Boehner Admits There is No Immediate Debt Crisis; Wants to Gut Social Security and Medicare Anyway

By: Jason EasleyMar. 17th, 2013more from Jason Easley

On ABC’s This Week, Speaker John Boehner admitted that there is no immediate debt crisis, but in the next breath argued that the country should gut Medicare and Social Security anyway.

Transcript from ABC News:

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (VIDEO): We’ve already cut– $2.5– $2.7 trillion out of the deficit. If the sequester stays in, you’ve got over $3.5 trillion of deficit reduction already. And, so, we don’t have an immediate crisis in terms of debt. In fact, for the next ten years, it’s gonna be in a sustainable place.

MARTHA RADDATZ: Is he right that we don’t have an immediate crisis?

SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: We do not have an immediate debt crisis. But we all know that we have one looming. And we have– one looming– because we have entitlement programs that are not sustainable in their current form. They’re gonna go bankrupt. Washington has responsibility– to our seniors and our near seniors– that we firm up these programs so that they’re there for the long term. Because if we don’t do it, not only will they not get benefits, we will have a debt crisis right around the corner. We have time to solve our problems. But we need to do it now.

MARTHA RADDATZ: H– how long do we have to solve our problems?

SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: Nobody knows where this is. It could be a year or two years, three years, four years. The– it’s not an immediate problem. But we can all–

MARTHA RADDATZ: So, you agree with the president on that?

SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: The Amer– yes. But his point, as he went on to say in that interview, is that we don’t– we don’t really need to do anything at this point. And I would argue that we do need to do something.

The Speaker claimed that nobody knows how long we have to deal with the debt, but this was a total lie. Social Security will be solvent until 2033, and the Republican claim that Medicare is going bankrupt is an epic exaggeration. The Medicare hospital trust fund is expected to be exhausted by 2024, but this is nothing new. As FactCheck.org pointed out, “In 1980, insolvency was expected in 1994. In 1990, the exhaustion date was 2003. But those dates have been pushed back mainly by repeated tax increases.”

If there is no immediate crisis, why are Republicans so hellbent on cutting Social Security and Medicare? The answer is ideology. Republicans have hated Social Security and Medicare from the day they each became law. The ginned up fake immediate debt crisis as championed most loudly by Paul Ryan is the latest cover story for the right wing war on the social safety net.

This isn’t about solvency and insolvency. Notice how Republicans always ignore the official numbers when talking about Social Security and Medicare. Republicans are ideologically committed to destroying the social safety net. Speaker Boehner’s comments today were an admission that cuts don’t need to be made, but Republicans want them just because.

Boehner Admits There is No Immediate Debt Crisis; Wants to Gut Social Security and Medicare Anyway was written by Jason Easley for PoliticusUSA.

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44 Responses to Boehner Admits There is No Immediate Debt Crisis; Wants to Gut Social Security and Medicare Anyway

Moose

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 11:26 am

Omg he is such a bullshitter and a liar!! They just want to obstruct(b/c Obama is black). It’s the only thing that explains everything!
What do you think? 0 0
- djchefron(Moderator)
  
  Mar. 17th, 2013 at 11:32 am
  
  Obama’s black?And here I thought the republicans was fighting against soooocialismmm and keeping the evil gubbiment out of medicare.
  What do you think? 0 0
  - Moose
    
    Mar. 17th, 2013 at 4:22 pm
    
    Lol Exactly, Theyre so hellbent on making him look bad, but they can’t see that it’s not working b.c they have so much blind hatred for the guy. If this doesn’t translate into a new congress we have nothing but ourselves to blame.
    What do you think? 0 0
- 8^)
  
  Mar. 17th, 2013 at 12:46 pm
  
  guilty of treason!…. taliban bonehead, helped screw the american people!
  What do you think? 0 0
- Joe
  
  Mar. 18th, 2013 at 9:22 am
  
  Can’t Boeher and COngress get it thru their fat heads. Medicare and SS we the tax payers pay for out of our pay checks, They are not gov’t entitlements given to use. WE give alot of money each paycheck to it for oue future. Just because they get big money while serving and after they leave office they may not need it but others will. Let’s get rid of them and get some new fresh blood who will care about the great people of these United States who fight and work toward their retirement for medicare and SS.
  What do you think? 0 0
ed

