Paul Ryan Says “Entitlement Reform” Will Continue in 2019

Social Security and Medicare are the third rails of politics. Touch those and politically die.

Besides, I don't see how the GOP will be able to steal from the two programs when they no longer control the House.

SheWolf said:

I actually take quarterly financial training as part of my job with market analysts. I am not getting my information from network news, and financial planners are telling people Medicare is predicted to bankrupt given the current spending and tax revenue trajectory. Also, they are telling people to plan like SSN will not be there.

But what do you care, it's not your future or anything...

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I am kicking 60 in the ass, and I am not counting on social security

Anyone who does with nothing else to fall back on is looking for trouble

The numbers don’t work....they haven’t in ages....and the idiots that reside in DC like their jobs too much to seriously make waves and tell the American people the truth

So, cuts will come...when? I dunno....how? I dunno

But my wife and I aren’t counting on that income at all.....

And I am telling my kids to not expect it to be there for them....

Greenbeard said:

The unspoken message to the generations that come behind is more "it's your mess now, good luck, just don't touch my taxes or benes--and for god's sake, learn some fiscal discipline, fools!"

The obligatory ill-considered lecture on financial responsibility to "the young" is a nice touch.

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I will take care of my parents, but the rest of them can beg in the streets for all I care. It's not fair what they did to the economy and to my generation, and expect us to pay for them and their deficits. They cut everything down so much, my generation is in so much student loan debt on top of the national debit. Most of us can't buy houses like they did at our age.

Rogue Valley said:

Social Security and Medicare are the third rails of politics. Touch those and politically die.

Besides, I don't see how the GOP will be able to steal from the two programs when they no longer control the House.

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They know if they touch the programs, they will die politically. They are not brave enough to vote on it, and go on record. Instead they want to cut the legs off of programs, and collapse them. That is what they are doing with Obamacare, and that is what they will do to Medicare and SSN.

They are such cowards, they would rather appoint judges and have the judges throw out Obamacare than get something passed through Congress.

MTAtech said:

Paul Ryan is saying openly that the GOP will seek to repeal the ACA and slash Medicare if they keep the House. That's essentially what we said in the video (click pic.)

He is saying this out loud in public. Believe him!

"Entitlement Reform" is newspeak for "cutting entitlements."

If you want to repeal the ACA and slash Medicare, that provides preexisting coverage and benefits the middle class and seniors, then vote for Republicans. If you don't want any of that, vote for Democrats. It's that simple.

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And the left continues to MAKEUP NON-EXISTENT "QUOTES" to try to push their agenda.

He said NO SUCH THING.


Ever wonder why the LEFT ALWAYS HAS TO LIE to TRY TO MAKE ITS CASE?


You should.

gdgyva said:

I am kicking 60 in the ass, and I am not counting on social security

Anyone who does with nothing else to fall back on is looking for trouble

The numbers don’t work....they haven’t in ages....and the idiots that reside in DC like their jobs too much to seriously make waves and tell the American people the truth

So, cuts will come...when? I dunno....how? I dunno

But my wife and I aren’t counting on that income at all.....

And I am telling my kids to not expect it to be there for them....

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Yes, well, you also shouldn't be expecting Medicare or lower medical prices.

Grokmaster said:

And the left continues to MAKEUP NON-EXISTENT "QUOTES" to try to push their agenda.

He said NO SUCH THING.


Ever wonder why the LEFT ALWAYS HAS TO LIE to TRY TO MAKE ITS CASE?


You should.

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The video that I posted was Ryan talking about 'entitlement reform.' We are smart enough to know what that means, 'cut entitlements.' This is nothing new for Ryan, whose Ryan Plan was nothing but a plan to cut taxes and cut entitlements to pay for them. 'Starve the Beast' has long been the GOP plan: cut taxes for the wealthy, then use deficits as an excuse to cut programs that serve the middle class and poor. The Trump tax cut -- mainly for corporations and the wealthy -- has cut revenues by >1% of GDP. That's significantly more than the cost of the Affordable Care Act, which has insured 20 million people.

But who is the beast that's supposed to be starved? Mainly it's older Americans, because that's where the money is. When people like Ryan say "entitlement reform," that basically means cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

MTAtech said:

The video that I posted was Ryan talking about 'entitlement reform.' We are smart enough to know what that means, 'cut entitlements.' This is nothing new for Ryan, whose Ryan Plan was nothing but a plan to cut taxes and cut entitlements to pay for them. 'Starve the Beast' has long been the GOP plan: cut taxes for the wealthy, then use deficits as an excuse to cut programs that serve the middle class and poor. The Trump tax cut -- mainly for corporations and the wealthy -- has cut revenues by >1% of GDP. That's significantly more than the cost of the Affordable Care Act, which has insured 20 million people.

