniors, now it is set to remove another $500 million from Medicare funds, the coverage and payment to doctors and hospitals is being reduced and all this done by Obama because as he has said many many times "we have to reduce these entitlements". OF course at the same time he has increased food stamps and welfare to unheard of proportions and provides health care the the hundreds of thousands of illegals he has stopped from being deported and wants to give work permits to while AMericans can't get jobs and more and more have to go to the government for help. WHAT a giantic hypocrit.

Ryan's plan is a proposal to keep the seniors of today on Medicare and those close to Medicare covered as promised and to devise a plan where seniors in the future will have some kind of assistance with medical coverage and care. HE at least tries to do something logical and budget concious rather than be a BS, give money we don't have politician like Obama and most in Washington. The Dems have stopped all Ryan's effort to get things going in the right direction. THis is a great team to save our economy, get jobs back and get rid of Obamataxcare. Heck, these two might even consider enforcing our laws as they should be and not catering to the people who attacked us and will do it again.

It's rather interesting how Obama is being accused of not having a plan and doing nothing and is also being accused of cutting Medicare expenses at the same time - often in the same sentence.

The simple fact is that Obamcare focuses on efficiency of care. There is no guarantee that, Chicken Littles notwithstanding, Medicare would go bankrupt if we were able to improve the way we provide care. That is the focus of Obamacare's cuts.

The problem, of course, with increasing efficiency is that each Medicare patient becomes less of a cash cow for the industry. THAT is why Paul Ryan's plan does nothing to address efficiency per se. He isn't interested in a more health American public, he just wants to make sure taxpayer money keeps getting funneled away at the same rate.

The American healthcare consumer is woefully underinformed about the value of service he or she receives. When you are at a doctor's office, you don't get a menu of choices of the tests that you can choose and how much each costs. Giving seniors more choice means that they will be even more vulnerable to a doctor who just bought a fancy new machine and wants to make money off it. This is Paul Ryan's plan. Give them 6,000$, if they are lucky and they are healthy, great. If not, well, too bad.

Other than cutting it by $500 billion over the next ten years, what is the Obama Plan for the sustainability of Medicare? Or Social Security? Or Medicaid?

I've seen nothing on any of these. Only criticism of those who are trying to save these programs. None are sustainable in their present form, so why is ending them "..as we know them" so radical. If nothing is done, they will collapse of their own weight - and not too long from now.

What is the Obama Plan?

dal

"looks good in math but bad for us"? Who be us??? Math is what is supposed to run a budget, not give aways we can't afford to buy votes. If Obama had any idea how math works we would not be in the mess we are in.

R & R for America after a looooooong devistating reign of insanity.

By the way there is no freaking 1%. Taxes are paid by the 47% and the rest are suckers off those 47%. And if you libs had your way, you'd tax the top tax payers to leaving our country. Who you gonna feed off of then?

Obamacare does nothing to control healthcare costs....

First of all, $500 billion is not being taken out of Medicare, all Obama wants to do is cut middle man(private insurance companies out of picture). Because the overcharge government too much for that coverage when government can do it in first place. If you actually get facts right may be you get informed. Ryan Plan is disaster. Voucher plan will increase seniors health plan by $6000 to $8000 a year, How do you expect the seniors on fixed income afford this?

I for one state that Willard has given up any hope for getting elected by his choice for a running mate. Actually the catch phrase "running mate" is exactly what Willard, et al, are doing. Running for cover with this choice. I would like to add that as a Miami U alumni I am ashamed to be affiliated with Ryan even though he does not reflect the values of Miami, in my humble opinion and experience, but those of the priveledged students he reflects that attend Miami U.

@cantakenomore

Have you looked at Ryan's plan for starter? Those are hypothetical points that assume "what if". The main objective is to lower tax for the rich, increase tax for the middle class.

Really? How is that working for 12 years? And you say GOP is not about tax cut for the rich and oil corporations. Paint me the picture, but what they said betray what you are trying to say.

UNited States, Profit motive does serve a purpose by at least giving an incentive to cut waste. Government has no incentive and a very poor track record.

Government has a very good record of managing healthcare. Every single advanced country in the world has a working healthcare system that involves government.

The reason OUR government is inefficient is because we outsource our government functions back out to private companies. That basically means that the profit motive serves a purpose to try to soak the taxpayer for every single possible dollar.

The cutting of waste doesn't benefit the customer - i.e. the taxpayer. It just enriches the CEO and the board of the private company.

Mitt Romney was marveling over how Israel manages to only pay 8% of its economy towards healthcare whereas we pay 18%. That's because Israel has one of the most Socialistic healthcare systems in the world.

Israelis aren't any less healthy than Americans - but they do pay less for their healthcare. A LOT less.

In general, private industry isn't that good at coming up with great ideas. Most of the biggest advances in society have come from government. Industry is good at taking those ideas to the general public, but doesn't really have the vision or time horizon to see way out into the future. That is the REAL problem with the profit motive. Instant gratification doesn't work very well with the need for investing in research.

Just remember the people making these plans will never have to depend on Medicaid. They get, for life, a private government plan that the average working person could never afford and remember it's free to them. No co-pays and it's paid for by the tax payers.

Were damned if we do, and damned if we don't....The hell with the whole bunch i'm going moose hunting!....

UnitedStates 1776

Kaiser HMO in California, a non-profit organization, spends 93% of it's revenue on actual health care. That means it spends only 7% on administration.

What do you get for your premium (mostly insured and negotiated through a group plan)?

ER access, primary care MD and referrals to specialists, hospitalization, drugs, coordinated and streamlined record-keeping and sharing, and a myriad of plans to support wellness and/or manage chronic diseases.

At Kaiser, one seldom hears of anyone being denied care because of pre-existing conditions, but one always in any system has to be an informed consumer and advocate for one's own health care, and develop a working partnership with one's primary care MD. If one is not satisfied, one has the option of finding a new MD within the system. Or, of course, finding another insurer.

What do the MD's get? No insurance paperwork/administration, competitive financial remuneration, reasonable working days, good benefits package, having a health-care team to work with, etc.

These benefits are similar to what health care professionals and patients like in countries using the single-payer system.

So, it can be done, and done well, once the profit motive is removed from health care.

It's the for profit INSURANCE companies that are the problem to begin with, and the Ryan plan is just another "gimme" for them. To be fair, as is the tax or fine on those who don't have insurance in ACA. Under a single payer, not-for-profit system, non of these problems would arise, but since "politics is the art of the possible" at least we are on the way there despite the "death grip" (pun intended) corporate America has on us in almost every aspect of life, including especially health care.

Obama/Biden 2012

if Ryan gets a voucher based program... then EVERYONE is on private insurance... and insurance companies have had so much clout the last 20 years, they raise rates at will, are impervious to lawsuits, have laws written to their specs, and are making Trillions....

so turning over Medicare to private corporations making trillions who don't answer to anyone is going to mean we are better off?

no way, seniors will be spending their entire SS checks to make up the premium difference..... Romney just lost my vote.....

Paul, just what we don't need, "More cuts for the rich in taxes at the expense of the Middle Class." A voucher system that will add to the paperwork of government and lower the returns to the receivers, but create bigger profits for the insurance industry! Beware the military industrial complex," Ike tried to warn us of the republicans falling into their control. He was right!

That's right! We really need these two privileged "Dudly-Dorights" elected to office!

Ryan's statement about entitlement spending: "...the senior citizens, the beneficiaries, will be the nucleus of this program."

Ryan's suggestion to throw GranMama and GranPapa and the poor from the train as he guts Medicare and Medicaid, was not lost on me--a 70 year old retiree on Medicare and a private retirement healthcare program.

The downside is that if Medicare goes away, so does my private healthcare program as it provides the 20% coverage. Shall we say, I will "be up a creek & definitely without a paddle!" Better you all simply annihilate us right now....

Mr. Ryan, let it begin with you and your privileged colleagues on Capitol Hill who support your 'theory' and who have a marvelous healthcare and retirement package. You be the 'nucleus of this program, and we'll see if it works!

@watt75

You are obviously clueless. You should keep your comments to things you know something about...which should keep you quiet for some time.

I work in healthcare industry. There have been phenomenal changes, they suck for healthcare facilities but tax payers will reap the benefits of saved cost and better care.

Example how it used to be:

You go to hospital for medicare qualifying stay, > or= 3 days and then You get discharged to sub-acute rehab but you get readmitted to hospital within 30 days for same illness. Hospital gets to bill you for your stay, Rehab gets to bill you for a rate that includes some of your hospital care then hospital gets even more money on your re-admit.

Now:

Hospitals lose money if you are re-admitted within 30 days for same illness. Rehabs can no longer double dip. This ensures that hospital provides top notch care because they will lose money if you return.

Pinochio and Gepetto, JR. in training:

There is article on The Daily Beast and I have posted just a portion of it, the rest can be found on www.thedailybeast.com - Jun 17, 2011 12:09 AM EDT

Ryan's Shrewd Budget Payday Exclusive: The congressman stands to make money from his stakes in four businesses that lease land to energy companies which would benefit from $45 billion in tax breaks and subsidies in his proposed budget. Daniel Stone reports. (Daniel Stone of Newsweek)

When House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan unveiled the GOP blueprint for cutting government spending, he asked Americans to make sacrifices on
everything from Medicare to education, while preserving lucrative tax
subsidies for the booming oil, mining and energy industries.

It turns out a constituency within his own personal investments stood to
benefit from those tax breaks, Newsweek and The Daily Beast have learned.

The financial disclosure report Ryan filed with Congress last month and
made public this week shows he and his wife, Janna, own stakes in four family
companies that lease land in Texas and Oklahoma to the very energy companies
that benefit from the tax subsidies in Ryan's budget plan.

Ryan's father-in-law, Daniel Little, who runs the companies, told Newsweek
and The Daily Beast that the family companies are currently leasing the land
for mining and drilling to energy giants such as Chesapeake Energy, Devon, and
XTO Energy, a recently acquired subsidiary of ExxonMobil…

Romney as Audit Chair Saw Marriott Son of BOSS Shelter Defy IRS.

During Romney's tenure as a Marriott director, the company repeatedly utilized complex tax-avoidance maneuvers, prompting at least two tangles with the Internal Revenue Service, records show. In 1994, while he headed the audit committee, Marriott used a tax shelter known to attorneys by its nickname: "Son of BOSS."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-22/romney-as-auditing-chairman-saw-marriott-son-of-boss-tax-shelter-defy-irs.html

The Romney/Ryan ticket will be hard to beat once the debates begin. obumbo has accomplished NOTHING in four years. No budget, no jobs, bad economy, housing still in th etank, high gas, no drilling or pipeline, no control of illegals, no control of entitlement programs, no work for welfare, and on and on and on. Worst failure in history of the USA.

Cut off the most vulnerable (American children, disabled and the elderly) so that we can continue to out spend the world on the military. Down right good wholesome humane values! NOT!!!!!!!

http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending

This Ryan punk has lost Romney my vote! I'm 52 and I can't afford what the Ryan plan would do!

the middle class is disappearing and this isn't about taxation... it's about corporate america manipulating our system into taking 15k a year in insurance premiums from us... thats more than half median income... on insurance for a house car and health... none of which you can now legally do without

its now a survival issue... forget about politics.... youve got to choose whoever will allow you to survive when you get older.

Ryan's budget has all these cuts for the middle class and rewards for the rich , but there is also a little something for the military. More money after all the cuts to the people! The republican party is just plain sick!

If we are going to start doing cuts, lets start with the Golden Retirement for Congress, Senate, and the rest of the Public Employement Sector.....

John C-725385

sure, theres been Medicare and insurance fraud reform... quality of care is somewhat better, but patients aren't benefiting from all the savings... premiums and copays and gap are higher than ever.... enough to wipe out the middle class.... providers aren't better off as they are getting squeezed by payers harder than ever...

the only party to improve their position in this sad, Matrix like, mess are insurance companies..... and Romney/Ryan wants to turn the WHOLE thing over to them.

Ryan tearing down the American Health Care Act is not going to go well with our Seniors and will get no traction with middle class Moderate Voters, Ryan was probably the Worse Choice of the Evils of the GOP !!!!!!!!

Ryan will likely go with the 2011 augmented Medicare plan when he stumps.

The CBO has not scored this plan, which is not as draconian as the 2010 plan that landed him in hot water with seniors.

Still, the method is "privatization" although there is a choice to stay on regular Medicare. It proposes government exchanges (note Republicans are currently against these for Obamacare) and that the reimbursement would be tied to the 2nd cheapest plan.

If you chose a plan that more expensive you would pay the difference.

The Devil is in the details here. We don't know what will be included in the plans, and how costs would be reduced.

In the end, Ryan says that if costs are too high for seniors then Congress would "step in and reduce the costs".

I thought Republicans were against "government involvement in your health care".

While I give Ryan credit for his attempt in solving this problem, its woefully in need of some bipartisanship so that Americans trust that Republicans won't pull the rug out from seniors.

Everyone knows that Republicans have been against medicare since the 60's.

Re-design???? You mean the gutting of Medicare. Ryan wants to hand it over to the Health Insurance companies on a gold platter. If that happens you may as well go shoot yourself if you become seriously ill which most of us will at some point.

UnitedStates1776 you are correct.

That is the reason the Heritage Foundation came up with Heritage care/Romney care/Obama care. They were so worried that runaway costs would force the US back to non profit medical care they came up with the ACA plan to slow down the incredible cost increases yet keep corporations running health care awash in money. First it was the Heritage foundations plan and that was fine for the right. Then it was Romney care and that was fine for the right. President Obama figured this was the best he could do and still get bi-partisan support, after all, how could the right not go along with their OWN plan? Now it's "Left wing socialism" Huh? Yea right! What a bunch of scum sucking lying hypocrites.

And now they are telling everyone 54 and younger, screw you. That money you've been paying into medicare all your life, we're taking that away so we can pay for tax breaks for the rich.

Anyone that says Heritagecare/Romneycare/Obamacare/ACA does nothing to control healhcare cost is a liar or a fool, or both.

watt 75, Pashawar Jim, Byron Raum, Shaking my head 2479300, Cantakenomore. Are you educated enough to read the articles before you started talking nonsense? I don't think you have read the article you are commenting about so I will encourage you all to read to broaden your mind and educate yourselves.

The republicans are going to screw the country up again if they win and Paul and Romney are going to aid in doing that. Wasn't Ryan in congress during Bush's reign and what did he do when his boss was spending money in Iraq like a drunken sailor? Nothing.

Americans rise up because these republicans want to bury the country for good. They have obstructed Obama in everything he has tried to do so that they could take power and drive the country down further.

Paul Ryan and Romney are bad news for American. Medicare will be a voucher program and grandma and grandpa had better watch out. The ACA will save medicare a lot of money not take away money from medicare. Don't allow these these republicans lie to you.

So middle age parents: Are you prepared to pay $2000. a month for your parent's health insurance while you're paying to raise your children? Do you have the money for child care, college savings and another $2000 every month for your mom or dad?

LadyCat-- we are discussing MediCARE not MediCAID which is a total welfare system completely separate from MEDICARE that WE PAY FOR!! We pay our entire working lives to fund our MEDICARE BENEFIT... not 'entitlement.' Well, yes.. we are "entitled" to receive what we PAID to receive. And, every MediCARE beneficiary also PAYS at least two additional premiums on top of "free" Medicare. We also PAY for our Social Security BENEFIT... If Congress had not robbed the fund multiple times over the past decades, the fund would be solvent. Congress just needs to pay it back.

good thing the elderly are likely to forget all about this long before the election.

Analysis of Ryan's and Obama's Medicare plans: http://insurance.about.com/od/HealthIns/a/Medicare-Reform-Proposals-Analyzed.htm

Obama's answer to cutting medicare costs is to improve the efficiency of services. Essentially, cutting the waste. It does this with a non-partisan board of doctors that would make recommendations to Congress about areas that could be cut. Congress could reject these recommendations and make cuts on their own.

The Republicans talking point that Obama cut 500 billion from Medicare is rated "Mostly False" by Politifact.com

http://www.politifact.com/new-jersey/statements/2012/aug/03/scott-garrett/scott-garrett-claims-affordable-care-act-raidts-me/

I'm absolutely thrilled that Mittens picked Ryan. Now I know for sure he is going to lose soooo big.

One way to increase the amount of $ flowing into medicare rather than having money flowing out would be to have the pharmaceutical companies and all the medical technology companies who receive NIH grants for research to actually pay a portion of the proceeds they generate from their research go into medicare/medicaid.

We spend billions on research grants to further medical innovations, but do not reap any benefit when they make billions and patent their technology. So we as a country continue to pay and pay, but we get no benefit in either lower cost drugs, hospital costs, or any other healthcare service. Medical research companies get to keep billions and make huge profits, all the while still getting NIH grants. They should either pay back the grants, give the US a percentage of the profits, lower the costs or something to make it more affordable.

Medicare/Medicaid should never be scrapped for lack of funds. It was always designed to be self sustaining and if it cannot be then generate revenue from other sources.

johnQcitizen

LOLZ JQ...Lolz.....I really don't have too much to say on this...But I will say this....Newt Gingrich (who obviously doesn't know how to keep his mouth closed) called it right wing social engineering......LOLZ.....Newt......lolz

Healthcare should have never ever been a for-profit industry.

