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Subscribe to RSSThe Boston Globe: “The Republican plan, outlined in a three-page letter sent to the White House, sets out to raise $800 billion in new revenue over the next decade through closing unspecified tax loopholes and cut $1.2 trillion through a battery of changes, which could include raising the eligibility age for Medicare. In addition, House Republicans proposed saving $200 billion through slowing the government’s increases in payments for programs such as Social Security. The plan – which was quickly and emphatically dismissed by the White House -- ignores the centerpiece of Obama’s blueprint: allowing tax cuts to expire for the nation’s wealthiest taxpayers. But it does provide the framework for discussion in the coming days, now that both sides have publicly outlined their starting positions.”
Republicans also claimed their plan was based on congressional testimony by former Clinton chief of staff Erskine Bowles. But “Bowles distanced himself from the House Republicans proposal and said the ideas outlined in their letter do not ‘represent the Simpson-Bowles plan, nor is it the Bowles plan.’ ‘To reach an agreement, it will be necessary for both sides to move beyond their opening positions and reach agreement on a comprehensive plan which avoids the fiscal cliff and puts the debt on a clear downward path relative to the economy,’ Bowles said in a statement.”
More Bowles: "While I'm flattered the Speaker would call something 'the Bowles plan,' the approach outlined in the letter Speaker Boehner sent to the president does not represent the Simpson-Bowles plan, nor is it the Bowles plan," Bowles said in a statement released Monday afternoon.”
The L.A. Times: “Under pressure from the White House to make a specific deficit reduction proposal, House Speaker John A. Boehner on Monday countered with one that rejects higher tax rates for the wealthy and deeply cuts Medicare, Social Security and other safety net programs.”
Despite bipartisan support for an international treaty that endorses disability rights, “Republican senators threaten to kill the pact Tuesday based on what proponents call groundless allegations that it would encourage abortions overseas, threaten home-schooling programs domestically and elsewhere, and potentially separate children from their parents,” the Boston Globe reports. “The conservative Heritage Foundation is among opponents who also have suggested that giving an international entity advocacy powers for the disabled would erode US sovereignty and pose threats to the profits of American multinational corporations.”
Heritage Action and the Club for Growth “lashed out against a pair of decisions by Speaker John Boehner’s leadership team as House Republicans saw their tightly held grip on the right loosen a bit on Monday,” Politico writes. Heritage didn’t like Boehner’s fiscal cliff offer because he put revenue into the mix and the Club for Growth defended four members GOP leadership stripped of committee posts.
Americans for Prosperity is also among the groups critical of the proposal. National Journal: “Scoot over Democrats. The far right is launching its own attacks against Speaker John Boehner’s ‘fiscal cliff’ counter proposal—a sign that unrest could be brewing within his House GOP Conference. … Such rapid-fire conservative backlash underscores—once again—that the Ohioan and his leadership team face more than a tough fight to reach a compromise with Obama and Democrats to resolve a year-end fiscal crisis.”
“Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), freshly reelected to her ninth term in Congress, announced Monday that she would resign in February and become the president and chief executive of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn., the top donor to her campaigns during her congressional career,” the L.A. Times writes. “Emerson, who was elected to her late husband Bill Emerson’s seat in a 1996 special election and was the first woman to represent Missouri in the House, handily won reelection earlier this year over Democratic rival Jack Rushin with nearly 72% of the vote. One of the few women to hold Republican leadership positions in Congress, Emerson was chairwoman of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee and sat on the House Appropriations Committee.”
Dick Armey quit FreedomWorks.
“With an immigration overhaul on next year’s agenda, House Republicans must decide which members of their conference will play a visible role in the negotiations — an important consideration for a party that is struggling to attract Latino voters,” Roll Call writes.
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"The plan – which was quickly and emphatically dismissed by the White House -- ignores the centerpiece of Obama’s blueprint: allowing tax cuts to expire for the nation’s wealthiest taxpayers."
As well as it should be, the president does not have to worry about that, it's going to happen, the question is are republicans going to let taxes go up across the board or fight to the end for the top 2%. I also find it very interesting and embarrassing for Boehner that Bowles quickly let it be known that was never his plan and he had nothing to do with it. Republicans seem intent on committing political suicide by not raising taxes on those who would be least affected and not considering cuts to defense spending as a savings measure, they insist on cutting into SS and medicare while protecting the ubber wealthy, if you look at national polling on all three of these issues the numbers are staggeringly against them. They should look for ways to solve problems for the middle class, poor, old, and sick of the nation instead of constantly looking for them to bear the costs of the nation, and shrinking their earning power. A good economy requires a lot of people with a bit of money to spend, not a few people with lots to spend. Stand firm Mr. President the vast majority of the nation is not buying what republicans are selling, if they want to throw themselves off the cliff let them, then revenue goes up and spending goes down, that's what they agreed to, let them have exactly that. Republicans do not have to negotiate against the president they have to negotiate against the automatic triggers they already agreed to, no need for the president to concede anything. Obviously their whole agreement to the automatic triggers was based on them believing they would have the oval office by the time it would take effect, that did not happen for them so either get what the country wants voluntarily from them or get it involuntarily by nature of making them honor the triggers they agreed to.