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 11:39 am

we as taxpaying americans and vietnam veterans and law abiding citizens need to say enough is enough to theses scumbags ,we are tired of the lies and craps made up as they go ?helldudes you are getting paid 24,000 dollars am,onth to decieve us as as voters and american citizens you work for us we dont work for you or the koch brothers or corporate america .weneed to get rid of your lying dishonest drunk ass and throw all the teabagkkkers in jail and arrest eric cantor and paul;ryan for treason .
What do you think? 0 0
PunchPrincess

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 12:03 pm

Eliminating Social Security and Medicare is not the ultimate goal but doing so makes it possible to return to pre 1930 culture where

the elderly were dependent on their children
the primary caregiver in the family is the wife
who can’t work outside the home because the old folks need constant care
and so the family income isn’t enough to send the children to college, or even high school in some cases
so without the competition from talented but poor children

the undeserving spawn of the oligarchs can replicate themselves with the good looking women of other oligarchs.

And so it continues…
What do you think? 0 0
djchefron(Moderator)

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 12:04 pm

Make no mistake what the republican and the dummycrats plans are.The total confiscation of wealth from the people.One way or another they will try to accomplish that goal.The media has been ignoring this story but under the golden goose of Austerity the European Union is seizing the assets of the people of Cyprus

EU leaders gamble in Cyprus bank bailout
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-...

Any questions on whats in store for us if they dont get their way on this manufactured deficit crisis?
What do you think? 0 0
- indyfan2
  
  Mar. 17th, 2013 at 1:30 pm
  
  How about we stay on topic. First what exactly are the dummycrats? If you want to talk about a political party try using adult language. Second what is happening in Cyprus is Europe not the United States. The article is about Boehner and his lying to us. It isnt about the Democrats. Trying to paint both parties as liars is typical fascist propaganda. Give credit where it is due. The Republican machine is trying to bring back slavery.
  What do you think? 0 0
  - djchefron(Moderator)
    
    Mar. 17th, 2013 at 2:03 pm
    
    Thank you for your comment.Now to answer your questions.1.Who are the dummycrats,The ones who are pushing austerity programs,who watered down the stimulus for more tax cuts.I could name quite a few programs where the President had to compromise with his own caucus but I wont bore you so try to keep up here.The one like Mary Landrieu of Louisiana,Shumer of New york,Pryor of Arkansas,the ones like Rendall who goes on the tube etc pushing massive spending cuts with little to no revenue.
    I would also include the President for trying to get a grand bargain but to his credit he is holding the line on drastic cuts for now.
    
    2.Why is Europe like the US?Does the financial meltdown that was one of the main causes of the deficit ring a bell,Does the globalization of the banking industry ring a bell?When the same policies to fix deficits involved austerity are being push here you damn skippy one can say what is happening in Europe has a direct effect here.
    So Cyprus cant meet their obligations to the banks,the next step is to pressure the government to come up with the funds.And it already happen here to a certain degree,ever heard of TARP
    
    In the future don’t you ever question my liberalism and next time you use the term fascist learn what it means,you might be in for a surprise
    What do you think? 0 0
    - Laure Olson
      
      Mar. 17th, 2013 at 3:13 pm
      
      All true. I would add, not only would banks seize the assets of the citizens by reducing them to zero, but the assets of the government, the country itself. Pretty soon we will see corporate signs on the Acropolis. Here, the idea is to seize the social security and medicare funds for private corporations, and the, oopsy, we lost the money on bad investments – not.
      What do you think? 0 0
Alex

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 12:07 pm

It doesn’t matter how many emails, petitions, or phone calls we make or send to these guys. It is all their ideology they will never hear our pleas. We must vote them out of office as they come up for reelection!
What do you think? 0 0
NancyE

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 12:09 pm

So tell us something that we don’t already know. The BIG question is – will the mainstream media pick this up and parade it before the majority of Americans who don’t know what is going on?
What do you think? 0 0
- djchefron(Moderator)
  
  Mar. 17th, 2013 at 12:22 pm
  
  My guess is a big fat no.The media will not tell the truth.That is not their job,Their job is just to relay the talking points and pontficate on the virtues of austerity.How many times have you heard one of them challenge the bobbleheads that austerity does not work?Oh here is a goody, lower tax rates you get more tax income.Any sane person with 5th grade math skills would say WTF how can you lower what you take in and get more in return.
  What do you think? 0 0
  - NancyE
    