It sure makes it difficult to maintain a hippocratic oath when you put profits over patients. And they do - only an idiot would argue against the obvious.

For profit healthcare is exactly why our system is broke.

Native PNW Resident,

While it is true you paid 1.45% of your income to cover Medicare, your employer also paid the same rate. The amount paid into the Medicare system is already less than what is being paid out in benefits, so it is only a matter of time before it can no longer cover it's liabilities.

Obama cut those payments in half the last few years, so the rate toward insolvency for the Medicare system has increased dramatically, not to mention the same problem for Social Security.

Also, a cut of $600 billion over 10 years as part of Obama's cuts to Medicare do not help the Medicare system sustain itself for the long term.

Ryan doesn't want to "redesign" or "reform" Medicare, he wants to kill it.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/08/11/677751/paul-ryans-original-medicare-plan-ends-medicare-period/?mobile=nc

Just like Clinton's "overhaul" or "reform" of AFDC (Welfare) back in the

1990's gutted and destroyed the original purpose of that program.

(Most middle class americans cheered Clinton when he went after the poor with his Welfare "reform" but now that they have gutted Welfare they are going after programs that support THEIR standard of living, like SS and Medicare.)

Both corporate backed parties are committed to dramatically lowering most americans standard of living (for all but the rich, of course).

They are using most americans carefully stoked fear (and misunderstanding) of the "deficit", which was created by the crash of the economy (created by swindling by the banks), in order to reverse all of the gains made by the middle class and poor in the first half of the last century.

But the two parties have different approaches:

The Democrats use the union's mostly corrupt leadership who have collaborated with Democratic politicians and officials all across the country in lowering their members wages and benefits.

The Republicans choose a more confrontational approach and declare war on unions, too.

But both parties are aiming at the same goal: to turn the U.S. into a low wage export platform. Sort of like a Banana Republic the way we mostly were before the first and second Progressive eras (1st: 1890-1920, 2nd: 1933-1975).

Part of the unspoken controversy for Wall Street and Corporations (the rich) is which party's way of attacking the poor and middle class and transferring their social wealth to them, is the best.

This is a shifting controversy: some years they back the Republicans, some years they back the Democrats. (It was Obama in 2008 and so far it looks like it's Romney in 2012)

(This is not say there are no good people in either party, just that the leadership and direction of the parties are this way.)

It's also not to be depressing and say there is no hope.

There just isn't any in the leadership of either of the two main parties.

There are plenty of groups working to fight (politically) this situation.

You just have to find them and support them.

-usa1967-

every single point you made is proved false time and again. Can you possibly be that ignorant? And if you are, please do not vote and for God's sake do not procreate.

The Dynamic Duo...Ryan and Romney........Badman and Robbing!

Kimb54@1.1......................shhhhhhhhh Romney's plans are so top secret even he does not know what they are...........Besides he might flip flop on those at any time..................

But whatever those plans might be they are NOT what everyone thinks they might be...........Are you confused? Yes, that is the plan. Confused, stupid and gullible..........those are the people they are appealing to

So let me see if i understand according to this article.

The Obama plan will reduce costs by 400 to 600 billion but this is not enough for ryan and Romney.

The last republican president made it so medicare cant negotiate for better prices. So Obama has failed?

Ryan wants grandma to remain with out benefits for two more years till age 67. (to save money). But they say Obama is the bad guy. lol

Translation: Grandma has to die with no health care to promote family values and save money to be given to big corporations so that some guy who thinks he is genetically superior can sit on a private Island and count the worlds resources and study the law of attraction and how it makes him wealthy. While thinking of ways to lower the world population with out getting in trouble or exposing himself and his peers. And meanwhile, their disciples in the republican party turn said population against itself. Good luck America, you gonna need it.

The problem is not simply to save Medicaire on it's own. The reality is that the threat to Medicaire is mostly due to the insane rise of health care costs in general. Ryan's plan does nothing to try and stem that rise in costs, he simply shifts all of the inevitable increase to seniors, thus driving the poorest seniors out of the program altogether.

However you feel about Obama's health care plan, it does at least begin to address the overall cost of health care in this country. That we, as a nation, spend so much more, as a percentage of GDP, on health care than other countries, and still are ranked only 35th world-wide is truly a shame. The Ryan plan will only make that worse.

You take the for-profit aspect out of any type of healthcare and like magic all the financial problems go away.

Healthcare should have never ever been a for-profit industry.

So does all the money that built the Hospitals paid for the Medevac Choppers and the pilots the Ambulances, the drivers, and so on and so forth but hey we can always tax the rich more to pay for it right?

george pauljohn,

If Obama saved so much money, why have all 4 of his years as President seen deficits over $1 trillion dollars?

Regarding Grandma, how will she fare once the Obama Medicare system runs out of money as it is projected to do sometime between 2017 and 2024?

rightisright-bunch'O numbers: The vacuum between your ears puts the vacuum in space to shame. And what's with all the lol's? Do they stand for Love our Liberals? Ahh, that's so sweet of you!

Jon-1321288

However you feel about Obama's health care plan, it does at least begin to address the overall cost of health care in this country.

But the ACA does not address costs, only payments for care. The underlying cost structure is not addressed anywhere within the ACA. The underlying costs include increasing regulatory burdens, removing decisions from the payers (not necessarily patients since much is now "free"), the cost of malpractice insurance, or the high indirect cost of liability (though liability insurance,extra tests, high materials and drug costs).

Ryan is, and has been, promoting His own self serving agenda relative to "Medicare and even Social Security". His version of Medicare is; those charged with the degree and level of "care", what those dependent on Medicare receive, will be based on how much they are able to pay their providers, with their health care providers being "Insurance Entities", and not Doctors, Hospitals etc. The Insurance entities will become both payers and providers of all health care Medicare recipients receive. Additionally, His wish is, this be done at a cost sufficient to a high profit for the Insurance carrier.

Regarding Social Security: Ryan wants those deductions collected and sent directly to investment firms designated by a select group within the Government, (committee's such as the one He chairs ) and invested in private stocks, hedge funds etc. When time is due for redemption of those funds, Government and the selected investment entity, will determine amounts, taxes, payment schedules etc. that is, if there are any.

Course, as the republicans always say, big Government must stay out of the lives of the people being governed.

This little weasel learned everything He knows from the likes of "Jack Kemp" and the drunken "Bennett's". These sons-a-bitches have spent their lives creating ways and means to live off the public trough, without ever contributing anything in exchange for their slop slurping. This is "the weasel, Paul Ryan".

usa1967

I was also born in 1967 (I presume that's what the 1967 means)

Being born after 1958 means we get a coupon instead of Medicare. Is that really what you want? ...and to keep paying for that privelege too?

I pay both side of SS and MC, so that's upwards of 15% of my pay goes to those entitlement programs (more than Mitt paid entirely). You bet I feel entitled to collect!

I'm going to vote in my best interest, and so should you.

SmBusOwnerinNY,

You are paying way too much if 15% of your pay is going to Medicare and Social Security. Didn't you get the memo that the payroll tax cuts were extended into 2012?

Regarding you keeping Medicare once you turn 65, you don't think that will change since the current system is projected to run out of money as early as 2017? I think Ryan's system may be worth looking at since Obama doesn't offer a plan to keep it solvent.

Also, if you paid more in payroll taxes than Mitt (several million), you don't need to worry about Medicare.

Byran raum...

Obamacare focused on efficiency??? Puhleaze... Where is the efficiency in taking $500 million (or is it billions?) from medicare to fund obamacare. As I recall obama cited making up for the medicare cuts by eliminating waste and fraud plus eliminating medicare advantage. Hmmm, seniors put a quick stop to eliminating medicare advantage and it is growing.

Now how about obamas plan to control medicare waste and fraud? Don't you find it interesting that obama and company aren't telling the media how this plan is working? After all, the DOJ (an executive branch department) should be going after this with hammer and tongs right? This isn't something that needs legislature approval.

Makes me wonder what the 2012 CBO analysis is of obamacare and medicare? We already know that the CBO obamacare analysis done early in 2009 is no longer valid, just like any 2012 analysis won't be valid in 2014. Polticians and the CBO rarely make the right assumptions for generating any estimated projections.

Whether one likes ryans medicare plan or not, medicare as it exists today will rob the government treasury of funding for many other social discretionary programs in existance today. All in all not a bad thing as I think todays seniors will have no problem in voting for politicians who will cut back on government workers pensions & healthcare, planned parenthood, pell grants and other programs to maintain their current coverage.

armurray,

I've got a solution for the "fiscal crisis" in both MC and SS:

Let the trust funds borrow money from the general fund.

The lending has gone the other way for 30 years. When the money "runs out" just let them borrow form the general fund. Easy. SS/MC bank account becomes bank account and line of credit. One vote. Solved. The curve goes red for 20 years, then once the boomers die off, the fund goes back into the pay-as-you-go arrangment that it was originally designed for. I don't need to get ripped off more by the boomers who get to collect their SS and MC, but we don't? THEY get all the tax cuts and benefits, but WE pay. F-That.

OK, ar, it's 13% then. The business side wasn't cut.

And, I did pay as much at Mitt did for SS, since I earned a little more than the top-out for SS. But my RATE was MUCH, MUCH higher than his rate.

Mitt paid ~$6000 to SS ($4000 in 2011-12), just like everybody else who tops out. He didn't pay millions.

SmBusOwnerinNY,

That's fine. Either way we pay...

I suggest to start saving for your own retirement since no matter who wins, benefits will eventually get reduced.

The only choice voters have is 1) ignore it until it is a cliff, 2) plan now to address it. While I don't agree with everything the Ryan plan offers, it is more than has ever been proposed by the Democrats.

I am looking forward to finally starting a discussion.

Regarding Mitt's taxes, he may not have paid any payroll taxes since his income was mostly from capital gains which isn't subject to payroll taxes, but that is the current tax law.

Republican's have preached the idea of cutting spending. But when Obama cuts spending, it's bad. Apparently cutting spending on essential services and entitlements is only okay and justifiable if a Republican does it.

little one liners cant protect the idiot in chief anymore!!

And a bunch of childish name calling will never make you look intelligent either.

If they had any ball at all, which both parties don't, they would cut medicare and social security big time and make insurance pay first when you turn 65 and then medicaid pay last.

You take the for-profit aspect out of any type of healthcare and like magic all the financial problems go away.

Healthcare should have never ever been a for-profit industry.

Ok, then:

Food should not be for profit

Housing should not be for profit

Clothing should not be for profit

There are some major problems with health insurance but profit is the driving force of innovation. If you didn't have "for profit" medicine you would not have.... CAT scanners, EKG's, etc ect etc.....

Just for taxing clarification, there has not been a cap on Medicare payroll taxes since 1993.

Taxes are paid by the 47% and the rest are suckers off those 47%.

This is the lamest argument made by the CONservatives. Everyone, no matter who they are, pays taxes. There are state taxes, local taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, liquor taxes, tobacco taxes...even the rent people pay ends up going to pay the landlord's taxes. Saying that no one pays taxes is ridiculous. Well, maybe not that ridiculous. If you're a millionaire or billionaire that can afford to pay some hotshot CPA to deduct everything you might not have to pay taxes (*cough Mitt Romney cough*).

Come up with a new argument. Whether you like it or not the tax burden is still on the middle class, and Romney's "plan" is to make that even worse. Those "job creators" that he wants to cut taxes for -- again -- aren't creating jobs right now even though their taxes are at historic lows...

Jeff1414

Republican's have preached the idea of cutting spending. But when Obama cuts spending, it's bad. Apparently cutting spending on essential services and entitlements is only okay and justifiable if a Republican does it.

I don't believe that any Republicans have said that Obama cutting spending was bad.

It is hypocritical though for Obama to attack Ryan for proposing changes to Medicare since he made them with no discussions...

The simple fact is that Obamcare focuses on efficiency of care.

Really? Is that why I've been told to expect a 23%+ raise in my deductible and out-of-pocket medical costs as a active duty military retiree? Is that what you tools are calling it today: efficiency?

You know, I'm extremely grateful for everything the people of the United States provide to me as a retiree, but what I was promised for my service and what I actually get are two very different things.

I don't bitch. I'm grateful. But then I read some fraudulent crap like the above "efficiency of care" statement. Please, go spread the fertilizer somewhere else.

armurray

Do you know anything about healthcare in this country? I mean seriously, not sarcastically...are you educated or have any practical experience in healthcare or actively involved in anyway regarding Medicare regulations or reimbursements? The ACA DOES infact adress costs, but for the layman to read and understand how those cost come about, unfotunately, you must know how the Medicare system works. By increasing regulation, it decreases fraud in the DRG assingments for reimbursements for care. Therre is so much DRG fraud that drives up costs that regulation is the only way to control it. Right now the American Medical Association sets the DRG coding guidelines for reimbursements for hospitals for Medicare, The AMA run by physicians ofcourse protects a program by which those codes for reimbursements are very over used and not regulated. For example: A 65 yr old man goes into the ER complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath, he gets labs to rule out a variety of comorbid diagosis' for the cause and his chest film shows a slight infiltrate (fluid). He gets admitted. He has a small fluid overload perhaps called CHF, received some diuretics, IV antibiotic profilactic care to prevent infection and respiratory treatments along with instructions on fluid restrictions. Now PLEASE REMEMBER I'm using this as an example for you. This patient should be discharged in 2-3 days tops with no other underlying complications. When the patient is discharged, a DRG Coder from the hospital picks though his chart and codes every single diagnosis this patient has ever had. This relatively borderline case of CHF (congestive heart failure) coded by itself should reimburse the hospital about $4900.00 from Medicare. But that is not what is done.....In this man's history, he tells the Doctor he had hypertension, arthritis, a history of an enlarged prostate, pneumonia 5 yrs ago, occasional sinus headaches, and all of a sudden all of these diagnosis; get bundled (eventhough he was not treated for them on this admission, these comorbidities in his health jack up his Medicare reimbursement to over $11,000 now. And it is all sanctioned by the AMA who sets the rules.

So please, before people make comments about the ACA and Obama Care and all the ridiculousness that people say about "the government is taking over our healthcare". Try to at least give a slight benefit of doublt to the people who actually work in healthcare and the Medicare field that WE KNOW how the system works and I can promise you, the ACA is a good plan, Obama Care is a good plan and can only help americans. It has already helped so many people, but the nay-sayers who don't know the system can't or won't see the changes. They will not accept real advice from anyone even associated with the Medical system in this country. There is a reason why healthcare providers and Medicare workers are in support of the ACA.

Paul Ryan's plan - one word DANGEROUS.

And regarding out nations deficit in trillions. TARP was George Bush's plan which Rep. Ryan voted for by the way, and two wars....did not happen on Obama's watch. He inheriated the wall street, banking, ecomony, unemployment, and unbalanced budget from 8 yrs of the Bush administration. I think sometimes people forget that fact.

Why not have the Senate present their plan next to Ryan's and see which is best? Oh that's right, they don't have one. So whether Ryan's plan is good or bad is less relevant than Obama being the only president in history who has run his entire administration without a budget.

Medicaid and Medicare has been run as a spending spree. There's no plan, just spend until the credit card has been declined. That's how you don't have a plan and still manage to cut costs.

One anecdote: A family member suffered a TBI. He requires 24 hour care. He was released from the facility months early. His 24 hour care went to 60 hours a week then to 36. And I had to fight for that many hours else the health aide would have lost his insurance. He had therapists, and was learning to walk again. He no longer receives therapy, and his condition has deteriorated. He most likely will never walk again. I have to fight for every little thing he requires, from every day home supplies to ad hoc prescriptions (colds, infections, etc)

We Americans can use some R&R, Rest and Recuperation NOT Rommel and Ryan. These two politicos have already shown you their intentiions: NO Medicare, No Social Security, A H U G E Military,PLENTY of Profitable Wars and Plenty of Tax Evasion Bonuses for the 1-10%ers and corporate rich AT YOUR EXPENSE And! And!! NO AmericanNational Universal healthCare System, Like the SANE Countries, who take care of their citizens, have. FACE IT People America is Controlled by An ElitistCrimeCartel aka the republicanSociopaths. What to do? Try this one on for size: the effective numbers of Americans who have been Conned/Fooled by the
republicanCrimeCartelPropagandaMachine. Think about it... These Very Well
monied, SnakeOil SalesPeople Have turned your minds in their favor and ready to
vote/elect and put MittTaxPittanceRommel in the White House. this IS effectively
a Vote against Yours and Your Own Family's Well Being. Amazing that they HAVE
YOU. Try this one on for size: President Harry Truman in 1948: "The Republicans
… will try to make people believe that
everything the Government has done
for the country is socialism. They will go to the people and say: "Did you see
that social security check you received the other day—you thought that was good
for you,
didn't you? That's just too bad! That's nothing in the world but
socialism. Did
you see that new flood control dam the Government is building
over there for the
protection of your property? Sorry—that's awful
socialism! That new hospital
that they are building is socialism. Price
supports, more socialism for the
farmers! Minimum wage laws? Socialism for
labor! Socialism is bad for you,
my friend. Everybody knows that. And here
you are, with your new car, and your home, and better opportunities for the
kids, and a television set—you are just surrounded by socialism! Now the
Republicans say, 'That's a terrible thing, my friend, and the only way out of
this sinkhole of socialism is to vote for the
Republican ticket.'" And,
AND!, AND!!! that was 64 Years Ago!!!. The republicanCrimeCartel is still doing
the same exploitation of people THEY ARE NOTORIUS FOR. BUT, according
toKingGeorgeTheVacuumBrained, it is
called "free market" capitalism; with
families in the streets and 21% Unemployment.......

