- "There's class warfare, all right, but its my class,
the rich class that's making war and we're winning" --Warren Buffet
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- The most important and popular social and tax programs
in the United States are threatened by a self-styled "Bipartisan National
Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform". Appointed by President
Obama on February 18, 2010, co-chaired by two longstanding champions of
Wall Street: ex Senator Simpson (R, WY) and former Clintonite White House
Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles.
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- The Commission Report issued November 10 proposes to
slash social security payments, reducing recipients to poverty, raise the
retirement age to 69 ensuring that millions of workers will die before
they can retire, or enter retirement in ill health; reduce or freeze cost
of living increases through inflation indexes which understate by half
the rises in food, gas, hospital and education. The Commission proposes
deep cuts in Medicare, increased Medicaid co-pays and slashing $54 billion
from graduate medical education. The Commission proposes to eliminate
tax breaks including deductions for home mortgage interest payments while
taxing employer provided medical insurance.
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- The same Commission Report proposes to reduce capital
gains and income taxes for the rich by up to 24%.
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- President Obama and the Republican leadership praised
the Commission and wants "to give them space to work on it".
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- The so-called crisis of Social Security is a result
of the Republican and Democratic governments siphoning off payments into
the general fund. The forthcoming shortfall (2030) can be easily remedied
by lifting the payroll tax ceiling, for the rich, taxing all earned income.
Medical costs can be reduced by 50% by replacing the for profit corporate
health insurance and pharmaceutical corporations with a non-profit national
health system, similar to successful programs in Europe and Canada.Both
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- Medical plans and Social Security can be easily funded
by imposing a 1%sales tax
- On the sale of stocks and bonds.
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- The deficit proposals put forth by Obama's Bipartisan
Commission threaten to push the one-third of retirees who depend mainly
on their social security payments into the food kitchens or destitution.
The added cost and reductions in health care will increase the mortality
rate among working families. The increase in retirement age will result
in "work until you die", with no time for leisure, travel or
grandchildren. It is time to send a message to Washington: cut Social
Security and Medicare and home interest deductions and you will visit Washington
on your own time.
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