    Mar. 17th, 2013 at 4:24 pm
    
    It should be their job – I remember when the media DID their job – we watched the Vietnam war on tv every night. Huntley & Brinkley told us the news whether we wanted to hear it or not. That was before cable and ratings were only among 3 stations, and all treated the news pretty much the same. Now the “media” looks like spokesmodels who banter with each other and present infotainment and fires, crashes, break-ins and murders (what used to be called yellow journalism). And they complain that the President has canceled the White House tours – woe! Couldn’t he cut something that poor people need instead?
    What do you think? 0 0
James Bowen

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 12:23 pm

When the trust funds run out there will still be tax dollars funding the programs (Medicare Part A Hospital Insurance and Social Security) at reduced levels, 75% for Social Security and 91 % for Medicare Part A. What needs to happen is for both to receive tax revenues from unearned income. Unearned income should be taxed the same as work is taxed instead of not being taxed as is currently the case.
What do you think? 0 0
Uncle Dragon

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 12:54 pm

This article is dishonest. It asks “If there is no immediate crisis, why are Republicans so hellbent on cutting Social Security and Medicare?” but never asks why Obama also wants to cut these programs. Obama & his Fiscal Responsibility Commission were gunning for SS & Medicare long before the current fabricated budget crisis & standoff. The real question should be “Why are the White House & Congress targeting earned benefits (SS & Medicare), when these things are not part of the regular budget but in separate accounts?” Even Ronald Reagan understood this: “Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit.”(www.youtube.com/watch?v=i...) PoliticusUSA is providing cover for Obama, who has moved to the right of Reagan in so many ways.
What do you think? 0 0
- djchefron(Moderator)
  
  Mar. 17th, 2013 at 1:09 pm
  
  I didnt agree with all of the cat food commission recommendations but its kind of hard to say it would cut Social Security:
  
  “The plan would reduce cost-of-living increases for all federal programs, including Social Security. It would reduce projected Social Security benefits to most retirees in later decades, though low-income people would get higher benefits. The retirement age for full benefits would be slowly raised to 69 from 67 by 2075, with a “hardship exemption” for people who physically cannot work past 62. And higher levels of income would be subject to payroll taxes.”
  www.nytimes.com/2010/11/1...
  
  Now there are other ways to strengthen SS and Medicare but to go out and say the President was cutting these programs is disingenuous and best.
  What do you think? 0 0
  - Uncle Dragon
    
    Mar. 17th, 2013 at 2:18 pm
    
    You write “its kind of hard to say [Obama's plan] would cut Social Security” but the quote in the following paragraph says exactly that: reducing benefits and pushing back eligibility age constitute cuts. For many low-income working people, pushing back the age for eligibility will mean “work till you die.”
    
    Obama, who took record contributions from Wall Street in 2008, is acting in harmony with financial sector elites who want Americans’ retirement money reinvested in the high-risk Wall Street casino. (For the same reason, Obama appointed Wall Street operatives like Tim Geithner and Larry Summers to key White House financial positions.)
    
    There is no liberal or progressive defense for Obama’s policies on SS & Medicare, just as there’s no defense for his administration’s refusal to prosecute the “too big to fail/jail” firms that committed the fraud that triggered the 2008 economic meltdown or that engaged in drug-money laundering.
    
    See economist Dean Baker’s numerous & widely published columns on the threat to SS & Medicare, such as www.cepr.net/index.php/op...
    What do you think? 0 0
    - djchefron(Moderator)
      
      Mar. 17th, 2013 at 2:40 pm
      
      If you count raising the eligibility age to 72 by the year 2075 I guess thats a cut.I guess slowing down cola which BTW I haven’t seen till this year is a cut.I said there are better ways to achieve the goal of solvency but I also feel that throwing down the gauntlet over these proposals where there much more items for the middle class that they want to cut is bad politics.
      What do you think? 0 0
    - fedded-up
      
      Mar. 17th, 2013 at 3:08 pm
      
      When the end result is a reduction in payments to one who has earned it and is eligible for it, no matter what name it has been dubbed, its a cut. This name-changing and cat-and-mouse re-labeling has been going on for decades. At the very least, we MUST recognize it for what it is before we can even begin to understand what has been done and what is being proposed.
      