Remember Fellow and
Sister Americans: A vote for ANY
republicanCrimeCartelSoldier, Rommel, is a
vote Against Yours and Your Family's

1POV,

I'll bet you have less respect for those who describe people who use services as "moochers" and worse.

ar,

Of course you have to save in addition to SS. ....but having paid into it my whole working life, and a good portion of that money being loaned to the general fund to pay for everything else government does, I think it's totally reasonable for the general fund to return the favor in 2035 and let SS borrow from the general fund to sustain benefits that are owed. Why should (I all of us post-boomers) get screwed because of overspending and tax cuts for the wealthy that has bankrupted the general fund? None of those thing have to do with Social Security. Social Security has been floating the general government fund for 30 years.

LorraineH,

Actually, I am pretty well versed in healthcare.

Your example is interesting. As I am sure you are aware, there is not cure for CHF, so while a patient may be discharged from an acute condition from the hospital for CHF, they will be back over and over again until they eventually die from the disease. They may eventually be eligible for a heart transplant, but either way their care will be in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Regarding bundling you discuss, hypertension and pneumonia can certainly be related to CHF.

If this patient presented to the hospital with all of the conditions you describe, I am assuming your proposal is to ignore all of the conditions except for the primary one? In your plan, does the patient get a say?

Regarding actual cost savings in the ACA, the only one I believe may have merit is the reimbursement cuts for readmittance due to a hospital related complication such as secondary infections. While healthcare facilities began publishing some of these complication rates, the ACA does put some teeth into the control of hospital controlled complications. On the flip side, surgery isn't the same as auto repair and you can't predict all outcomes.

Ronald Reagan said it all when he stated, "it's not that our liberal friends are stupid, it's just that they know so much about very little."

If conservative super PAC money manages to elect Romney and Ryan AKA The Hitler Twins, kiss what
little freedom you have left, goodbye because it will be privatized like
everything else.

Cant, afford to pay RomneyCo Disaster Response Services LLC? Then, let your
house burn! You don't deserve to own a home! Don't worry, we have RomneyCo
private debtors prisons for the irresponsible made homeless by there own bad
decisions.

Can't afford to send your kids to RomneyCo Private Education and Mormon
Indoctrination Centers? Shouldn't have had kids! Don't you know how to practice
personal responsibility(as long as it's not birth control)? Don't worry we have
RomneyCo factory jobs for the children of deadbeats.

Can't afford to pay RomneyCo Law Enforcment Services Inc.? Then, you deserved
to get raped! It's not our fault your parents couldn't afford to send you to
college. Being irresposible is the same as asking for it!

Can't afford to pay RomneyCo Voter ID Services? What makes you think you
deserve to vote? We have to save the votes for the most important citizens,
those that are publicly traded!

Can't afford to pay RomneyCo Healthcare Services? Please hurry up and
die!

Don't worry we know what is best for people like you. Here, get on
this freight train with the rest of your friends and family, and we will send
you somewhere where they will make it all better.

Is that the world that conservatives want? I doubt it but, that sure seems to
be the way they are headed! @!$%# that!!!!

smbusowner,

I couldn't have more respect for those who condemn the poor for being poor while condemning them for attempting to crawl out of their demographics than I do for people who call people who use services that they've been paying for for years and pay their monthly premiums to as "moochers" and worse.

1POV,

I completely agree with your statement.

The problem we face today is that we have a deficit of at least $1.2 trillion dollars per year, with increasing outlays to Medicare and Social Security and no way to keep up, let alone make progress on the debt.

smbusowner proposes to borrow from the general fund to cover the money needed for SS and Medicare. What money is there to borrow? There is none, so the proposal can't work and Obama can't keep his promises.

The hell with the whole bunch i'm going moose hunting!....

I bet the coyote's are glad.

Priebus said “If any person in this entire debate has blood on their hands in regard to Medicare, it’s Barack Obama.

And we thought Michael Steel was a goof, no hyperbole there (again). Blood?! Oh how I love the smell of rightwing desperation in the morning...

The Affordable Care Act does eliminate about $500 billion in waste such as vast overpayments to private Medicare Advantage plans. NOTE: Paul Ryan's plan KEEPS the ACA cuts plus "ends Medicare as we know it" by handing our measly coupons to seniors to then try to buy affordable health insurance in the private market.

And Ryan wants to do this so the rich can have more tax cuts -- it's not even to reduce deficits -- Where is the outrage?

"Eddie Munster" all grown up as an adult Political Wolfman on steroids, ready to sink his teeth into the elderly and the Middle Class families.

The tag team of Mitt "Rob-me" and Paul "Ream-me." Mel Brooks couldn't have cast a better pair for one of his politically incorrect satirical movies! A Clueless, Multimillionaire, Cement Head and An "Eddie Munster" look-a-like contest winner who wants to rewrite American history by studying the works of Ayn Rand and then applying them to (what's left of) the American Working Class Families.

The next several weeks should be verrrryyyyy interesting. And entertaining!

well, i see all this belly-aching about the for profit insurance taking our money and the paul ryan plan that will continue to rob us, but where were all of you when the president was trying to get single payer healthcare in the country? the far right got their crazies out in force and made it seem like the whole country was behind keeping things status quo. but, that isn't the way it really is. it's just everyone else was asleep at the wheel. every major western country on this planet has some kind of single payer system and they all work better than us.

if you really want change then we DO need to make this about healthcare this election and WE need to come out in droves and demand single payer insurance. GET US AWAY FROM FOR PROFIT HEALTHCARE!!! paul ryan's plan will continue to feed to corporate dog to the detriment not of those of us who are older now, but to our CHILDREN! how much do you love your children? don't worry about yourselves, worry about your kids and your grandkids. how are they going to make it when you're dead in your grave? by turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to these problems we are condemning our descendants to what? early deaths, terrifying illnesses that because they won't be able to afford these 'choices' ryan is suggesting that we offer, they will just die. we need to work NOW for the future of our families to come.

so, make sure your congressman/woman knows that they will be looking for a new job if they don't work for a single payer. let us go out into the streets like the teaparty did and demand equal rights for healthcare for everyone. it IS doable, they're doing it all over the world. but, here apparently, profit is more important than life. and a country of brotherhood and standing shoulder to shoulder together has been replaced by an attitude of every man for himself and keep your hands off my money!!!!! a sad commentary. i fought for single payer, but not enough people really believe that they can make a difference. one person cannot, but many can. when will we, as americans, stand up and demand our rights? how much are you willing to sell your vote for? your freedom?

alessa,

Your analysis doesn't mention that Ryan's plan allowed seniors to decide between existing Medicare and the voucher system.

If Medicare is so great, everybody will pick it and there would be no harm to your system.

How can you explain all the social programs cuts and then a 44.5 trillion or 10% tax cut for the rich? Only Romney and Ryan could justify that, along with the cuts to Pell Grants, nursing home care, prescription coverage, increased military spending. The republican party is now anti-American. More move to the right and Nazism.

If only all of us had the kind of juicy, all-comprehensive health insurance afforded by Mitzi and his new partner the Undertaker.

As for this duo's spelling any kind of death knell for the 2012 Republican ticket, don't bet on it. Mitzi and the Undertaker are white, male, and pimps for the oldtime-religion-at-gunpoint crowd, and that's more than enough for the crowd that would vote for dried chewing gum if it weren't named Obama.

Voting for these cynics if you're not a rich white Christian is an act of sheer blithering idiocy, a childlike denial of the total sinking ship that was 2001-2008, but hey -- ain't neither of them got a funny Muslim foreigner-soundin' name, and that's good enough, ain't it?

Even Tea Party leaders disagree with Paul Ryan, not only because Ryan participated in the reckless spending during Dubya that created most of the deficits we face today, but because Ryan's plan does not balance the budget for 23 years.

Tea Party leader Matt Kibbe also disagrees that cuts in trust fund entitlements are the only way to make these programs solvent -- He doesn't support cuts in these programs, and believes defense spending must be on the table to balance the budget.

Right now we are borrowing to sustain our spending, which is insane. What we need to do is raise the FICA withholding cap up to at least $250,000 in earnings -- This alone would make SS solvent immediately for many years into the future.

There are so many things that can and should be done without cutting these programs, like collecting the $700 billion sheltered in the Cayman Islands (on par with the stimulus), and closing loopholes that allow 1%ers like Romney to pay only 13.9% tax rates (or less!).

Enough with Romney/Ryan 1%ers and getting more "free stuff" from the middle class and working poor. Are you people crazy? You want to borrow instead of making the rich pay their fair share, or destroy Medicare instead of making the rich pay their fair share? These are the options douchebags like Romney and Ryan are trying to sell you. Throw these Teapublican plutocrats out!

Shyster & Miser -- They aren't in it for you.

armurray

With all due respect, CHF is "curable". And not all episodes are caused by heart failure or a patient needing a heart transplant. Actually, when CHF is a chronic problem, it's usually due to a valvular problem, and does not require a "heart transplant". Simple diuretics, fluid restrictions, diet, exercise, and weight loss, can prevent up to 78% of CHF recurring in a patient. And to understand what I was stating, even though a patient may have other medical conditions currently or in the past 10 yrs of his/her life, does not mean that (that particular hospitalization) treated those conditions, yet they are bundled and Medicare Fraud is rampant. The ACA regulates that to the intent of the over bundling of claims which will save Billions each year in over payments to hospitals. That's yours and mine tax payer dollars and I'm very supportive of that.

And the Affordable Care Act does not state nor have any control over nosocomal infection rates or hospital complication rates. That is a state licensing issue and governed at the state level. The one regulation regarding readmission for the same diagnosis within 30 days for Medicare patients has been in effect since 1991. It was a federal mandate requiring hospitals to treat medicare patients fully and completely prior to discharge and states that if a patient is readmitted within 30 days for the same diagnosis due to being discharged too soon, Medicare will not reimburse for the second admission under the same DRG.

Ryan Plan is disaster. Voucher plan will increase seniors health plan by $6000 to $8000 a year, How do you expect the seniors on fixed income afford this?

They can't. Republicans may as well support assisted suicide if they're going to kill seniors anyway out of shear neglect.

You only have to ask one thing about the Obama care plan... If this plan was so great then why didn't these elite's politicians make it mandatory for them to have it? Guess it isn't such a great plan or they too would have wanted it. Too many exemption for special interest groups (i.e. the 1%ers the government)

Health care is a big issue and there are good points from lots of people on here. But most of the points made aren't addressed by Obama care. Like profit motive in health care. The bill is bad from the get go.

ClearVoice2 -- If you really want to restore the traditional family then YOU should be all about good-paying jobs that allow a man to support a family. Studies show that over the last 30 to 40 years wages have stagnated, and because men no longer earn enough to get married, the traditional family has gone down the toilet.

The last 30-40 years decline of the middle class, with more and more families falling below poverty level is thanks to Reaganomics, or what Bush Sr. referred to as supply-side "voodoo" economics. Fast forward to the same failed GOP/Bush-era superstitions of 'trickle-down" tax cuts for the rich (who are NOT job creators), deregulation, and the "invisible hand," etc., we now have an entire generation permanently damaged by the Lost Decade (2000-2011).

President Obama has created more jobs so far in his first term--despite Teapublican obstructionism--than Dubya created during both of his terms combined. Still, baby boomer older workers close to retirement are doomed because of the Lost Decade, and yet there is young Paul Ryan telling people below the age of 55 to dumpster dive in their "golden years."

Romney and Ryan are so out-of-touch and such greedy tight-arses they want struggling Americans to take the hit and pay for their unnecessary wars, drastic tax breaks for the rich, and Wall Street gone wild that resulted in lost jobs, lost health care coverage, lost homes, lost retirement investments. Hey baby boomers -- just eat cat food and turn off the heat and hope you don't freeze! Us rich folk, we need our car elevators and such.

Puleeze, this is not about "success" as measured by how much money Romney can scam the IRS/America out of. Romney and Ryan have no integrity, morals, life achievements of good works, nothing most define as "success." Putting them in the White House would be disastrous to another generation.

The GOP is resorting to deflection and deception to "sell" its cruel agenda to smash America's middle class and the poor. The Republican's are determined to impose a heartless and purging political agends on this country.

Reibus' statements are unthruthful:

Ryan’s plan to redesign Medicare for future retirees

Ryan's plan is to destroy Medicare for future retirees

Ryan’s plan was far preferable to what President Barack Obama had done

Obama's Affordable Care Act and his plan for Medicare has built in savings. For our seniors, Obama is working to preserve this critical social safety net.

If any person in this entire debate has blood on their hands in regard to Medicare, it’s Barack Obama.

Under the GOP's plan, millions of our middle class and the poor citizens will perish.

make the program fiscally sustainable for future taxpayers.

If the GOP made the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, economically our treasury would be much more sound. Then, we would be in a better position to monetarily sustain our social programs.

He alleged that Obama “stole $700 billion out of Medicare to fund European health care

Obama's predecessor gave trillions of dollars to the rich.

According to analyses by the Congressional Budget Office and the chief Medicare actuary, Obama’s health care overhaul will reduce future Medicare spending by between $400 billion and $600 billion in its first ten years.

Can Reibus factually refute the above statistics? No.

Ryan’s Medicare reform would gradually increase the Medicare eligibility age to 67

Ryan's "Medicare reform" will gradually push the Medicare eligibility age to 67, 70, 72, and 75. It is not unbelievable that the GOP will eventually try to push the eligibility age to 80.

The Ryan Medicare plan would not apply to those now receiving Medicare benefits.

Do not believe the GOP liars.

Medicare will be changed forever

True, if voters vote for Ryan.

Mitt Romney has his own plans

For Medicare, Mitt cannot reveal his plans. If he releases his "ideas" for this health care program, our citizens will not vote for him. Thus, Romney must keep his plan a secret.

Ryan as his running mate “clarifies the choice” for voters

Mitt's choice of Ryan for VP, resoundingly "clarifies the choice for voters."

Mitt's choice of Ryan for VP shouts... vote for Obama and Biden.

Newt Gingrich said on your program. I believe it’s right-wing social engineering.

Gingrich's above statement is one of the few times that Newt was speaking the truth.

Axlerod:

He charged that the Romney campaign is “trying to distance themselves” from Ryan’s Medicare proposal.

Who would not run from Ryan's plan?

Priebus said, “...Mitt Romney is willing to govern like he’s campaigned."

Romeny will only bring more suffering to this country.

...Not All Americans are stupid!

Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod contrasts the presidential candidates' stances on preservation of Medicare for seniors.

Guess Axelrod forgot the small detail that Obamacare $500 billion Medicare reduction in the future growth as the Medicare population is growing. Hmmm I'd say that didn't quite preserve medicare Axelrod.

Thank you Romney, for handing the White House over to Obama.

Elections are won by going to the center in the populace. Obama/Biden have done exactly this.

The trouble with the Republicans is they keep going to the extreme right. Ryan is as extreme as they come.

The proof is in the numbers. Obama/Biden are now at 291 on electoral college votes up from 260 four weeks ago according to 538 . org, the most accurate polling available.

Dear Republican's, you best get out of the information bubble you are in or the shock is going to really hurt come November.

All the kings horses and all the kings men could not make this romney and stoogie look good. Both are clueless as to how thing work in this country and for that matter the entire world. One was born with a silver spoon in his mouth that now produces nothing but garbage and has lived odd of his fathers reputation while sucking the blood out of dying companies right and left Managing the budget for Mass whilebeing damn near dead last as a state in all the coloumns that represent what working Americans need and want. Twisting this way in the wind as it changes direction. Having plans that he supported become dangerous to Americans? And now he has offered us an Ayn Rand follower with her assinine view of how a government should work. Before this Romney was headed for the junk heap. Ryan makes the tripp faster. His plan is not the answer to anything unless you want the rich to get richer the price of HC continue to escalate and the last few ounces of blood the Republicans left in the elderly to be drained from their tired bodies after supporting this country all their lives.

LorraineH,

That's the problem with the ACA. Even experts like yourself don't know everything in it. One you may have missed includes penalties I mentioned in my previous response to you about hospital acquired infections:

Hospital-acquired conditions – FY 2015
Hospitals also will face Medicare penalties for hospital-acquired conditions, starting in fiscal year 2015. Those that do well in the top quartile of national rates will receive 99 percent of their Medicare payments for all discharges. Some hospitals, however, will face penalties each year if they fail to progress–a position that AHA strongly opposes.

The Presidential race is over. Already decided. No amount of money is going to change people minds at this point.

The remaining question is what will happen with the Congress. Will the Obama influence have any effect on these races? Unknown so far. But the Democrat in my hopes so.

We'll see.

Guess Axelrod forgot the small detail that Obamacare $500 billion Medicare reduction in the future growth as the Medicare population is growing. Hmmm I'd say that didn't quite preserve medicare Axelrod

Another assinine interpretation of the medicare cuts which are savings not cuts. People who post crap right off of right wing web sites or faux are idiots.

yosolo (#1.33)

Excellent post!