But who is the beast that's supposed to be starved? Mainly it's older Americans, because that's where the money is. When people like Ryan say "entitlement reform," that basically means cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

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No, you madeup some bull**** HE DID NOT SAY.

SheWolf said:

I will take care of my parents, but the rest of them can beg in the streets for all I care. It's not fair what they did to the economy and to my generation, and expect us to pay for them and their deficits. They cut everything down so much, my generation is in so much student loan debt on top of the national debit. Most of us can't buy houses like they did at our age.

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The Locust Generation still holds most of the political levers of power so presumably they'll do what they've always done: take care of themselves and leave little behind for those coming up after them.

Grokmaster said:

No, you madeup some bull**** HE DID NOT SAY.

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I always wonder if the GOP's loyal foot soldiers really fundamentally oppose the GOP project, or if they just feign ignorance and pretend not to when pressed. You guys are fascinating to me.

SheWolf said:

Ryan has always wanted to cut it. After two massive tax cuts, it's no surprise the program is on it's last leg. Yes, medical costs are rising, and they could do something about that too. It's obvious they don't care about our medical costs or programs bankrupting. As I keep saying, Trump supporters are the prime targets to be concerned. The warnings are undeniable right now, and these Congress critters aren't going to do a damn thing until it's too late.

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You make it sound like the problem just started....

Whataboutism? That's weak, even for a liberal apologist. And since it was Obama that piled on the regulations and stifled the economy, GWB had nothing to do with this discussion. You are still butthurt about Bush.

SheWolf said:

I am sure you said the same under GWB until the economy blew up.

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It appears we did the right thing with Kavenaugh. Try to see without your partisan blinders.

MTAtech said:

Kavanaugh has repeatedly ruled in favor of corporate interests against individual and worker rights. I have no idea why Trump supporters think that this guy on the Supreme Court is such a victory for them. He rules against their interests.

According to Politico,

• Kavanaugh ruled in favor of warrantless wiretaps.
• Kavanaugh wrote a 2016 opinion saying employers can require workers to waive their right to picket in arbitration agreements.
• Kavanaugh has suggested he may be open to widening the flow of public funding to religious schools.
• He called the FCC’s net neutrality order an "unlawful” First Amendment violation in a 2017 dissent.
• Kavanaugh’s net neutrality dissent also suggested he’s skeptical about the Supreme Court’s so-called Chevron doctrine, a 1984 precedent that said courts should tend to defer to federal agencies’ regulatory decisions when the agencies are interpreting ambiguous statutes. A move by conservative justices to overturn Chevron could lead to far tighter restrictions on federal regulatory powers.
• Kavanaugh wrote a decision that rejected EPA's attempt to curb air pollution that crosses state lines.
• Kavanaugh delivered a huge victory to conservatives in October 2016 when he wrote an opinion declaring the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — a powerful banking industry watchdog first envisioned by Elizabeth Warren — to be unconstitutional.

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MTAtech said:

Paul Ryan is saying openly that the GOP will seek to repeal the ACA and slash Medicare if they keep the House. That's essentially what we said in the video (click pic.)

He is saying this out loud in public. Believe him!

"Entitlement Reform" is newspeak for "cutting entitlements."

If you want to repeal the ACA and slash Medicare, that provides preexisting coverage and benefits the middle class and seniors, then vote for Republicans. If you don't want any of that, vote for Democrats. It's that simple.

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Don't forget that almost all of the drive for so called "entitlement reform" has been centered around the near schizo level hue and cry over "unfunded liabilities".
Well, all I have to say about "unfunded liabilities" is that it is all bull****.
The only intergenerational debt that exists is Social Security and it uses its own TAX to ensure the revenues are there.

Unfunded liabilities claims validity to the notion that two generations from now people will be saddled by debts run up by people who spent money two generations ago. And that's just total nonsense.

Let me know as soon as Congress starts taking up unfunded liabilities with regard to the US Military, then we can talk.
Then I'll know that they actually are serious and not just devising a way to put our Medicare and Social Security money in the pockets of their criminal friends, and if you believe in unfunded liabilities as some Sword of Damocles then you have to explain WHY the US military is apparently absolved when the military spending is the single largest unfunded liability in the GODDAMN GALAXY.
And I say GALAXY because apparently we're about to launch a US military SPACE FORCE.

1751Texan said:

Don't remember those 'mobs' of old folk that were showing up to Republican townhalls shouting down repeal of ACA?

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I remember shooting footage of dozens of angry town halls filled with Tea Party faithful screaming for the government to keep its hands off their Medicare and stop the "death panels".

SheWolf said:

They know if they touch the programs, they will die politically. They are not brave enough to vote on it, and go on record. Instead they want to cut the legs off of programs, and collapse them. That is what they are doing with Obamacare, and that is what they will do to Medicare and SSN.

They are such cowards, they would rather appoint judges and have the judges throw out Obamacare than get something passed through Congress.