Obama has NO INTENTION of allowing ANY of the "Bush Tax Cuts" to be extended for ANY of the taxpayers !
Why do you think the extension was only until JUST AFTER THE ELECTIONS ?? Now that he has been re-elected, he has no incentive to extend these cuts for anyone. He can tax and spend and tax and redistribute as he previously said he would do !
Why do you think Obama is taking such an aggressive, hard-line position ... he has nothing to lose, and he can and will always lay blame on the Republicans ! The Demmies fell for his promises !!
Where are the proposed spending cuts you promised Mr. Obama ? Where is the BUDGET ?? Do you ever intend to have a BUDGET, Mr. President ??? Will you DOUBLE the National Debt of ALL your predecessors combined ????
So the Republican party lied! That is nothing new!!
I wonder who came up with the brilliant idea to raise the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 and what cost savings would result?
Medicare can survive well into the future if and when Congress addresses costs, eliminates the private health insurance participation in it, and allows Medicare to negotiate drug (Part D) costs as the Veterans Administration has been permitted to do for decades. Example: The domestic retail cost for a month's supply of Plavix is $400; no where else in the industrialized world does that cost exceed $50.
Why, for example, were the hospital costs for my wife's recent routine appendectomy nearly $25,000 for her 32-hour stay?
Why do I pay a monthly premium for drug coverage from the private sector? What service does the private insurer provide other than to bill Medicare for 'administrative' services? And why is my carrier permitted to raise its monthly premium by 29% next month?
Bruce if wages rose at the rate that medical costs have over the last 25 years I would be making over $200.00 per hour.
The best way in my opinion to solidify Medicare would be to lower the age, not raise it. Extend Medicare to everyone so that younger people in better health can contribute and continue with cost containment, medicare is then paid for and fixed.
Here is an idea: any shortfall in funds for medicare should be made up out of the defense budget, if a nation can't even care for it's old and sick, then just what the hell is the military protecting.
What happened anyway, in 1961 our hospital bill for our son being born was $180.00 does that even sound possible.
"The Plan" will close loopholes but what loopholes are they talking about? It sure would be nice to have a concise, straight forward pland that specifically says what they are asking for. That plan could then be compared with the Democrat plan and where they agree, great and where they don't agree they negotiate a compromise. Is that so difficult? Congresses of the past have done just that but nooooo not this Congress. Boehner is a really poor leader when he can't get his people to work with the opposition and stop the "my way or the highway" BS.
Maybe, while you are at it ... maybe we could see the Obama plan for cutting expenses ! Maybe we could get something concrete other than his desire to gut the military !! Future promises from Obama mean nothing ... we have seen those before and he is always changing the deal, even after a deal has been reached !
Maybe, we could see a BUDGET from Obama ... not a "proposal" which is useless, an actual plan for the future.
Old retread ideas. These are the same proposals the repubs put forward before they had their heads handed to them in the election.
Look Repubs, the people have spoken, get off your intransigence and start doing your jobs!!
What counteroffer?? This is another piece of GOP/Teabegger steaming pile of manure that was dropped by "Bonehead Boehner" on the White House lawn. Why is "Bonehead Boehner" still being allowed to "Politically Poop" on the White House lawn?? Was he using his so-called counter offer as toilet paper?? Again!
Our family would pay higher taxes under the President's plan but we support the President 100 percent. Taxes never should have been lowered under Bush as we went to war. That had never been done before and it didn't work this time.
The Republican party needs to shake itself loose from the Tea Party and other right wing pundits and recognize that their coalition with the far right on social issues and the really wealthy is not working. Americans were smart enough to recognize the vague platitudes offered by Romney/Ryan and the dangers that lurked within.
How can we even think of raising revenue by hurting the elderly, people with disabilities and the military? I can see cutting defense spending but look to big defense firms offering products the military doesn't want rather than military personnel and veterans. The Republicans always claim to be supportive of the military but really the party is more supportive of defense firms.
what we need is to do away with parties dumocrats and repubs. they need a new way to elect our congress members no more parties to argue and be divided like they are now, 0buma has divided them for ever in fact he has divided the whole country into haters and losers. "WAKE UP AMERICA"