What many here, and on other blogs, don’t understand is how horrible government’s track record is predicting costs. Never, let me repeat NEVER, has a government program been near budget projections. Let’s begin with the claim that a bigger government role will restrain costs and make health care more affordable.

Prior to 1965, when Medicare and Medicaid were created health-care inflation ran slightly faster than overall inflation. Since that time medical inflation has climbed 2.3 times faster than other costs. Much of this reflects advances in technology and treatments but it significantly contrasts the claim of government as a cost saver. In 1965 the House Ways and Means committee estimated that the first years cost for Medicaid would be $238 million, instead it cost more than $1 billion. Medicaid now costs 37 times more than what it did when i was launched.

Medicare has a similar record. In 2965 Congress said it would cost $12 billion in 1990, its actual cost was $110 billion. Hospitalization costs were supposed to cost $9 billion but ended up costing $67 billion. Surprisingly, one of the few health-care entitlements that have come in under estimates is the 2003 Medicare Group-D. The primary cause for this is that pricing is coming in better than anticipated because of the “competition in the private market. The CMS confirms this stating, "the drug plans competing for Medicare beneficiaries have been able to establish greater than expected savings from aggressive price negotiation."

Liberals fought this, preferring government drug price controls, just as they opposed private health plans from competing across state lines. The lesson here is that spending on nearly all federal benefit programs grows relentlessly once they are established. We see that profoundly with college tuition costs. As the government offers more grants, loans or other subsidies at ever increasing costs, not based on any acceptable reason, the cost is passed directly to the student.

The other things that are always avoided are two critical issues. The first is the endless “doctor fix”, This is never added to any health care budget because it has become a continuing resolution for the past decade as the governments estimates, once again, keep coming in under actual costs. As you showed with your link, this was pointed out perfectly by Paul Ryan as he schooled Obama at the Health Care Summit in 2010. Obama, for once in his life, was speechless. Primarily because he didn’t have a teleprompter to answer the debate or a preselected soft-ball question. Ryan not only destroyed his projections he predicted them exactly as they have been increasing to today newest actuarial cost of $1.6 billion dollars. CBO projections are just fluff most of the time as they are based ONLY on the parameters they are given such as growth rates, inflation, costs or other unpredictable variables. Of course the unwashed masses who are indoctrinated in the belief that government can do everything better than the private sector were just as confused as Obama’s blank stare revealed.

The most egregious issue is the massive waste, fraud, abuse and corruption (WFAC) that overwhelms our massive bureaucratic government. Last December, exiting Director of CMS, Donald Berwick, stated that our health care system has 20%-30% of WFAC associated with it. With the estimated increased cost of Obamacare, health care will cost nearly $3 trillion dollars or more. One fifth of our GDP will be consumed by health care costs. This means $600 billion to $900 billion of our health care dollar will be lost. There is confusion in Berwicks statement as he claims the WFAC is between $150 billion-$250 billion annually. This should not only be a concern it should be an outrage. First for its unsustainable cost, but also for the confusion within the system itself to accurately understand waste. Even if you accept the middle cost of the lower estimate at $200 billion this in itself would provide 40 million Americans $5,000 of health insurance every year, easily covering the “uninsured” everyone is so concerned about.

Another, and probably the most critical issue is the inevitable shortage of health care providers we will soon be experiencing. Doctors do not believe Obamacare will improve the health care system, they actually believe it will worsen current conditions. Nine out of 10 doctors are unwilling to recommend health care as a profession to a family member. This is a powerful testament to a profession that historically has been very supportive of recommending others to pursue health care as a career.

43% of doctors are considering retiring within the next five years. As some doctors explain it as moving further away from humanity-based care and more towards the patient as simply a commodity, these are significant perceptions.

According to the American Medical Association of Medical Colleges, by 2027, the nation will need an additional 150,000 doctors to meet demand. Other sources predict a shortage of 200,000 doctors by 2025. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a need for 145,000 new doctors by 2018. Remember, it takes 23 to 28 years of school to become a doctor, depending on your specialty. In 2010 medical schools graduated 16, 838 students nationally.

Our health care system is the best in the world regardless of the opponents. Yes, we do need health care reform. But when HHs has already added nearly 6,000 pages of regulations you know the cost will only go up and the quality will go down. For those who so revere the “other” health care systems I recommend they research the “Liverpool Care Policy”. Death panels are very possible, they’ll just be sugar coated as a benefit to the patient with a pretty name.

It never ceases to amaze me how much the Left boasts about their desire for change, yet they just want more of the same. Change is to status quo as indoctrination is to confusion for them. This is the endless argument as they desperately try to defend their failing entitlements and social programs that have caused most of the problems we are facing today.

Romney/Ryan for real Americans.

breadex,

But Obama called the $500 billion savings a cut in order to demonstrate the ACA was neutral as far as it's cost.

Medicare will be insolvent shortly.

Democrats have no plans at all to address this.

You do not read much do you. Every Democrat attempt to solve any problem in the last three years has ended up being fillerbusted in the senate. Wake up. They professed to being elected for the sole purpose of defeating Obama and making him "a one term president" The solution to medicare and SS lies in the fact that you do not have to pay into it if you reach the cap which is around 100k. Release the cap let everyone pay the same on all income and the problem is solved for both. The income creep to the top 1% is preventing either to be solvent for long because the 1% do not want to pay any taxes or fund insurance etc.

George Pauljohn: In your post you made reference to the "law of attraction"...please explain exactly what that is?

breadex,

You've been drinking the kool-aid again. There is no cap to Medicare payroll taxes. There hasn't been one since 1993 when it was eliminated.

Jemma77

So middle age parents: Are you prepared to pay $2000. a month for your parent's health insurance while you're paying to raise your children? Do you have the money for child care, college savings and another $2000 every month for your mom or dad?

More to the point is are you cool with giving up your middle class tax credits so that the rich can get more tax breaks? Capital gains, carried interest, tax shelters, etc. along with corporate welfare like subsidies for Big Oil -- This is what Romney and Ryan are all about, getting their "free stuff" at your expense.

IMO all tax credits need to go away to simplify the tax code and make it fair to all. But we need to start at the top FIRST -- get ride of loopholes for the rich, and then we can have low rates for the 95-98% in lieu of tax credits (like the child or mortgage write-offs that people without dependents or people who rent don't enjoy).

JimSpence -- Only someone as feeble-minded as you would think yolo-yahoo's spam is "marvelous." Your waste of space and BTUs has become very tiring. Speaking of which...

armurray -- The $500 billion in Medicare savings in the ACA is from ending over payment to providers, not in cuts to seniors themselves. And please note, Ryan's plan KEEPS these cuts and then on top of that proposes to hand out measly coupons to line the pockets of private insurance companies even further.

The supposed cuts in Medicare in the ACA is one of the issues that fueled the Tea Party in the first place--along with TARP, the Iraq war and all the things Paul Ryan rubber-stamped. So now anyone in the Tea Party who supports Paul Ryan's plan is the biggest hypocritical idiot there is.

armurray

I understand completely the "Hospital Aquired Conditions" clause in the ACA, as a matter of fact, it is nothing NEW!! It is written as a total protocol for the Affordable Care Act. There are many things in the ACA that are already in existance, but as a Health Care Act, are reinforced and repeated regulatins already being practiced. Since Dec. 2007, the "penalty" reimbursements went into effect stating by the AHA that it would no longer tolerate and reward poor perfroming hospitals in this country. For instance: patient with a UTI (Urinary tract infection) DRG Medicare reimbursement and most insurance reimbursement would be about $6700, but if the patient gets a "hospital aquired infection" from a catheter, the reimbursement could increase as much as 60+ % to about $9,000. The AHA found that the new 'Hospital Aquired Infection" penalty saved approx. $400 million per year in payments. In Early 2008 the AHA extended that penalty to all Vascular conditons requiring catheters as well that may cause hospital aquired infections. So .....this is nothing new....these reimbursement standards have been in place for reported nosocomal infections since late 2007. Just because it is written into the new ACA, doesn't make it a new concept or practice. The ACA will certainly expand reimbursement liability, and that is a VERY GOOD THING. The two previous existing rules have created safer hosptial conditions and general orders regarding patient care and actual Hospital Aquired Infection rates are lower now than before the first AHA bill was passed in 2007.

The $500 billion "projected" savings are from reducing support for Medicare Advantage.

So did he really "save" $500 billion or was it just a ruse from Obama to try to justify the entire bill so he wouldn't have to come up with a real way to pay for it.

The Obama administration is now saying the Federal Government is actually now paying $1,000 more per insured than before the ACA was enacted.

So I guess I already have my answer.

LorraineH,

I completely agree with you on your post, but I stand by my analysis that it is the only thing in the ACA that can affect health care costs in a positive way.

armurray -- Oh "for Pete's sake" why don't you take your Diarrhea of the Mouse and go to TheBlaze already.

UnitedStates1776 #1.3

"Healthcare should have never been a for-profit industry."

If any industry does NOT have a financial incentive, how do you expect to have qualified people to provide the necessary services? Sounds like you're turning the clock back to the time of fascism and communism, and we should know just how well that worked out.

LorraineH

With all due respect, CHF is "curable". And not all episodes are caused by heart failure or a patient needing a heart transplant. Actually, when CHF is a chronic problem, it's usually due to a valvular problem,

With all due respect, most cases of CHF are not due to valvular problems (2-12%), they're due to ischemic heart disease (60-70%) which is primarily due to coronary artery disease. This lack of blood flow creates a lack of oxygen to the myocardium resulting in decreased cardiac output and its subsequent symptoms.

As much as I'd like to agree with your treatment regimen, the prevention resulting in a 78% decreased recurrence rate exists only via more and complex drug treatments. Most Americans will take 20 pills a day but they won’t give up their cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, snacks or sedentary lifestyles.

CHF is not curable, it is treatable though.

BTW, your assessment of DRG's is the typical simplistic nonsense that bureaucracies create when they try to manage disease or health care. I don't want to belabor the point but in one of your points you addressed a list of the patients history of previous medical problems. If you know anything about medicine that is the most important part of your assessment. Hypertension is a contributing condition to CHF. A previous "pneumonia" that may have been misdiagnosed as the patients first episode of CHF is just as important.

Contrary to what you may think, the practice of medicine is NOT a simple check list of what to do and what not to do. That's why doctors "practice" medicine. Every patient presents with different symptoms and levels of severity. Bureaucrats believe you can just manage medicine like you do when you get your oil change. Check the level, drain the old oil, install a new filter, replace oil, check fluids and off you go, good for another 3,000 miles. If only it were that simple. You may want to be less concerned about micromanaging health care via elitists who have no idea what they're doing and be more concerned with where you're going to find the 150,000 to 200,000 doctors we'll need in the next 10-15 years.

JimSpence

Ive spent 34 yrs in healthcare and when I post a comment in response to a particular discussion, I wish you would read the post I was responding to. In my discussion regarding CHF and Valve dysfunction, it was in the response that CHF patients need "heart transplants", I was mearly stating that "Most" surgical interventions regarding CHF have to do with valve disease. Certainly there are many causes for fluid overload, cardiac ischemia being only one of them.

Also

my assessment of DRG's is the typical simplistic nonsense that bureaucracies create when they try to manage disease or health care

What are you talking about? The discussion was regarding reimbursement and cost control. With your vast medical knowledge you must know that if I assess a chart for DRG review and code 428.0, the medicare reimbursement for the hospital is going to be approximately $4,900. But most hospital's vigorously push DRG Coders and Analyst to further code 428.30 for diastolic function or 428.20 for systolic functions and add MS-DRG 190 to the Coding and increase the reimbursement to approx. $7,166 with a DRG weight of 1.026.

Now considering your vast knowledge of what I was discussing in regard to Medicare reimbursements and Medicare cost abuse, you can now understand what my comment response was to armurray. Our discussion was regarding the ACA guidelines for cost containment of medicare. Hospital DRG Coders are not a bureaucracy created to manage disease. We are trained, educated, medical specialist to analyze disease process, who don't work for Medicare or the government but instead private hospitals all over this country raking in over payments from Medicare. Thanks for your "explanation" of what CHF is, and by the way according to AMA statistics and CORE Measuements state by state, CHF is only recurrent 31% of the time to make it a Chronic illness. 27% of the time it is a secondary comorbidity to another onset condition, and 32% of the time it is an initial onset with no recurrance with appropriate treatment (not 20 pills a day) usually a once or twice a day diuretic, fluid restriction, weight loss, exercise, and dietary changes in a compliant patient.

Ryan hugs the Third Rail and is going to be electrocuted - political life ended.

Looks like Ryan's plan to save medicare is to make sure more people die before they get covered by it and more people get cut off early as well. Yes, lets all vote for that.

watt75

Ryan has a plan and a budget which is more than Obama has. Doing nothing medicare will go broke. Ryan wants to give people under 55 a choice to participate in medicare as is or accept a voucher for private insurance. 55+ will have no change in medicare benefits. Ryan's plan puts the savings back into medicare, Obama is taking 500 BILLION out of medicare to fund Obamacare. Who exactly is gutting medicare? I encourage Americans to research this before November.

First of all, no idiot would accept the voucher knowing that it would soon be worthless. Secondly, Ryan's plan does not "save" Medicare; it merely pushes the cost onto seniors. And technically, Obama takes $500 billion out of WASTE in Medicare; much like what you conservatives would want.

Paul Ryan is a true American hero. It takes incredible fortitude to stand up and fight for the truth in the face of the tsunami of misinformation presented by the propaganda machine propping up the Obama administration. With God's help, Ryan will continue to expose the truth for all Americans to see and to nurse the American economy back to health.

Any man with the guts to call this blundering fool a hero is an @!$%# and an idiot. No man who "saves" the country's fiscal health on the backs of the @!$%#ing poor deserves to be called a Social Darwinian villain. I could easily fix Medicare and Medicaid (and the whole damn budget) without scrapping the safety net. Simply end the fee-for-service payment mechanism and end all business with for-profit medical care providers; until they reduce their prices to reasonable levels (or we are able to negotiate reasonable prices), we go to non-profit institutions like Kaiser Permanente. That solves Medicare and Medicaid; as for SS, simply raise the payroll tax rate to 15.2% and remove the cap on employers, while raising the cap on employees to 90% of earnings.

Our health care system is the best in the world regardless of the opponents. Yes, we do need health care reform. But when HHs has already added nearly 6,000 pages of regulations you know the cost will only go up and the quality will go down. For those who so revere the “other” health care systems I recommend they research the “Liverpool Care Policy”. Death panels are very possible, they’ll just be sugar coated as a benefit to the patient with a pretty name.

I'll take death panels any day of the damn week; hell, they're a lot better than telling the poor and the old to go @!$%# themselves. When will you damn conservatives ever admit that the United States of America is NOT perfect???? I could give you a boatload of facts that condemn the U.S. And no, I will not scurry off to Europe for their healthcare; that would be cowardice. We are 37th in the world regarding healthcare. 37th!!!!!!!!!! How the @!$%# could anyone sugarcoat that??? We spend more on healthcare than anyone else, but get SQUAT for it. I know how to fix healthcare; end the for-profit incentive and nationalize (or socialize) most, if not all of the system. Institute single-payer healthcare, expand Medicare to all Americans not covered by Medicaid or VA (or TRICARE, etc). Have Medicare control some hospitals (as in Britain with the NHS), but leave non-profit healthcare institutions to serve for competition (yet all contracted by Medicare). The private sector does not work with healthcare; quite simply, it cannot function since the consumers (i.e patients) don't know when they need care.

It never ceases to amaze me how much the Left boasts about their desire for change, yet they just want more of the same. Change is to status quo as indoctrination is to confusion for them. This is the endless argument as they desperately try to defend their failing entitlements and social programs that have caused most of the problems we are facing today.

What you fail to realize is that the "entitlements" and social programs are not failing; merely, they are being caught in a tailspin by natural events. Since healthcare costs are rising due to inefficiency, waste, the abuse of the fee-for-service system, and the innovative advances in healthcare, among other things, Medicare and Medicaid are skyrocketing in cost. This was not foreseen by LBJ and his Congress in the 1960s; as you said, my dear friend, healthcare costs were only rising with inflation, and everyone thought that was how it was going to be forever. Not to mention that fewer people were uninsured in the 1960s (due to the prevalence of jobs with good benefits). And if we go with Ryan's plan, which essentially tears up the safety net, what are we to do with the damn millions in poverty and near-poverty, huh???? Do you think the "holy and infallible market" will take care of the large masses who will swamp the streets??? Nothing mortal is infallible; unless God himself created the idea of capitalism, that means the market has a limit. Even Adam Smith himself stated that government had to do SOMETHING about the poor. If you want to help the poor, don't cut their safety net to the thread while giving the damn "job creators" a freaking tax cut. I cannot stand the idiots who think the "free market" will take care of everything in the economy as if it were God. If it did, there would be no need for regulations, for private charity, or safety regulations, as all externalities would be taken care of.

Romney/Ryan for real Americans.

If being a real American means telling poor people and the elderly to go @!$%# themselves, then I guess I'm not a "real American."