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But they don't call that "creating law"...it's only "creating law" when they rule on something the R's don't like.
Every time I hear "mumble mumble - should follow the Constitution" or "mumble mumble - apply the law according to the Constitution" I laugh.
There's twelve thousand words in the Constitution. If that's all a SCOTUS justice is allowed to do, a trained monkey could sit on the SCOTUS and SOFTWARE could do the job.

But then again, what was it Grover Norquist said about a president?

"We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget. ... We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don't need someone to think it up or design it. The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate. [...]
Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the United States. This is a change for Republicans: the House and Senate doing the work with the president signing bills. His job is to be captain of the team, to sign the legislation that has already been prepared."

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So now you understand why they love Trump so much, and now you understand "MUMBLE MUMBLE - FOLLOW THE CONSTITUTION".

SheWolf said:

I am a young person, and the GOP is screwing me over. Your generation enjoyed low taxes and high deficits, and now you expect your kids and grand kids to bail you out and fix your mess. We don't really owe that to you

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Low taxes? Yeah, right. :lol: Look at these two charts:



You see all of that blue on the right side of each chart? For most of my life, I woke up to a government controlled by Democrats. Democrats controlled the House of Representatives for 64 out of the last 88 years, including a solid forty-year block from 1955 until 1995. They controlled the Senate for all but 26 years over the same period. They never lowered my payroll taxes. In fact, what I got in 1983, the last time congress "saved" Social Security, was a higher payroll tax, a reduction in my future benefits, and the privilege of working another year and ten months in order to reach my full Social Security retirement age. This was because when the Democrats created the program they assumed people would die faster than they did. :doh Even though they voted for the changes, they made political hay out of it during the next election. Some of these Democrats were in complete denial, as others are today, that there was even a problem. Imagine where we'd be NOW if I and tens of millions of other Boomers hadn't gotten screwed to fix the mess created by the Greatest Generation and their parents (people who largely supported Democrats). :lol:

Now, if you want to talk about income taxes, when I was younger, most Americans paid something to the federal treasury. That included me and my wife, even after we had two kids and I made squat for income working for Taco Bell. (I was the sole earner at that time.) We ate a lot of Taco Bell manager meals, ramen noodles, and frozen drumsticks from the local Viva supermarket in those days. Now many lower and middle-income families pay NOTHING in federal income tax. In fact, they get paid NOT to work, because the more they work the lower their big, fat EIC-stoked tax refunds, or they risk losing their EBT cards or CHIP for Little Johnnie and Suzie or whatever. So, please, spare me the lecture.

BRubble said:

You make it sound like the problem just started....

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Most people are in denial there is a problem

smallvoice said:

Whataboutism? That's weak, even for a liberal apologist. And since it was Obama that piled on the regulations and stifled the economy, GWB had nothing to do with this discussion. You are still butthurt about Bush.

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Trump is exploding the deficit and your Medicare is running out. The GOP doesn't represent fiscal responsibility anymore.

Greenbeard said:

I know Paul Ryan doesn't know much about policy or economics, but someone should let him know that Medicare was already reformed eight years ago. His party built their midterm strategy in 2010 around trashing those reforms ("Ads Use Medicare Cuts as Rallying Point") and they ended up winning big, in no small part because the old folks turned out in droves and the GOP won them by 21 points ("Greedy Geezers?).

And yet the reforms went on to be implemented by the Obama administration. How's that going?

Medicare’s cost surprise: It’s going down

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Reforms? You mean the ones that robbed the Medicare trust fund by hundreds of billions of dollars in order to fund Obamacare subsidies? Obama funded his brainchild by reducing Medicare reimbursement levels with the result that fewer doctors take it. So, yeah, you can reduce spending by gutting reimbursement levels, but the cost is going to be borne somewhere.

smallvoice said:

Whataboutism? That's weak, even for a liberal apologist. And since it was Obama that piled on the regulations and stifled the economy, GWB had nothing to do with this discussion. You are still butthurt about Bush.

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The economy collapsed starting in December 2007 -- a year and a month before President Obama said, "I do solemnly swear," which really makes it hard for him to "pile on regulations" at all. Moreover, right-wings blame regulations for "stifled the economy," put have never shown how regulations that keep the air breathable and water drinkable hurt the economy. Part of the financial reform regulations was a rule that required bank credit card statements to print how long it would take to payoff the balance if one only paid the minimum payment. How many jobs did that regulation kill? As an aside, Trump claimed that 'Obama regulations hurt the coal industry,' so, he relaxed the EPA regulations (that would also cause 1,400 more deaths a year). What is the result? Coal production continues to slide.

There is no truth to the claim that Obama Era regulations harmed the economy. The economy under Obama grew and the trends in 2017 and 2018 are exactly a continuation of trends started under Obama.

