Before getting into the interview with Senator Mitch Mcconnell (R-KY), we have to say this on the budget, and as a comment of Mr. Ryan's budget plan - The Democrats need to have a plan, and that has to come from the President since the House agenda is controlled by the Republicans.
One more thing. The 2010 mid-term election that saw Republicans make historic wins was won partly on the platform that Democrats were going to make cuts to Medicare through the Affordable Health Act, derogatorily nicknamed "Obamacare." Now, the Premium Care plan in Paul Ryan's budget gives a set amount to a private insurance company on behalf of an individual and any costs differences have to be made up by said individual but the cost of the policy is dictated by a private insurance company. It's technically not a voucher because the money isn't given to the individual.
Mr. McConnell is 'comfortable' with the Ryan budget, he said. He did indeed vote for it, but he didn't rally his colleagues though he is the minority leader. And the fact that he didn't answer the 'third rail' question with regard to Medicare basically indicating that the answer is 'yes.' (There are a lot of rails in America, for certain.)
But Mr. McConnell is correct in quoting Erskin Bowles in saying that this fiscal crisis is the most predicable crisis in American history, and the Senator insists that Medicare has to be part of the solution. On this latter part, he's only half right.
It is essential for Medicare to be reformed, however, it should not be a part of this year's budget plan. In the short term, it should be left as is, and then the Congress should try to fix the budget from there. Once that's completed, additionally saving will come from a plan to reform Medicare, but do it separately. The Medicare plan should be worked on while the budget debate is going on so that there is a short lag time between proposals. Americans like to see plans, it shows the product of labor, it proves you're doing something.
Where Mr. McConnell takes things too far is that to get his vote, he said definitively, on the debt ceiling, Medicare has to be part of the cuts. This stipulation is strictly for political gain and is not in the best interest of the American people. It just isn't.
And to balance the budget, as the clip of former President Clinton showed, a tax increase somewhere has to be part of the solution. A three percent increase on those making over a million dollars would help. See where that gives us as part of the solution. How could an everyday Republican be against that. Most people are middle class, Democrat and Republican, so how would that negatively effect them in any way. It wouldn't.
With all that, it's not surprising to know that Senator McConnell and his Republican colleagues are not enthusiastic about Elizabeth Warren and the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Board, saying that it would be a 'serious threat', yes he said threat, to our financial system.
The little most subtle rail for the Republicans is regulation, and Ms. Warren's agency flies directly in the face of that. The impetus for the agency's creation was the run-away unregulated credit industry and the fine print on those contracts that basically gave creditors unmitigated control of the rates. Say what you will about the commission, but this scenario encourages lawlessness on the part of the credit industry so there needs to be a check on those balances.
Today's foil to Mr. McConnell was senior Senator from New York, Democrat Charles Schumer who was in a very uncompromising mood, which is always notable considering it's a wide belief that the Democrats always back down. However, Mr. Schumer firmly stated that the Medicare provision in the Ryan plan must be scrapped and if not, the Democrats will walk away from the negotiations. As we've stated before in this column, the Congress should not play politics with the debt ceiling, and there is a bit of it on both sides, but Republicans rightly carry the heavier burden for the situation.
As a part of a plan for Medicare, Mr. Schumer did outline a few measures the Democrats are in favor of, with regard to price controls. He said that Democrats are for reforming the program, but also preserving it. He used the prescription drug plan installed by the Bush Administration as an example. "Providers get too much," Mr. Schumer said. And in the case of the pharmaceutical companies, this is true. With the government unable to negotiate the price of prescription drugs as mandated in the Bush plan, big pharma sets the costs and the government has no say. When Republican candidates for President says that they know how to run a business and therefore is their key qualification of why he or she should run this instead of President Obama, we would ask them to explain that. It's just bad business. Being the largest client for these companies and you give away all your leverage to discount a bulk buy, for example?
The other sensible proposal he put forth was with regard to the Cost Plus System, in which doctors get paid for every single treatment they administer. That means every pill they prescription, every temperature taken, every heart beat checked gets paid on separately. On the face of it, that sounds insane so a set reimbursement for doctors should be in place, especially so if the Ryan plan calls for set amount for seniors.
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The Round Table discussion as per usual centered around Presidential politics, which we don't mind because it is frankly so goofy this time round on the Republican side of the race. And the general consensus on this week's panel is that Sarah Palin would be a disaster as President. David Brooks said that this isn't American Idol, this is the Presidency of the United States, and that she's not a team player. GOP Strategist Alex Castellanos said that he didn't see room for her in the race since Michelle Bachmann is getting in. But he also feels she Ms. Palin is not qualified for that office saying that she's not a serious candidate. But as Ruth Marcus banally pointed out, she does suck up all the energy from the other candidates, and unfortunately for the Republican field, that's not going to stop.
What's going around is that Sarah Palin will be a sort of kingmaker, endorser of the true conservative in the race, the decision maker in this context. However, it's strictly a self-serving proposition because it will not be good for the Republican party if a large faction of it is going in a significantly different direction. And when many conservative commentators, Rush Limbaugh excluded, are saying that she's not qualified to make Presidential decisions, how could she be given the de facto power to decide who the nominee should be. Sound more like the division maker.
Round Table: Fmr. Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN); GOP Strategist Alex Castellanos; Washington Post Columnist Ruth Marcus and New York Times Columnist David Brooks.
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