My fellow Americans; while the Ryan plan is draconian, unnecessary, and terribly regressive, conservatives do have a point. We cannot simply castigate Ryan for his terrible budget (although politicians will); we cannot run and throw stones at it. We must stand and fight it with our own ideas, our own solutions. For if we defeat Ryan, but don't provide an alternative, Medicare WILL fail, and history will forever credit the conservatives for offering to "save America," when in truth the conservative right-wingers helped push this country to the brink. I have come up with my solution, imperfect as it is. I ask each of you to provide one of your ideas, and if you already have, promote it as much as you can until everyone will know that there are truly two paths that our country can take. I'll admit, Obama doesn't really have a credible solution (other than single-payer, which got shot down fast) to fixing Medicare or Medicaid. Obamacare helps, but cutting entitlements will not work, because you may drive even more doctors from accepting Medicare.

And Jim, concerning the problem about a shortage of doctors and medical students, my proposal is to make the tuition for medical school either tax-deductible or fully paid for by the government, while we shorten the length of the time it takes to go into the medical industry. We could also change immigration policy to favor skill-based immigrants, particularly in math, science, engineering, and medicine/healthcare.

Just remember the people making these plans will never have to depend on Medicaid. They get, for life, a private government plan that the average working person could never afford and remember it's free to them.

Yep! And here is the biggest condemnation of all... long before there was any inkling of what the ACA would entail, long before any details emerged, the only time there was any consensus between Republicans and Democrats about health care was when they all voted unamously that politicians would not be subject to it. Just what the hell does that tell you about any health care reform from either party?

Obama is a war criminal and he should be impeached.

Obama has:

Signed the NDAA bill into law allowing the assassination of any us citizen without trial (yes, I know it's been around for a long time but Obama signed it into law even though it's unconstitutional)

Allowed 30,000 Spy drones to be flown over American skies (Unconstitutional, Against the Fourth Amendment).

Obama has signed over 1000 Executive Orders since he took office (Thanks to that, it's now illegal to collect rain water)

Obama has killed hundreds of innocent people (including 3 Americans) with drone strikes he has ordered in Pakistan And Yemen.

Obama has raised the National debt Nearly $5 TRILLION.

Obama has allowed almost 1 Million ILLEGAL aliens to become legal citizens (thanks to those he allowed to become citizens, they have committed 19 murders and 142 sex crimes)

Lied About all of His 2008 Campaign Promises Including the One Where He said he campaigned in 57 states.

Google Search "Dreams from my REAL father" and you'll see, Obama's father was a failed communist who's dream was to DESTROY America, at age 18, Obama went to a MARXIST school.

Mitt Romney has or will:

Has made Millions in an Abortion Business.

Will sell jobs over seas.

Will go to war with any Country he wants to without Congressional Approval (he says).

Both the Republican party and Democratic party are really the same thing now.

You know who we need for President? Gary Johnson, he is the Libertarian Presidential Canidate, he wants to End the IRS, End the Fed, End useless Government Agencies likes the Department of Homeland Security. He is Against wars. You are probably thinking "Why vote for him? He has no chance.", he has polled in Nearly %10 and needs %15 to Delegate Obama.

The 2012 votes are being counted in an Offshore Company own by George Soros in Spain (Which is TREASON!).

F6Zman,

...and the black helicopter people are circling your home.

The effective tax rate is calculated on your total income, no deductions or exemptions. Data from the Congressional Budget Office on Effective Individual Income Tax Rates that includes ALL investment and tax-exempt income:

Income Group....2007 EffTaxRate

1st 20%.................(-)6.8%

2nd 20%.................(-)0.4%

Mid 20%....................3.3%

4th 20%.....................6.2%

Top 20%..................14.4%

Top 5%....................17.6%

Top 1%....................19.0%

No deductions or exemptions included? Might as well have spinkled it with Romney fairy dust.

MOMINNJ,

Were you in Iraq or Afghanistan?

Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?

Yes. 4 years ago, GM was about to go bankrupt taking a million jobs with it, the financial system was about to self-destruct and we were looking the worst recession in the face.

Obama turned that around. We are MUCH better off than we were four years ago. We aren't recovering as fast as we would like, but if you could just get the Republicans in the House to focus on some jobs bills instead of abortion, we might see faster improvement.

Obama's bottom up philosophy isn't doing so hot either now is it?

Fail. Try again.

Yes I am better off...and President Obama has fulfilled many of his campaign promises! Here are a few:

-Unemployment is down to 8.2% from 10.1% and would have been below 8% if the Republicans worked with him.

-GDP growing at +1.9% rather than shrinking at -6.8%

-Stock market and peoples pensions and retirements with it, up to 12k+ from 7k

-4.6 million private sector jobs

-Ending Iraq and Afghanistan

-Getting bin laden

-Saved GM and the auto industry!

-Increased manufacturing

-Saved the country from sinking into a Republican created Depression!

And if anyone ever bothered to listen to Obama speak, they would see that he runs on his record all the time.

Now Preibus says: "What Romney’s choice of Ryan proves is that Mitt Romney is willing to govern like he’s campaigned."

If Romney governs like he has campaigned and as we all know he has made gaffe after gaffe during this campaign then the USA would be completely screwed.

Obama/Biden 2012!

Yes, we are much better off than four years ago. We were able to refinance and now have a terrific rate with no costs of any kind, we now know that any pre existing health issues still have to be insured and mammograms and other tests will have a once a year free cost, I now know I will be paid the same for the same work done, the President has kept us safe from a terror attack and two dictatorships have been toppled as well as Bin Laden put to rest, stem cell research has renewed funding, no longer do service people have to pretend about who they are, Gays will be able to have the same benefits and rights as all people, the middle class will pay their fair share in taxes, but so will the rich (if the argument is that the rich create jobs, then where are the jobs they have created?), and we have an intelligent, compassionate, dignified, and amazing leader who puts compassion before hatred, truth before lies, strength before fear. Yes, we are much better off and can't wait for the President to lead us another four years.

United States 1776

I know many who were in Iraq and AFghanistan and they do not want Obama again. By the way in case you have lost touch with what is happening in the world, we are still in Iraq and AFghanistan. The BS under which we have contractors and soldiers there has changed since Obama managed to grab defeat from the face of victory. All of which has nothing to do with MOMINNJ's post.

R Wolf

Yeah, well so far the people who get those perks are all on OBama's people and dependent list and/or those who never should have been given a mortage in the first place. People who did the right thing and kept up with thier bills got no such advantages. They only got screwed. ANd Obama's way of making his supporters "better off" is what is breaking our country. Sorry but the worker bees don't want to die working for those that don't.

Bragging that stem cell research is going full steam now using fetus cells is an abomination or should I say Obamanation and just plain sick. It has been proven that grown up cells work just as well if not better than fetus cells yet cannabilizing those that are killed in the name of convenience seems to be perfectly ok with you liberals and Obama supporters.

I know there are some animal species who eat thier young but I never thought I'd see the day when humans would consider killing and using thier unborn was ok.

Mominnj?

How do you expect it to work just 3.5 years from disaster? with republican obstruction to every bill? please tell me

Shaking do you know Einstein's definition of insanity? Well this top down voodoo economics has been just that. Before the Reaganites instituted this policy our economy was working. If something works why try to reinvent the wheel unless there is something in it for those who are instituting such nonsense economic theory that has never been taught in any college, Ivy League, private or state?

The BS under which we have contractors and soldiers there has changed since Obama managed to grab defeat from the face of victory

Victory? In Afghanistan and Iraq? What planet are you living on?

Unless you count getting bin Laden as a victory, which Obama definitely did. But we pretty much lost everything else. Obama just had the guts to admit it and start moving out.

@MOMINNJ

Oh hey, Recession and all hell broke lose near the end of 2007, so of course you didn't feel much from 2000 to 2008.

Have you looked at the stats? It was in the free fall when Obama take over and you expect a miracle worker to fix everything in 4 years of what took over 30 years in the making.

Did Obama cause the housing crisis? Nope.

Did Obama create more foodstamp program? Nope.

Did Obama increase wages for CEO 300 times more? Nope.

Did Obama create all those scamming for global banking and wall street? Nope.

And here you have it, Obama did NONE of those. Those are just happened and you still blame Obama for any of those. Nice try.

Lies, Lies a lot until something stick, that is what you are doing.

Absolutely better. First of all, the stock market has doubled since the disaster of 2008 restoring the value of our savings. Significant for retirees who just can't go out and earn more. My kids still have their jobs. GM didn't tank, saving thousands of jobs in our area. Love seeing those new Chevy's running around. I'm seeing new homes and subdivisions being built again. A real turnaround from the latter years of 2000. Sure, it would be nice if it was coming faster, but we were in the deepest financial mess in my 70 year lifetime experience. No magic wand, just stay the course and keep working for the betterment of the average Americans' future. Going back to the Bush agenda would be stupid and suicidal for the economy ..didn't work then, won't now.

You guys can make all the lists you want to justify Nobama's term in office, but his policies still stink, and we are not better off than four years ago, and our children will be in worse shape when they get to their 40's and 50's....

Jeanne...we aren't going back to the bush era, if were lucky we be going forward to the romney/ryan era....

I have a freiend who worked for NASA 4 years ago. After Obama did away with the space program he lost his job. He is still unemployed and lost his home. many people are not better off today than they were 4 years ago. The whole NASA communnity in Flordia got shafted by Obama. Now when we need a ride into space Obama outsources 15 million to Russia for the ride. Obama HAS created 1.5 million jobs but he has lost 4.6 million. That is a net lose if it was a gain of 4.5 million th eunemployment rate would be lower than 8.2%.

Romney picks "WORM" for VP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'Just talking points and class warfare?'

FYI: I've watched the Olympics and marvelous athletes for the past two weeks. The words that come to mind are discipline and competition and pride.

I've watched pitiful Congressional antics for the last 4, 8, years! Few words, only shame and egotism...such a distinction.

The two 'Dudley-Dorights' simply cannot prevail in their race for the White House.

Yes, I am a lot better off than I was almost 4 years ago. I'm working and we as nation are not losing 750,000 jobs a month as we were for the bushwhacker. We have gained about 160,000 a month. Better off and will be getting better if we keep these pro-business give away millionaires out of office. Stop Romney the religious cult member and Ryan the teabugger stooge!

A few years back the Republicans were blathering on and on about Obama's supposed "Death Panels".

And now...

With Ryan's plan, they want to do him one better with what amounts to the economically induced euthanization of a significant number of American's elderly.

Think about it.

Ryan wants to end Medicare for future retirees (anyone currently 55 or younger) and thereby force them to remain on private insurance plans.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Republicans want to repeal Obama Care.

Your classic one-two punch.

Let's say that they succeed on both counts.

Ten years hence, any senior who ever had an untimely lapse in his or her insurance coverage and is subsequently faced with life threatening consequences from a pre-existing condition will be denied coverage and thereby culled from the herd in short order.

What we'll have here are virtual death panels running on autopilot that will save Uncle Sam billions.

It's a teabagger's wet dream.

Maybe it's just me but Mitt seems to be depending on others to define what his agenda will be. Is he so bereft of ideas that he needs others to define and frame his candidacy?

This just proves what I've said all along, the Republican party is where innovation, imagination, human compassion and simple decency go to die.

Ryan will likely go with the 2011 augmented Medicare plan when he stumps.

The CBO has not scored this plan, which is not as draconian as the 2010 plan that landed him in hot water with seniors.

Still, the method is "privatization" although there is a choice to stay on regular Medicare. It proposes government exchanges (note Republicans are currently against these for Obamacare) and that the reimbursement would be tied to the 2nd cheapest plan.

If you chose a plan that more expensive you would pay the difference.

The Devil is in the details here. We don't know what will be included in the plans, and how costs would be reduced.

In the end, Ryan says that if costs are too high for seniors then Congress would "step in and reduce the costs".

I thought Republicans were against "government involvement in your health care".

While I give Ryan credit for his attempt in solving this problem, its woefully in need of some bipartisanship so that Americans trust that Republicans won't pull the rug out from seniors.

Everyone knows that Republicans have been against medicare since the 60's.

@COYOTEHUNTER

What his policies? Tell me which one?

Oh hey, I'll just be like Romney, I'll just say this stink, that stink, but I won't go into specific because I have no idea what I am talking.

Ryan will show to be a ill mate for the Clown !!!!!!!!!

Iraq and Afghanistan have been the wasting of 7500 American lives for nothing. Over 50,000injured seriously and we have lost both wars. how bland can you be to call them a win. bush took us in and now we need to get out before we waste more lives for absolutely nothing. We can't and shouldn't be the world policeman.

So, tell us how much of that gain which you experienced between 2001-2008 you were able to keep after the financial meltdown in late 2008-2009?

I noticed how you stopped with 2008 but failed to say WHEN. Your selective amnesia regarding the financial downturn which occurred during the last three months of 2008 into mid 2009 doesn't mean that it did not occur. It was also noticeable that you failed to acknowledge the amount of growth (albeit slow) that has taken place as we recover from the depth of said financial collapse. But hey, go ahead and spin it anyway you want.

What I do know is that most rational and informed American's acknowledge that the economy improved in 2009 and 2010, but has slowed down since January 2011 which ironically is when those 80+ anarchist who identify themselves as Tea Party members ideologically hijacked what little remained of the moderate wing in the Republican party and stalled America's economic recovery.

And in case you have forgotten your Civics lessons from High School, Presidents don't legislate, the House and Senate does. President's don't pass budgets, the House and Senate does. President's only sign or veto the legislation that Congress sends to them. That's what the job of President is; despite the revisionist job description that is hoist upon them by simplistic lying political operatives who seek nothing more than to misinform those members of the electorate who vote based upon the latest sound byte and have little understanding of the roles of our three branches of government.

Sounds as if the better now, than 4 years ago side has it.

I agree. People talking about how bad things are today have forgotten just how bad things were in 2008, with two of the big three automakers on the verge of utter collapse. The nation shedding upwards of 700,000 jobs a month and unemployment climbing over 10%.

Another aspect of 2008 was the abject, financial fear sweeping the nation. Today things are unquestionably better.

Ryan is waterboarding Romney for family values with the TeaWackos !!!!

Analysis of Ryan's and Obama's Medicare plans: http://insurance.about.com/od/HealthIns/a/Medicare-Reform-Proposals-Analyzed.htm

Obama's answer to cutting medicare costs is to improve the efficiency of services. Essentially, cutting the waste. It does this with a non-partisan board of doctors that would make recommendations to Congress about areas that could be cut. Congress could reject these recommendations and make cuts on their own.

The Republicans talking point that Obama cut 500 billion from Medicare is rated "Mostly False" by Politifact.com

http://www.politifact.com/new-jersey/statements/2012/aug/03/scott-garrett/scott-garrett-claims-affordable-care-act-raidts-me/

The effective tax rate is calculated on your total income, no deductions or exemptions. Data from the Congressional Budget Office on Effective Individual Income Tax Rates that includes ALL investment and tax-exempt income:

Income Group....2007 EffTaxRate

1st 20%.................(-)6.8%

2nd 20%.................(-)0.4%

Mid 20%....................3.3%

4th 20%.....................6.2%

Top 20%..................14.4%

Top 5%....................17.6%

Top 1%....................19.0%

Don't confuse posted rates for what's actually paid.

Obama's bottom up philosophy isn't doing so hot either now is it?

Bottom up? You mean Obama is giving money to the poor and the Rich only are fed from the crumbs?

Are you also living in an alternate universe where black is white and facts and fiction? If you really believe that you're a hack and not worth even debating.

In 2007, when GW was informed about the impending collapse of our economy, he decided to do his part in reducing gov’t spending. He closed all but 1 of the White House bathrooms.

In 2008, to help pay for the stimulus bill (needed to pay the bonuses of those that caused the collapse) he reduced consumption of natural resources by not flushing the toilet.

Next thing you know, Barack comes in, sees the toilet and gives it a flush. What a mess.

His fault, he was the one that flipped the handle.

Meanwhile, the GOP pay Joe the Plummer lots and lots of money not to answer his phone. No calls, no business, no jobs. But Joe is happy, he got paid a years income for staying home and not sending anyone out to fix the toilet.

This story could have had a brighter side if junior had plugged the toilet with his head. But there isn’t a laxative made that could dislodge it from his ass.

uh-oh, just realized I misspelled plumber. I'm so embarrassed that my work won't be up to the standards typically practiced here. I apologize.

I love the references to saving GM by the left. General Motors was never saved, it was liquidated. GM is a new company that was created from the leftovers once General Motors went bankrupt. GM stock has only existed since 2010 and has lost over 50% of it's value since then.

@Dean in 3rd world Wisconsin

You mean when you see a toilet full of @!$%# and you like to smell and look at it?

Bush signed another stimulus before he hands everything over to Obama along with Big Bank bail out.

How you have selective memories.

any idiot who thinks this is just another recession when all major banks go under and major insurance companies go tits up and giant corporations go under, are really spoiled like our children are. I know where they get it now. maybe in 10 years we will get what we lost and it starts with taking most of our excesses away and cutting big in medicaid and social security. So senors I hope you saved money because you will need it and Mr. Ryan is the man to do it.

Ryan is nothing more than another in a long list of republican lap dogs whose strings are pulled, very tightly I might add by those two koch whores. Those koch traitors and their domestic terrorist organization ALEC are the ones that picked ryan...period. And for these people it's all about the tax breaks, corporate welfare, and big, big tax payer funded bailouts and putting the burden of all their corporate corruption on the backs of middle class America!!!!!