Ahlevah said:

Reforms? You mean the ones that robbed the Medicare trust fund by hundreds of billions of dollars in order to fund Obamacare subsidies?

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The ones that support new care delivery models facilitating better, more efficient care delivery. With particular emphasis on care coordination for and management of the high-cost beneficiaries. Even as costs are holding steady, quality has been rising. See MedPAC, from March:

Quality of care has been improving The quality of hospital care has been improving in recent years, and at least part of this improvement appears to be because of various financial incentives included in recent years in the Medicare program. While these incentives are not perfect and the Commission has discussed refinements to quality improvement programs, the data suggest that even imperfect incentives can lead to improved quality (see text box on value incentive programs). . . To assess aggregate trends in quality of care across all IPPS hospitals, we use mortality rates, readmission rates, and patient experience. We find that, from 2012 to 2016, mortality and readmissions declined. In addition, patient experience measures (e.g., communication with nurses and doctors, quietness of hospital environment) improved from 2011 to 2016.

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Obama funded his brainchild by reducing Medicare reimbursement levels with the result that fewer doctors take it.

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Medicare physician reimbursement was never governed by the ACA, beyond nascent efforts to tie a piece to performance. You're thinking of hospitals and it's a very rare hospital that doesn't take Medicare. Again, the fact that the ACA's Medicare payment incentives are now part of American hospitals' financial models is a big part of what's driving the quality gains we've seen over the last eight years.

So, yeah, you can reduce spending by gutting reimbursement levels, but the cost is going to be borne somewhere.

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Medicare prices always rise year-over-year, the point isn't to gut reimbursement. It's to change the incentives and the financial models that have undergirded a broken system that's incentivized inefficient care delivery for decades.

Ahlevah said:

Reforms? You mean the ones that robbed the Medicare trust fund by hundreds of billions of dollars in order to fund Obamacare subsidies? Obama funded his brainchild by reducing Medicare reimbursement levels with the result that fewer doctors take it. So, yeah, you can reduce spending by gutting reimbursement levels, but the cost is going to be borne somewhere.

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That's another lie from the right, that was made in 2012 by Romney. This is what it all was about: On July 24, 2012, the Congressional Budget Office sent a letter to then House Speaker John Boehner, detailing the budget impact of repealing the Affordable Care Act. If Congress overturned the law, "spending for Medicare would increase by an estimated $716 billion over that 2013–2022 period."

As to how the Affordable Care Act actually gets to $716 billion in Medicare savings, that's a bit more complicated. John McDonough did the best job explaining it in his 2011 book, "Inside National Health Reform." There, he looked at all the various Medicare cuts Democrats made to pay for the Affordable Care Act.

The majority of the cuts, as you can see in the below chart, come from reductions in how much Medicare reimburses hospitals and private health insurance companies.



The blue section represents reductions in how much Medicare reimburses private, Medicare Advantage plans. That program allowed seniors to join a private health insurance, with the federal government footing the bill. The whole idea of Medicare Advantage was to drive down the cost of health insurance for the elderly as private insurance companies competing for seniors' business -- which NEVER happened. By 2010, the average Medicare Advantage per-patient cost was 117 percent of regular fee-for-service. The Affordable Care Act gave those private plans a haircut and tethers reimbursement levels to the quality of care administered, and patient satisfaction.

What's important is that this reduction DID NOT reduce Medicare benefits. The Affordable Care Act rolled back payment rates for hospitals and insurers. It didn't change the basket of benefits that patients have access to.

So, to assert that the ACA "robbed the Medicare trust fund by hundreds of billions of dollars in order to fund Obamacare subsidies," is a blatant lie.

Greenbeard said:

I know Paul Ryan doesn't know much about policy or economics, but someone should let him know that Medicare was already reformed eight years ago. His party built their midterm strategy in 2010 around trashing those reforms ("Ads Use Medicare Cuts as Rallying Point") and they ended up winning big, in no small part because the old folks turned out in droves and the GOP won them by 21 points ("Greedy Geezers?).

And yet the reforms went on to be implemented by the Obama administration. How's that going?

Medicare’s cost surprise: It’s going down

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Meanwhile ACA subsidies are way up.

In 2018, net subsidies for noninstitutionalized people under age 65 will total $685 billion, the Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/53826

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jonny5 said:

Meanwhile ACA subsidies are way up.

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Yes, in no small part due to the Trump administration deliberately jacking up average benchmark premiums by 37% this year for no reason. Without his interventions, premiums this year would’ve more or less flat (i.e., much lower than they now are).

Greenbeard said:

Yes, in no small part due to the Trump administration deliberately jacking up average benchmark premiums by 37% this year for no reason. Without his interventions, premiums this year would’ve more or less flat (i.e., much lower than they now are).

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All the more reason for repeal of the ACA, and major reform of federal healthcare spending.