Gee, why would I want to give up my Medicare when the money saved from that would only pay for more enormous tax breaks for romney, ryan, the kochs, mitts job creators(wink, wink) and all the rest of the one percenters???????

You crazy righties must be flipping delusional....who do you think in their right mind would vote for that????????? And then on top of that ryans plan still raises the deficit?????WTF

Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?

Absolutely! At this time 4 years ago, my portfolio was half of what it had been less than one before. As of today, it's back above where it was before the economic crisis began.

General Motors was never saved, it was liquidated.

It was? When? If it was liquidated, then there would be no more General Motors, period. I think you need to research before you spout off.

The BS under which we have contractors and soldiers there has changed since Obama managed to grab defeat from the face of victory. All of which has nothing to do with MOMINNJ's post.

Victory??? Victory??? Those wars would be the END of us. We spent (actually borrowed) hundreds of billions of dollars on two idiotic wars that were UNNECESSARY, wasted the lives of THOUSANDS of American troops for NO reason, and you say Obama grabbed defeat from the face of victory??? Victory my ass. If we ever won in Iraq, it would be because we destroyed the country and it's entire population.

clwyd-2621393

Iraq and Afghanistan have been the wasting of 7500 American lives for nothing. Over 50,000injured seriously and we have lost both wars. how bland can you be to call them a win. bush took us in and now we need to get out before we waste more lives for absolutely nothing. We can't and shouldn't be the world policeman.

Thank you. I've always wondered why politicians are willing to send innocent young men to their deaths in some pointless or unwinnable war. Unfortunately, however, we are the only ones who can be the world policeman. I am not a neocon, but frankly the rest of world will probably fall apart without some single clip or catalyst holding the whole thing together. It used to be Rome, then Western Europe, Great Britain, America and the Russians, and then just us. Hopefully, just hopefully, we can stop being the world's only policeman, and work in a coalition with other nations via the UN.

OBAMA BIDEN 2012

They do......Medicare reform is part of the Affordable Care Act. Read it. It is the law of the land per the US Supreme Court & Republican Chief Justice Roberts.

They did cut money from Medicare, but still did not say where the money will come to pay for it.

No unbiased expert that looks at spending projections believes this is sustainable.

Michael, The democrats are taking 500 billion out of medicare to fund Obamacare..it was the only way they could dress up the turd we call Obamacare.

Don

Yeah... Who would want to throwaway a 6 dollar Aspirin?

Sorry Watt.You need to read the 400 page Healthcare affordable act......Trust me you will not have that dumb idea of billions being taking from the program.IT WILL SAVE 600 BILLION IN 10 YEARS.......GET REAL AND READ

Cissy,

Read the article... wow!

They did cut money from Medicare, but still did not say where the money will come to pay for it.

Huh? If they cut money how do they need to pay for that money?

Yes, another self-prescribed whack nut living in their own little bubble. Obama put through the only thing he could get through which is our current version of the health care act. You need to come outside your bubble and actually receive the information that is out there, not filter it through stupidity.

The Republicans HAVE NO PLAN. The only plan they claim is to weaken the US government to be ineffective. That IS THEIR MESSAGE. Tax cuts for the wealthy, unaccountable spending and corporate welfare. That was their platform 5 years ago, 25 years ago and it is today. They are just taking it to a new level. The Ryan "plan" is a disgrace. Coming up with complete BS does not a plan make. Johnny Wacknut can say he wants to send all the ghetto babies to Mars but that does not make it a "plan".

Get a life.

Watt probably gets all his "information" off Faux News...he is a dunderhead.

Cissy did you miss the other 2000 pages?

Maybe we could just stop starting wars, or giving billions to countries who both hate us and work against us, like Pakistan. The trillion or so that Bush pissed away in Iraq could have funded Medicare for 50 or 100 years.

Cissy....you must have picked and chose what pages to read, 400 pages! your only missing 1600+ pages...

Too bad you guys can't understand a legal rendering. Obamacare only survived because is was considered a tax and even that approval is very controversial.

It's only controversial because people (i.e. Republicans) want something for nothing - they want all the comforts and benefits of large government, without having to pay for it. So 'tax' has become a dirty word in American politics.

Basically the entire right-wing philosophy can be distilled to this simple idea: it is the fear that someone, somewhere, somehow might be benefiting from the system more than I am. God forbid that I pay more. Of course, it's all right if I receive the benefits that someone ELSE has paid, I earned them when I paid my dollar into the system, so what if he paid $2, I am a hard-working American and I did my share. But all these lazy no-gooders who pay ONLY $.50, they are parasites.

It's as simple as that. The problem, of course, is that it's a race to the bottom. There is NO American who hasn't paid SOME taxes to the Federal government, no matter how poor you are.

And maybe we could do away with LOGSCAP, the "Privatizing" of jobs usually done by the military for the military by outside contractors. Chich Cheney made scads of money off of this corrupt system, Haliburton and KBR getting no bid contracts to "support" our troops during bushthejuniors 2 illegal wars. The trillions ADDED to our deficit by bushthejunior by BORROWING the money to prosecute those wars, money he borrowed from COMMUNIST CHINA. Bushthejunior cutting taxes during a time of "war", unheard of in previous conflicts.

And Romney will return us to those "thrilling days of yester year", when you could deny someones Constitutionally guaranteed RIGHT to vote based their economic status, next it will be "women can't vote anymore"!

Going backwards is NOT an option. Send Romney to Somalia, let him help them out, they'll fix his little red wagon!

Ryan will likely go with the 2011 augmented Medicare plan when he stumps.

The CBO has not scored this plan, which is not as draconian as the 2010 plan that landed him in hot water with seniors.

Still, the method is "privatization" although there is a choice to stay on regular Medicare. It proposes government exchanges (note Republicans are currently against these for Obamacare) and that the reimbursement would be tied to the 2nd cheapest plan.

If you chose a plan that more expensive you would pay the difference.

The Devil is in the details here. We don't know what will be included in the plans, and how costs would be reduced.

In the end, Ryan says that if costs are too high for seniors then Congress would "step in and reduce the costs".

I thought Republicans were against "government involvement in your health care".

While I give Ryan credit for his attempt in solving this problem, its woefully in need of some bipartisanship so that Americans trust that Republicans won't pull the rug out from seniors.

Everyone knows that Republicans have been against medicare since the 60's.

Romney's pick for VP makes Palin & Bachmann look Presidential !!!!!!!

Analysis of Ryan's and Obama's Medicare plans: http://insurance.about.com/od/HealthIns/a/Medicare-Reform-Proposals-Analyzed.htm

Obama's answer to cutting medicare costs is to improve the efficiency of services. Essentially, cutting the waste. It does this with a non-partisan board of doctors that would make recommendations to Congress about areas that could be cut. Congress could reject these recommendations and make cuts on their own.

The Republicans talking point that Obama cut 500 billion from Medicare is rated "Mostly False" by Politifact.com

http://www.politifact.com/new-jersey/statements/2012/aug/03/scott-garrett/scott-garrett-claims-affordable-care-act-raidts-me/

Don, read the whole article and stay out of adult conversations please

GermanGem:

You know perfectly well that Obama tried to close Gitmo but was stopped by the repubs fear mongering. They described Muslim hordes attacking our prison system to free their fellows - never mind that we already have 300+ Muslims in our prison system.

Just another repub lie. And GermanGem keeps the lie alive.

Romney's intelligence and judgment is called into question for picking a Worm like Ryan for VP !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone that doesn't keep an open mind about the Ryan Plan is nuts, Medicare is going broke. People live longer now putting a strain on the program. Obama already cut $700billion from Medicare and now his plan will dump more people into it. Who pays for the increase?? With having a choice YOU get to decide which you choose, to either stay in Medicare as it is now or choose the Option. I pay more and more for my Medicare EVERY YEAR and they pay less leaving ME to come up with the difference. When I first got the Medicare Part D ( the RX coverage) I had to pick the one that worked best for me, they all seemed pretty much the same at first. After companies were allowed to compete for your business the prices and coverage changed. I now have a RX Part D plan that costs me less and as long as I get the Generic Prescriptions I PAY NOTHING !!!! I would like to have a Choice and I'm willing to bet a lot of other Seniors would as well. We have to change the status quo or we will end up with nothing but the Government telling us what medicine we get , and what treatment we get.

Janie, right on!

We have to change the status quo or we will end up with nothing but the Government telling us what medicine we get , and what treatment we get.

Seems tht many have forgotten obamacares panel of experts that will decide how obamacare will proceed. I can hardly wait to see what obamas "death panel" will come up with in deciding who gets what for coverage.

George paul jones...

Rather than make inane comments about reading abilities, why not just point us to what the article says for a rebuttal?

Byron...

I see you are spinning really hard and really fast.

It's only controversial because people (i.e. Republicans) want something for nothing - they want all the comforts and benefits of large government, without having to pay for it. So 'tax' has become a dirty word in American politics.

Seems that it is the liberals/progressives that want something for nothing and let someone else pay for it. Reminds me of the congressional discussions about how to pay for the extended unemployment benefits. The left just wanted to add it to the deficit and the right wanted to cut funding from existing programs to pay for it.

BTW - there is far more revenue available to the federal government if the obama (bush) tax cuts were eliminated across the board rather than just the top 2% like obama wants. Yep, obama and company must think taxes are a dirty word as well.

Patriotic American USA

You are so right! You would think that Romney would have learned a lesson from John McCain. Obviously the first most important decision for a nation in picking a Vice-Presidential running mate is a pretty important decision. He picked a man who could not get his "Ryan Budget" through his own controlled congress 3 times because it was so badly written and even the Republican controlled congress and even George Bush in May 2008 (with his first plan) did not support him. He has a wooping education of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Ecomonics (not even graduate study work). Talks spending cuts, then votes for HR 4310 to increase spending in Afghanistan and weapons systems t a rate of $642 Bilion (which was $8 Billion more than pevious spending). Complains about social security, yet he, himself relyed upon it's benefits when his Father died when he was only 16 and it helped support him until he was 18 and graduated high school. His best political atribute is that he was a speech writer (intern) for Jack Kemp.

Really Mitt??? Great Choice....why not just pick Palin a second time around, she at least had some budget experience in government as a short term Governor of a state. And she had a Bachelor's degree in Jornalism. Pretty sad when this is the best the Republican party has to offer.

And Obama's pick for VP was the best the the Democratic party has to offer? Joe Biden? Now that is funny...

Don, Giving the rich a 10% tax break is not going to make it more solvent. giving the military an increased budget isn't either. So cuts with cuts in revenue don't sound like a very sound idea does it? You've got to be out of your mind if you think it does! That or you are a teabugger who is brainwashed already!

btw: Study after study including those by the CBO says letting us poor people keep a little of our money does far more to help the economy than tax cuts for the aristocracy does.

We put our money right back into the American economy while you elites park it in foreign accounts.

This is why the income tax is progressive. It helps the country more to let us keep a little bit of our money because it comes back in the form of a better economy.

To: Mitt Romney

From: Democratic National Committee




The entire Democratic National Committee thanks you for choosing Representative Paul Ryan as your Vice presidential candidate. This assures a victory in Florida for President Obama resulting in more than the 270 electoral college voted needed for his reelection as President. We can now spend more of our resources in Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina and Nevada to insure an even larger victory.

armurray

What you may not know is that I am actually a registered Republican. I was a HUGE John McCain supporter until the Saturday morning he announced and produced Sarah Palin. If you have taken my comments regarding Paul Ryan and the Affordable Health Care Act as a statement of my political beliefs...you have made a mistake. Being a Republican does not necessarily mean being stupid...and the Republican party I was once very proud to be a part of has let me and millions like me down. We are middle of the road Americans where general common sense just comes with the territory. The current Republican party is a party I can no longer align myself with because of their ultra conservative talking points which seem to be a Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity agenda for America. That is not the Ronald Reagan Republican party I once praised. And for the record, I only voted for Obama because he choose Joe Biden. It was like walking into a small room with two bowls of Sxxt and seeing which one I could stand the smell of more. I am so very sad that in November, the same two bowls will be presented to the American people again. We all deserve better than this.

blearyeyedYou know perfectly well that Obama tried to close Gitmo but was stopped by the repubs fear mongering.

Obama had control for 2 years!!! If he wanted to close Gitmo he could have done it in his first two years. Has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with GOP. He decided, not anyone else, he didn't close it.

It amazes me how the most prominent Republicans can say, with a straight face, "The terrible thing about Obama is that he cut billions from Medicare, but the great thing about Ryan is that he wants to cut billions more." Doesn't the cognitive dissonance of this argument at some point have to cause their brains to explode? We can't have a serious discussion about Medicare policies because both sides are dedicated to demagogueing the other. Republicans should know by now that that's a fight they will lose, but they never seem to learn.

LorraineH,

I'm glad you are a Registered Republican. That means that you are at least open to discussion.

But Joe Biden? He converted you to the other side? Other than some great one liners that make me laugh, I have never seen him support many Republican ideals you must have supported in the past.

elb

He could not have done it in his first two years, the Justice Department had federal protocols to meet first for the transfer of detainees at Guantanamo. When the Justice Department had completed the review, which was started under George Bush's presidency, Obama was blocked by congress. When the Budget crisis came about and Republicans did all they could to walk away from a bipartisan plan on the Budget, they would only sign the spending bill their committee chair placed for vote, it contained a measure to block the transfer of Guantanamo detainees and ultimately led to Obama not being able to close Gitmo as promised. Obama upheld all federal laws set in place by the Justice Department and when it came down to the time those terms and reviews were met, the Republican House did anyting they could so he could fail on that promise to America. The Republican House is more concerned about the failure of this President to further their agenda than what is right for the American People. If a Democrat and a Republican came out tomarrow and said - we have a bill to put a million people back to work, all we need is for the House to pass it, the American people would lose because Republicans want Obama to fail so badly......OH WAIT! What was I thinking.......that did already happen!!!

Obama could have easily waved his magic executive order wand and closed Gitmo and brought the troops home. He did neither.

First the tropps are home from Iraq which he promised and kept. Second Gitmo is tied up in court cases that have to be rectified before they can dispense the remaing people there to wherever they will end up. GITMO is closed in that they are not dropping new people there as they werein the past. You view is taintes and problably you got your information off of an old poison email I have seen many times. You eed to delete some of you talking points that are not relevent any more.

American

The Bush cuts staved off the resession or it would have happened sooner.

Bush was reckless and made a lot of mistakes and he regrets it. It was these mistakes that sparked the TEA PARTY.

That is why you dont see much of him campaigning for Romney and he wont be at the convention.

The Tea Party has dethroned many establishment Republicans in Wisconsin,Ohio,Indiana,the Carolina's, etc.

Their objective is to get America back to its roots-

Our patriots fought for our freedom against the Anarchy of King George and an free market Republic was established.

What we have now is not a free market society but an Corporate Capitalism Society. where government protects the interest and dominance of established corporations..

This Corporate Capitalism destroys competition and the free market system.

Both parties are guilty of this--Democrats support green energy, Republicans the oil and gas industry, and both parties are split on the financial sector.

WHAT THE REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS have failed to realize is that CORPORATE CAPITALISM is an MARXIST CONCEPT.

armurray

But Joe Biden? He converted you to the other side?

I see America with a great deal of pride. I don't see each of us as being on one side or another. We are all Americans. I'm one of those "silly" people who still occasionally shed tears during the National Anthem. I take that very seriously in my life. And for reasons not to be discussed in this forum, I have given a lot to this country I so deeply love. But what's right is right, so to speak. Just because Joe Biden is a Democrat, I look at the man, the person, the servant to our government and what they have given and what they offer, as for Joe....sometimes foot in mouth disease is a problem for him, but you can't turn away with some sense of American pride in what he has given to our Country. And if he was Obama's pick, that was enough for me. After-all, the vice president has to be a person who can fill those shoes at any moment. What has Joe done for all of us:

He is an educated man with a Juris Doctorate in Law, Has chaired the Judiciary Committee, presided over supreme Court confirmation hearings, led the creation of the violent crime and Law enforcement act with penalty enhancements, was a member and served and chaired the Foreign Relations Committee, and has showed his ability to repeatedly work in a bipartisan effort for the good of the American people. He actually worked with Sen Lugar (Rep) and Sen. Helms (Rep) to head the Strategic Defense Initiative. So when faced with him to step in as President or Sarah Palin, I would have been a fool to pick Palin. Unfortunately....I believe the best (2) Republican candidates we could have had in 2012 against Obama, the American people never even took seriously. And for the life of me, I don't know why, are we really that uninformed as a nation anymore? (1) Tim Pawlenty and probably the most qualified was (2) Jon Huntsman. How Ronmey became the candidate is way beyond what I can understand and now to pick Paul Ryan....Obama will serve our country for another 4 years.

Even Tea Party leaders disagree with Paul Ryan, not only because Ryan participated in the reckless spending during Dubya that created most of the deficits we face today, but because Ryan's plan does not balance the budget for 23 years.

Tea Party leader Matt Kibbe also disagrees that cuts in trust fund entitlements are the only way to make these programs solvent -- He doesn't support cuts in these programs, and believes defense spending must be on the table to balance the budget.

Right now we are borrowing to sustain our spending, which is insane. What we need to do is raise the FICA withholding cap up to at least $250,000 in earnings -- This alone would make SS solvent immediately for many years into the future.

There are so many things that can and should be done without cutting these programs, like collecting the $700 billion sheltered in the Cayman Islands (on par with the stimulus), and closing loopholes that allow 1%ers like Romney to pay only 13.9% tax rates (or less!).

Enough with Romney/Ryan 1%ers and getting more "free stuff" from the middle class and working poor. Are you people crazy? You want to borrow instead of making the rich pay their fair share, or destroy Medicare instead of making the rich pay their fair share? These are the options douchebags like Romney and Ryan are trying to sell you. Throw these Teapublican plutocrats out!

Shyster & Miser -- They aren't in it for you.

Nathan-1680585

It amazes me how the most prominent Republicans can say, with a straight face, "The terrible thing about Obama is that he cut billions from Medicare, but the great thing about Ryan is that he wants to cut billions more." Doesn't the cognitive dissonance of this argument at some point have to cause their brains to explode?

The FAUX Noise/Hate Radio, conspiracy theory websites and Chan Email Kool-Aid has destroyed all their brain cells.

This Ryan punk has lost Romney my vote! I'm 52 and I can't afford what the Ryan plan would do!

If you're 45 to 55, you're actually more likely to be shafted by the Ryan Plan to destroy Medicare. You've paid Medicare taxes for decades, but you'll be forced into buying expensive insurance in your golden years costing $1,000 and up a month for mediocre coverage with a high deductible.

Roadkill - You were never going to vote for Romney anyway, so quit your lying. BTW, tell me what the Ryan Plan would or mean for YOU? You do know that the Ryan plan is not law and currently has no chance of passing, so it is really moot. Just something that you left wing nuts can complain about. When Ryan becomes VP he will not be in charge of writing Budgets or other laws. Now Medicare, which you are 13 yrs away from will be broke in approximately 12 years. So now what is Obama's plan?

BTW, you do know that the Ryan Budget Plan for Medicare will not effect those 55 and over and would also permit those under 55 to remain in the current Medicare system if they so desire. But I don't hear the left talk about that.

LorraineH -- Agreed. Mitt couldn't get a large cheering crowd until now -- so reminiscent of Palin, and will go down the toilet the same way too for the same reasons. No one likes the top of the ticket in the first place (even less than McCain), and the VP pick has been made out of desperation, and in this case out of fear of the far-Right fringe.

Shyster & Miser -- They aren't in it for you.

Sfcret:"BTW, you do know that the Ryan Budget Plan for Medicare will not effect those 55 and over and would also permit those under 55 to remain in the current Medicare system if they so desire. But I don't hear the left talk about that.

If it's such a great deal why not implement it on seniors today? You really think seniors today who have children in their 40's and 50's will support a plan that requires future seniors like their children to buy insurance from insurance companies? Try going to an insurance company at 55 and see what it costs. Hard to imagine at 65. CBO estimates Ryans voucher system would come up over $6,000 short of what medicare covers.

Interesting our country can't afford medicare and other social programs but can afford Romneys plan to cut taxes 500 billion a year. Total outlays for all medicare was 510 billion and recipients pay part of that.

They do......Medicare reform is part of the Affordable Care Act. Read it. It is the law of the land per the US Supreme Court & Republican Chief Justice Roberts.

Michael:

There is NOTHING that is going to be affordable now that Obamacare is the law of the land. Just because the Supreme Court said it was constitutional as a tax doesn't mean it's going to be 'affordable'. Once it's a single payer system it is going to work just like the bankrupt post office. Anything the government touches, it trashes and bankrupts. I don't want the government in charge of my healthcare. You better believe that there will be cubicle workers who will be deciding the fate of your life when it comes to saying yes or no to a procedure you might need. You people are fools to think that Obamacare is this countries answer to a prayer for the uninsured.

Don't forget to see the movie out now called 2016, Obamas future for America. His past has been such a big secret and the main stream media has not been doing it's job exposing him. This movie finally proves that Obama is a phony. We have a president in the White House who HATES America and is doing everything he can to cause America to collapse. Our credit score has gone done for the first time in history under his term, our debt is in the trillions and we borrow more money than we raise in taxes. Isn't this a red flag for any or you libs? Stop using insults and start looking at the facts!

Larry says: If it's such a great deal why not implement it on seniors today? Now what kind of question is that, you do know that it's the democrats that are standing in the way. You might want to check your CBO facts, I believe you are quoting the figures from the 2011 plan and not the 2012 plan, which the CBO did not score.

Now tell me what is the Democrats plan, because the CBO and Medicare actuaries have both said Medicare is set to go broke in about 12 yrs or so.

The Democrats plan is to criticize and demagogue Ryan's Budget but can't say what their plan is, because they don't have one.

TruePatriot - Thanks for the comment. And you addressed it perfectly, Ronmey needed "life" in the campaign and out of sheer desperation and his fear of the far-right (who never wanted him in the first place) he bowed and picked Ryan. On election night, he'll be kicking himself you know where just like John McCain did.

Ryan is nothing but a snotty, arrogant punk who has been sucking off the government for years receiving Cadillac healthcare and every other perk they get while the rest of us are spent poor trying to keep our healthcare and pay for the out of pocket. Especially if you have serious health issues it's a financial nightmare. He hasn't had to worry about anything. Yet, he's so smug to want to cut retired people's healthcare, create a death panel which is what they ignorantly accused Obama of doing. We need to strip these people of their beneifts and make them survive like the rest of us have to.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) releases a report every year on the “health” of the largest benefit programs in U.S.

As a result of Obama’s reckless deficit spending the CBO concluded…

1) Social Security “disability program” is now set to run out of money by 2016!

2) The Medicare program would run out of money by 2024.

3) The entire Social Security program will be broke by 2035 … three
years earlier than previously thought due to Obama’s escalating budget
deficit brought about by newly added Obamacare induced deficits!

Obama is destroying the future for "baby boomers" as he redistributes scarce resources to those who are unwilling to work!

nwnative:

Ryan is a brilliant intelligent man who has a grasp of what is wrong in this country. He wants to FIX it not take it away so it's there for the younger generation. He is not smug or arrogant. He is a good man and so is Romney. The only thing I agree with you here is that our elected officials who have made a mess of our country should not have Cadillac healthcare and pensions for the rest of their lives. They should have nothing better than what the American people in the private sector have; but what do we do about all the government cubicle workers who get Cadillac healthcare and pensions after retiring at 55. Seems like we need to overhaul the entire governmental system. It's broke and making the private sector poorer because it's the private sector who pays for all this waste. We don't get to vote on it but we sure have to pay for it.

Sfcret: If it's such a great deal why not implement it on seniors today? Now what kind of question is that, you do know that it's the democrats that are standing in the way.

I meant why would Ryans plan if enacted after being elected not affect todays seniors or people older than 55? Because they know seniors wouldn't accept a plan that threw them onto private insurance roles and huge increased costs.

You claim Ryans latest plan would leave an option to stay on medicare or the voucher system. It's only a plan and may not resemble what would be enacted under a Romney adiministraiton. How could any voucher system receive any takers when it would require for profit insurance companies to run it that have to be mandated to hold profits at 20%?

We aren't stupid. Any plan that pitted medicare against vouchers under Ryans plan would have to reduce what medicare pays or no one would use the voucher system yet somehow Ryan claims he'll save medicare by drastically cutting outlays No matter how you slice it to greatly reduce medicare spending can only be done by reducing what's paid out or making those receiving it pay more.

As for the going broke in 12 years that isn't true. Numerous times in the past the percentage has been increased as more people became eligible. A 1/2% increase would extend the 12 years out to 30 and past the baby boomer era when the numbers of workers would begin increasing for those retiring and it could go down.

Why don't you righties say something original and prove what you are talking about and even sprinkle in a little common sense. It is so tragically transparent that you are just parroting talking points and blurbs you dittoed from Lush Rimbaugh and company. Repugs don't seem to have any brain cells anymore. Why? Perhaps its the "leadership" that has dumbed everything down and wants to level all of us to the ditto head level of 1 percent masters, and 99 percent slaves. they're on their way now by beggaring the middle class which the richest don't seem to understand need to retain their profits for manufacturing and other corporate welfare/aristocratic socialism they have enjoyed forom the governmeent for many years, including oil company tax breaks and gigantic agricultural corporate subsidies they don't even need but which suck revenues out of the government that could be bette spent to help the poor, needy, sick, childre, and elderly. For shame. Nobody who calls themselves a Republican today has my respect, unlike a few who have openly admitted they've left the Greedy Old Party behind, kind of like the post-civil rights former Democrats of the south who were honest enough to admit that the Democratic Party left them, they didn't leave the party. These people then became Republicans or Independents. Now the Repugs are having the same revolution in their ranks among the respectable, honest people who used to be proud to call themselves Repugs.

Ryan and Romney, Badman and Robbing, the crime starters!

The problem with having the government run healthcare is we have the government running healthcare! There is never any reason to watch costs because the taxpayers can always cough up a few bucks. Just say that you are going to raise taxes on the 1% and the rest of the country will just agree and then lose their jobs when these individuals decide to stop investing! Yeah right, just give the bottom 51% everthing that the other 49% have created and earned and you will always get re-elected!

Medicare costs must be controlled. This is done by using capitalist principles and not just throwing money at every problem that becomes the "flavor of the day"! Obama cut out hundreds of billions of dollars from medicare and medicaid by just cutting payments to doctors. See, it works if you just take money out of the pockets of those rich doctors! The only problem is that these greedy doctors just refuse to use their skills and lose money! How selfish these rich little bastards are! Why should they, after running up around a million in student loans and spending a huge part of their lives studying and working, get more than their "fair share"? (Answer: BECAUSE THEY EARNED IT!!!!!!)

This is just another democrat scare tactic! The Republicans are taking away your medicare! (They just want to control costs). The Republicans are poisoning the water! (They just want sane controls that are not dictated by enviro-nazis who also believe that the "sky is falling" at every possible moment). The Republicans are "starving" children! (Once again, there needs to be some limit to what we spend).

How about all of the Democrat political ads with Republicans pushing granny over the cliff, or saying that Romney "murdered" the wife of a steel worker by taking away his insurance and laughing all the way to the bank (This steel mill was kept open for several years by Bain Capital and may have actually saved many lives through these employees having health insurance!) The great majority of this country is smart enough to see through the stupidity of these liberal lies and we WILL see a new president in November!

No entitlement has ever saved money or even come in as it was projected. Obamacare will not be the first. To say it will save money it a pipe dream with all the variables that have yet to happen. Obama has already taken 700 billion from Medicare to pay for Obamacare. There is less then a 12 year life expectancy for Medicare, and Obama and the Democrats have done nothing, and offered nothing to save it.

Ryan offered a plan, it did not pass and is not guaranteed to pass if Romney is elected. So all these wild accusations from Obama and the Democrats are just more scare tactics. Typical of the Democratic Party of no ideas, no solution, blame, and excuses. The Democrats haven't even put forth a budget, so there is far more explaining to do by the president that has actually cut Medicare, and that is Obama.

Mitt Wit the Twit

JUST LOST THE ELECTION!

lMAO!

The Monster Paul "I Killed Medicare and Kicked Grandma to the curb" Ryan is hoping the Seniors over 55 will not put two and two together and discover that there is no proof that Ryan will not come after them after he kills Medicare for the rest of us. Comments about killing Social Security has already swung Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, Arizona, Idaho and Ohio into the Obama camp or very close to it. Experts say that by naming a Monster as his VP Corporate Raider and Tax Cheat Willard Romney has lost Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

"Ryan's plan was far preferable to what President Barack Obama had done and would do to Medicare"

Excuse me but President Obama has saved Medicare for all of us. The Monster Paul "Kill Medicare" Ryan would end it for all of us and yes including those over 55.

Do not be fooled by the Republican'ts, America. Their only concern is to the Billionares and Trillionares.

The Republican't war on the Disabled, the Elderly, Social Security, The Middle Class, Small Business Owners and the Poor and Women Continues....

in 2012 vote Obama he cares for us, Monster Paul "Kill Social Security" Ryan does not.

And thats my Opinion

Chuff....Great history lesson, but its lost on the "american idol, can u dance, are you smarter than a 5th grader," crowd...

Oh, but they truly do want to take SS away. They despise SS, partly because employers are required to contribute. To them SS represents socialism, that is a society that treats the masses fairly. They would prefer to change SS into a forced investment in the stock market. This gives Wall Street more money to gamble with while the SS beneficiaries can loose everything.

Ryan picks Clown for VP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Romney & Ryan will have a Celebration with a Parade down "Losers Ave" !!!

A voucher system is nothing more than a discount coupon system redeemable at a private insurance company. The health insurance companies win and the American public will take it in the shorts again. Romney and Ryan, both corporate lapdogs, a part of the problem in this country NOT THE SOLUTION!!.

Chuff, nice try, but it's so not working lol

Dal, You are conveniently ignoring that 43% of doctors say they will leave Medicare under Obama's changes. It does not really create efficiency, the ACA lowers payments to doctors whether they have any more efficiencies to improve or not.

patrotic american, change you name or start trying to live up to it.

CHUFF, What a great history lesson, it's to bad so many people now want to believe only what they hear and not be bothered to do some research their self to verify if they were told the truth by our GREAT POLITICIANS.

Experts say that by naming a Monster as his VP Corporate Raider and Tax Cheat Willard Romney has lost Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

Magnum Serpentine: Do you have proof that Romeny is a Tax Cheat? Did that slime ball Reid have proof when he made those accusations? Don't you think that the terrorist group called the IRS would have had him behind bars already and confiscated all his belongings if that were the case? Since he is not in the Big House right now, I guess the IRS has nothing on him. I am sure he hasn't taken advantage of any loopholes that the rest of our scummy elite elected officials haven't taken advantage of too. Since it's our scummy elite elected officials who have made the laws to protect their own millions they make on insider trading deals I guess you really can't blame Romney for taking advantage of the loopholes and laws too. He would be stupid if he didn't, and Romney isn't stupid. Has anyone asked Reid how he has become a millionaire on his government salary? Because he wasn't a millionaire when he was first elected........

See the movie 2016, Obama's future for America. We need to get Obama out because we have a phony in the White House who hates America.

Romney/Ryan 2012

The future looks much brighter now under Obama than it did under Bush. If Reid is a liar make Romney prove it. You wouldn't accept Obama being born in Hawaii until the Governor of Hawaii stood on the steps of the state house with a copy why should we accept anything less from Romney?

Maybe if the Democrats would actually offer a plan to save Medicare something meaningful might get done in Washington. But all Democrats want to do is scare seniors and play the blame and excuse game. In the meantime, Medicare is going broke, and Obama cut 700 billion out the program. Maybe it is time for the Democrats to offer something of substance rather.

Medicare is solvent for at least 12 years. Raising the tax from 7.65% to 8% would carry it through 30 years or so beyond the life expectancy of most baby boomers when the rates could come down substantially. Medicare doesn't require some massive restructuring.

MITT WIT the TWIT

JUST LOST THE ELECTION BY PICKING THIS RADICAL NUT!

LMAO!!!

Mitt the Twit has been playing by a different set of rules from the rest of us. His tax rate is half that of your average American, and he's stashed the difference in offshore accounts from Switzerland to the Cayman Islands. STEALING FROM THE USA and THE AMERICAIN PEOPLE!

As CEO and sole owner of Bain Capital from '99-'02, he received $100,000 a year in salary for a job now he claims he didn't have at a company whose decisions he refuses to accept responsibility for.

The Romney Rules are a double standard, plain and simple. They let Romney argue that the basic guarantees of healthcare and a secure retirement are "free stuff you don't pay for," then turn around and tell reporters that talking about his six figure non-job is off limits and no, you don't need to see his taxes.

Here's the bottom line: Mitt Romney thinks the country should answer to him. We think our elected leaders should answer to you.

So medicare is not in danger of not going broke? I will buy that when you liberals admit that global warming is a massive hoax perpetrated on the population so people like Al Gore can get wealthy on carbon credit swaps.

All the republicans (or anybody) have to do is nothing and social security will die a natural but painful death and apparently much sooner than any of you think.

I don't know if any of you have noticed but since Obamacare was signed our Insurance premiums have got up, way up. Companies are laying people off, and they are not hiring. Our healthcare system does need to be reformed, but Obamacare is not the answer. I know of many Doctors that are quitting their practices or won't take medicare or medicaid patients. The Dems passed a bill that not one of them bothered to read, and it's full of pork, and taxes on things that have nothing to do with healthcare.

Also so the CBO has come out and said they counted most of the numbers twice, so there is no savings. For the people worried medicare won't be their for you are going to have a big eye opener if they don't do some real reform. Obamacare is going to take $716 billion dollars from medicare, to help pay for Obamacare. If we continue on this same road Medicare will be broke by 2024.

I just wish for once people would do their own digging to find out the truth, and not believe anything they read or hear on T.V. We have a problem with both parties spending to much and it needs to stop, we can't afford anymore debt!

I believe we need tax increases, but only for the very rich, and not for small businesses or people making $200.000 dollars. I know my husband and I both own small businesses and making $200,000 dollars is not much after you pay all your bills. Everyone seems to think you actually get to keep all that money, but in reality if you want to keep your business alive most of the money goes right back into the business.

I

Rick...every look at a weather map ??...it is changing all over the world....hottest summer in years...terrible snow last year, ice in Greenland is melting but you keep listening to the wealthy who make their money from coal & oil...which is killing our air and our planet and well never mind...you will not listen until it is too late.,,,

Kinda like how Republicans hate black people, even though it was a group of WHITE Republicans that founded the NAACP.

Republicans were also environmentalists of the day back at the turn of the last century. So this begs the question.

Are you trying to show just how far out of touch the Republican party has become in 100 years. From the party of the people to that of, "Corporations are people too!"

And even though Republicans were and have been about big business remember it was Teddy that went after big business and the people loved him for it.

Yep, you're being intellectually dishonest using that example. Try again and better luck next time.

Hey areuserious don't forget people like ol Rick will then blame liberals for global warming and climate change when it is too late (which it already pretty much is) to do something about it. They will say you people were more concerned with Al Gore's financial affairs than the problem. I often wonder what color the sky is in their worlds but truly I don't want to know. Nor do I care. I know the color of hypocrisy. It is yellow. Which should be the GOP color instead of red. Oh and Sadie lady you are right about the prices going up but your reasoning is warped slightly, it is very reminiscent of Papa Johns pizza saying they will raise their prices if Obama gets elected. A lot like when we discover the school yard bully is really a giant wuss and he cries I know you are but what am I. Grow up!

Obama is a war criminal and he should be impeached.

Obama has:

Signed the NDAA bill into law allowing the assassination of any us citizen without trial (yes, I know it's been around for a long time but Obama signed it into law even though it's unconstitutional)

Allowed 30,000 Spy drones to be flown over American skies (Unconstitutional, Against the Fourth Amendment).

Obama has signed over 1000 Executive Orders since he took office (Thanks to that, it's now illegal to collect rain water)

Obama has killed hundreds of innocent people (including 3 Americans) with drone strikes he has ordered in Pakistan And Yemen.

Obama has raised the National debt Nearly $5 TRILLION.

Obama has allowed almost 1 Million ILLEGAL aliens to become legal citizens (thanks to those he allowed to become citizens, they have committed 19 murders and 142 sex crimes)

Lied About all of His 2008 Campaign Promises Including the One Where He said he campaigned in 57 states.

Google Search "Dreams from my REAL father" and you'll see, Obama's father was a failed communist who's dream was to DESTROY America, at age 18, Obama went to a MARXIST school.

Mitt Romney has or will:

Has made Millions in an Abortion Business.

Will sell jobs over seas.

Will go to war with any Country he wants to without Congressional Approval (he says).

Both the Republican party and Democratic party are really the same thing now.

You know who we need for President? Gary Johnson, he is the Libertarian Presidential Canidate, he wants to End the IRS, End the Fed, End useless Government Agencies likes the Department of Homeland Security. He is Against wars. You are probably thinking "Why vote for him? He has no chance.", he has polled in Nearly %10 and needs %15 to Delegate Obama.

The 2012 votes are being counted in an Offshore Company own by George Soros in Spain (Which is TREASON!).

Senior citizens are consume more health care than any other group of Americans. The insurance companies do not make money by paying for health care only by not paying for it. The insurance companies wouldn't touch senior citizens unless the government guaranteed them a profit as it does with the Medicare "Advantage" corporate welfare program.

Ryan is either a fool or a liar who is out to destroy Medicare.

chuff--

they do not like your comment on Social Security

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary,

No longer Voluntary

2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program.

Now 7.65% on the first $90,000


3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,

No longer tax deductible

4.) That the money the participants put into the independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the
general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other
Government program, and,

Under Johnson the money was moved to the General Fund and spent

5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

Under Clinton & Gore up to 85% of your Social Security can be taxed

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month --
and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put
away' -- you may be interested in the following:

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the
general fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?

A: The Democratic Party.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?

A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the 'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the
Senate, while he was Vice President of the US

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?

AND MY FAVORITE:

A: That's right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party.

Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments! The
Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!

------------ -- ------------ --------- ----- ------------ --------- ---------

Then, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the

Republicans want to take your Social Security away!

And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!

larry---

we have not been shown proof of the long form bc. obamas attorney admitted in court az law suit that the long form bc on the web does look fraudulous. show us the original long form bc. stop being deceitful.

lol charts. I didn't know that birthers are still around. Hey, do you think the moonlanding is fake too?



I will buy that when you liberals admit that global warming is a massive hoax perpetrated on the population so people like Al Gore can get wealthy on carbon credit swaps

It's called science, maybe you should learn about it? I bet if you lived not so long ago, you'd be one of those guys denying that the earth orbits the sun, disregarding the evidence solely because of your petty political partisanship.

There is no one in the Democratic Party that suggests raising the Medicare tax rate from 7.65 to 8% will save the program. Right now Obama has already grabbed 700 billion from Medicare to pay for Obamacare. According to Claire McCaskill the Democrats have some pilot programs either running or under consideration to test methods of saving Medicare. Wow, I guess everyone can rest easier knowing that Claire.

In other words, they have no plan and they don't want to offer one, since scaring seniors is worth more to the Democratic Party politically. In fact the same old lame worn out line of a balanced approach to cutting the deficit and saving medicare and social security is what you are going to hear from the Democrats. All the while offering no solutions or balanced approach. Talk is cheap, and that is all we get from Obama and the Democratic Party.

Choice A) Privatize & slash Medicare benefits. Health insurance companies have their own death panels, and they will certainly not hesitate to pull the plug on grandma.

Choice B) Impose cost controls on Pharmaceutical companies, Medical Equipment companies, for-profit hospitals, medical facilities and nursing homes.

Choice B is the only solution which will fix the US health care system and Medicare. The US health care system will continue to deteriorate no matter what unless cost controls are imposed on this totally out-of-control industry. They can't get their profits out of Europe, Japan, Canada, Israel and all of the other countries that have cost controls in place, so they gouge all of their profits out of the Great American Cash Cow.

Can someone explain to me how the Reichwing continually gets away with blatant lying?

Never: the only way the GOP will get away with its lies is if we, the sane people in America, stop paying attention and don't vote. Too many of us did that in 2010 and look what happened.

"We won't get fooled again....."

This WILL come back to bite Mitt in the butt. Then again he was losing interest even with the Republican base so in a way this was his Hail Mary.

Pardon the metaphor but Mitt shot his wad early.

Hey Chuz you left out a big chunk of the story. Many actually but let's start with the most readily available to our memory banks. Which party stole the 1.3 trillion dollar surplus to fund 2 illegal wars and didn't report it on the books? Give ya a guess... Hmm who could it be? 2000- 2008... There are so many holes in your story it makes one wonder how many holes are in your head. History is just that Chuz's story. Albeit entertaining and delicious to his ideology it is void of fact on too many levels to bother rebutting. You have earned your Bugfart today and it's a squeeker... Fffffvvvvvvtttttt! Hahaaa

Michael,

You will have a choice for Meidcare or a private voucher....research the facts.

Wrong Don they are not. It is poor budgeting if they are because Medicare was funded well. Bush made sure of that.

Ryan's plan is just that a plan. It is not the end all be all but it would start a dialogue between the viewpoints if the left would grow up. It's a much more mature way to handle this than filming a commercial throwing granny off of a cliff in her wheelchair.

I agree with MOMINNJ. His is just a proposal to start the discussion. If Democrats do not like it, they need to propose their own ideas to fund Medicare.

I am in total agreement with Michael Dreher.I will not be happy with Ryan's proposal

Then your choice is let Medicare go bankrupt and you will pay for your medical expenses out of your bank account?

I agree with MOMINNJ. His is just a proposal to start the discussion. If Democrats do not like it, they need to propose their own ideas to fund Medicare.

They have. And your side has tried to repeal it 33 times already.

I am 63, why should I wait until 65 to retire? Why shouldn't my medicare kick in when I retire instead of having to wait until I'm 65? It's almost discriminatory. The only reason why the "PUBS" want to push back the retirement age is for the money!! How many of you have worked all of your lives, paid your bills took little or no vacations, few raises and feel that it is now time for you to enjoy the rest of your life. I am healthy right now, don't know what's going to happen in 1 yr., 2 years or beyond that. As long as I can be healthy, I want to travel, see some old friends, I want to live before . The "PUBS" don't care about you or me. I don't want to wait until 67 or 70 to retire. I've paid my dues, now it's time to have fun

Byron, when has ever Democrats made any serious attempt to address the unfunded liabilities faced by Medicare ?

And don't say the 700 billion from taxing rich will fix the problem.

Wacknuts.. I know it's difficult for you. But the Democrats put through the only thing they could push through the do-nothing right-wing ideology. Thank goodness he was at least able to get through the affordable healthcare act which will help draw down costs of medicare.

The next big step is extricating the insurance industry from healthcare. It's a leach sucking the blood out of the average American's pocketbook in the name of profit.

The next step is a single-payer system that expands medicare for all. Everybody pays into the system. Young and old, healthy and sick. Privatizing, vouchers, etc is great for insurance companies and your corporate whores, but not good for the middle-class and poor.

There is your starting point. Not dismantling it, but expanding it. The Ryan "plan" is NOT PLAN, the same regurgitation of dismantling government.

Why do you want a weak United States government?

Why do you want the very backbone of this country to suffer?

Why do you hate the United States so much?

Insurance industry profits take up less than 1% of medical spending in the US.

If we seriously look at Medicare spending projections, there is possible no way to pay for what is already promised.

I do no think putting everyone in Medicare is an option.

Our current system is not "falling apart", it is being mismanaged. The ONLY portion of the budget that rethugs refuse to touch is our MILITARY BUDGET, which has grown every year. Why?

We spend as much as ALL other industrialized nations COMBINED, why?

Cut out military budget, close unnecessary bases, bring troops home, STOP CORPORATE WELFARE, end subsidies for the most profitable countries in the history of the world, THE OIL COMPANIES.

Oh look at all the money we just saved, and all without killing more middle class tax payers, or GIVING MORE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT TO THOSE WHO ARE BRIBING OUR GOVERNMENT.

Romney would do NONE of these things, he would make it worse for 98% of us!

Who cares about Romney's VP pick, this Clown is not going to win anyway !!!

DON,

Where did you get that figure? I understand it is about 30%. Why the heck do you think that medical cost in countries with socialized plans are less than 50% of US?

Right now the insurance industry runs the healthcare system. When I go to my doctor everything my doctor is allowed to prescribe, every test my doctor orders must be approved by the insurance company. What benefit do I get from this middle man? Zip, zero none. If we had a government funded plan, we would still have rules about treatments and tests, but there would be no middle man adding 50% to the cost.

Noryc,

With the voucher system you are forced to pay the middle man and he can deny you coverage. As you get older I'd advise you to consider the possibility that poor health would exclude you from medical care.

Noryc.....

You are in your 20s, in about 30 years, before you retire, the bubble that is the baby boom generation, which is the systems biggest liability, will have moved through the system and died off from natural causes.

Ever since the end of WW2 everyone has known that there would be a bubble of liability at the time the baby boom generation retired, but nobody bothered to do anything to fund the problem. Matter of fact, quite the opposite occurred, social security funding was borrowed out and applied to the general budget.

The problem today is the lack of planning by yesterday's politicians.

If adjustments can be made to the system now, once the baby boom generation passes through, the system can be readjusted.

You very well might live to receive social security and medicare if you are 20 something now.

Byron, when has ever Democrats made any serious attempt to address the unfunded liabilities faced by Medicare ?

Every time they tried to close corporate tax loopholes or end corporate welfare they were making strides to close the unfunded liabilities faced by Medicare. It is Ryan and his fellow fascists who refuse to listen to reason.

I am 30 and I do not want to be saddled with $22Trillion dollars in debt and $150Trillion in unfunded liabilities after this president leaves office if he is elected to a second term. But to the MOOCHERS in this country, national debt is not a concern. Lets all just forget the $500Billion in annual debt service... Enjoy your retirement Michael, buy a boat, an RV, and a place on the beach because I will not be afforded such a great opportunity as you. All I hear on these boards is a bunch of selfish whiners. Gimmy gimmy gimmy

Fergieo, you need new glasses. And common sense. The age requirements won't start increasing until 2023. Won't affect you, but it will affect me. But this plan gives me 10 years to plan and save. The purpose of Medicare isn't so you can sit back and relax. It's another insurance program. And the longer you put off retirement, the greater your monthly SS checks will be.

I'd like to think so, CPO, but that would require it surviving the end of the baby boom "bubble." Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it starts gasping for its last breath in the next ten years...

Minman... with that logic... what was the car industry bail out? Corporate Welfare or Loopholes?
Just curious

Fergeio: What in the world do you have to complain about? So what if you have to work until you're 67? If you wanted to retire at an earlier age, why didn't you plan ahead instead of waiting for the government to provide for you? People such as yourself always look to find excuses, when they themselves could have made better decisions leading to better outcomes.

NEW LEADERSHIP IN THE WASHINGTON, DC… Obama developed strategic relationships with the most godless and morally debased segments of our society in a thinly veiled effort to secure votes from those and others the “Obama administration characterizes” as one dimensional, intellectually compromised, single issue constituencies.

In response the Coalition of African-American Pastors, a group of leading black clergy, has responded to Obama’s morally compromised strategy by extolling blacks to withdraw and reevaluate their support of Obama.

Essentially, they and an every growing segment of principled members of the democratic party believe they must abandon Obama's candidacy and return to fight another day when the Democratic party can submit a candidate who is more willing to uphold traditional American values rather than to functional as an architect of policies that will ultimately destroy the country from within.

The GOP will be talking about death panels again...just wait...anything to scare the American people...especially the ones who do not read and only listen to Faux News.....

Thats how they get the non educated ones...they just want your vote...and your money...after all, Romney sons have $100 million between the five of them...do your sons have $100 million ????

Does not care about the poor or the middle class or you getting Medicare or SS...

between us flower children of the 60's and the golden agers. we are watching the baby boomers die young in their 50's&60's with cancer and heart disease. and now mitt twitt and pauly cracker they dont want the seniors who have worked all there life to be able to retire while they are still healthy enough to enjoy a vacation thay have saved for all their life. they want to slash medicare to the point seniors that need medical help will not be able to get it(cancer etc.).they want to slaughter medicaid so people like myself who lost their career as a med tech because i was a passenger in trans-am run over by a cocaine lady. this my fault and i shouldnt have to live on gov money.but no company is going to hire me(back injuries) and the insurance companies will NOTcarryme.

Fergieo your egebility for medicare was not brought onto you by PUBS If you would look at the legislation records of Congress you and all retiree's will see that all raising of age before elegibility has been done by Democrats.

Why is it that our senior citizens are letting them selves being lead to the cliff by Democrat and Media lies. When all the Democrats want to do is rob everyone blind. Every Congressional record shows just how relentless the Democrats are in stealing from the poor and middle class.

They have stole from Social Security, Medicare and Welfare. Then they drive up the are requirements to cover the theft hoping more senior citizens will die before being able to collect SS.

All this longevity BS is mostly hype. The vast majority of those who live longer are the polititians and those wealthy enough to afford excellent health care. Something the normalcitizens don't have. and will never have.

By the way Why dont the media ask the Democrats in Congress why they dont want to let the retiree's have the same healthcare coverage as they do . This is Ryans plan. If Obama care is so good why did Congress excempt them selves from it.

You will have a choice for Meidcare or a private voucher....research the facts.

Yeah, like yours right? LOL

The House Republican 2012 Budget: An Attack on Senior and Retiree Economic Security

All the Ryan plan does is shift the burden onto the States having to pickup health care for their seniors. IT IS NOTHING BUT A SHELL GAME. We'll all pay for it in the long run. Floridans even moreso in the short term if Ryan has his way.

The Democratic party has understood that the nation can only be as great as its poorest members. If we have wealthy people who are always taking advantage of the poor and we have the poor who are starving and out in the streets, we are not a great nation. Social Security was designed to provide a basic amount that would allow our elderly and the children of those who had died a basic level of living.

Likewise with Medicare. Medicare was designed to provide for basic medical coverage to the elderly and persons with certain diseases or conditions (ALS or total kidney failure for example.)

In both cases, the basic assumption has always been that you pay for your working life and at the end, you can retire and not worry about a basic level of living and your health. SS was not meant to be the primary source of income, yet with 401k's wiped out by the barons of Wall Street and savings not even paying enough to cover inflation, SS has become essential.

Republicans have been trying to eliminate Social Security and Medicare from the day they each were created.

Republicans have been trying to eliminate Social Security and Medicare from the day they each were created. Ronald Reagan, in his first foray to be the President, campaigned on eliminating Medicare and Social Security.

If anyone believes that the plan will be restricted to those who are 55 and younger, don't be fooled. Once the GOP wipes out the EPA, the CDC, OSHA, the Dept. of Labor and every other regulatory agency, they will definitely kill off Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Why would they want to pay for keeping anyone alive after they have just done everything they can to allow big business to kill you ?

You are so right...this will be brought to the forefront in the next 90 days.....Ryan is a great speaker and was the best choice for VP. Our base is fired up....

Ann F: I can see that your formal education is limited to FOX. Do you believe the AARP is also a left-wing political front? How about the American Cancer Society and the American Medical Association? Both strongly endorse Obamacare! What the hell are you thinking??!!??

Your base certainly is fired up, you should count on about 37% of the vote though, you lose. Show us your tax returns Mitt