      If they are allowed to continue this crap, the only ones hurt will be US. It started a very, very long time ago with monkeying around with the CPI (Consumer Price Index) and how it is calculated. It also helps to determine the rate of COLA (Cost of living allowance), i.e., the amount a government check is increased yearly to keep up with inflation. First, it was housing (deemed ‘too volatile’), then it was gas (again ‘too volatile’), then it was FOOD!!! It would seem that there may be actually fewer things that get figured into that CPI than what is excluded now! THAT is the kind of crap that is gutting the social safety net. THAT is why everyone dependent on that check alone has a harder time every single year trying to make ends meet. They’ve been on an incredibly long and sustained austerity program for many years. The effects have been cumulative and devastating, and completely unnecessary.
      What do you think? 0 0
Annierae

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 1:18 pm

If Social Security and Medicare are gutted then the enormous lifetime pensions and benefits Senators and Congressman receive should also be gutted. I, for one, am sick and tired of my tax dollars going to pay these idiots who refuse to work a regular work week. They are the one who are on welfare and freeloaders.
What do you think? 0 0
dawgsrbtr

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 1:50 pm

Get rid of the cap on the first 110,000 dollars of taxable income and the problem is solved on Social Security and Medicare which are “earned benefits” not entitlements.
What do you think? 0 0
- Cheryl Reese
  
  Mar. 17th, 2013 at 2:23 pm
  
  I agree, they should just do away with the cap at $110,000.00. That’s just another tax reduction, that again, goes only to those poor folks earning a 6 figure income. Has anyone ever even considered that removing the cap would help fix the problem?
  What do you think? 0 0
  - charlie
    
    Mar. 17th, 2013 at 3:15 pm
    
    Why Raising Social Security’s Tax Cap Wouldn’t Eliminate Its Shortfall
    
    www.economics21.org/comme...
    What do you think? 0 0
Dave

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 1:53 pm

The sequester cuts and these cuts are Mitt Romneys agenda we already said no to. The sequester has already cost my friend his life. He was a disabled veteran.
What do you think? 0 0
vox logicae

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 4:23 pm

It is irresponsible journalism to use the word gut to describe the reforms necessary to fix a program designed when we had a life expectancy much lower than now. Journalists should keep their bias aside when they write articles.
What do you think? 0 0
- djchefron(Moderator)
  
  Mar. 17th, 2013 at 4:43 pm
  
  Actually the man who wrote the actuaries for social security back in the 30′s took the rise in life expectancy into account
  books.google.com/books?id...
  What do you think? 0 0
Bob

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 4:55 pm

The country has a cancer that it is eating away at it. It is not an immediate crisis, in that it will die if we don’t get it fixed today. But it is eating away at the financial vitality of the country, and each day we delay addressing it, it eats away more at the country and it will take that much more to correct it.

Is it an immediate threat? No. But only foolish people put off treating it because it is not going away and it is not getting better. And the longer one waits to address the problem, the more painful the cure. And even more foolish people mock those who try to avoid catastrophe.
What do you think? 0 0
- djchefron(Moderator)
  
  Mar. 17th, 2013 at 5:02 pm
  
  What do you think should be done?
  What do you think? 0 0
Kyle

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 5:56 pm

Did people here actually read what he said? It is not a crisis at this point. However we need to do something now rather than wait. Why wait until a crisis blows up in your face… Solve the future problem, before it is one. The programs are not sustainable in the current form. Fix it before a problem. Why is this so crazy?
What do you think? 0 0
- djchefron(Moderator)
  
  Mar. 17th, 2013 at 5:57 pm
  
  Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” – Groucho Marx
  What do you think? 0 0
DaleTop

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 6:54 pm

THe truth is they just don’t want to pay back all the money they borrowed (stole) from Social Security to fund wars, corporate farms, and oil companies. SO they are pretending Social Security can’t fund itself. The news media is doing a terrible job of pushing the truth, instead they are promoting these lairs.
What do you think? 0 0
charlie

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 7:34 pm

From ABC News:

“They haven’t done any of the tough stuff, any of the important stuff,” Bowles told me last month. “They haven’t reformed the tax code…they haven’t done anything to slow the rate of health care, to the rate of growth of the economy, they haven’t made Social Security sustainably solvent. There’s about $2.4 trillion more of hard work we’ve gotta do.”
Allan Simpson went further, calling the failure to control entitlement spending “madness.”
“Ten thousand [Americans] a day are turning 65,” Simpson told me. “This is madness. And life expectancy is 78.1, and in five years will be 80. Who is kidding who? This will eat a hole through America.”
What do you think? 0 0
- Shiva(Moderator)
  
  Mar. 17th, 2013 at 7:38 pm
  
  Thats a fact maam
  What do you think? 0 0
  - charlie
    
    Mar. 17th, 2013 at 7:53 pm
    
    Now stop that…it confuses me when you don’t dispute what I post. :-)
    What do you think? 0 0
    - Shiva(Moderator)
      
      Mar. 17th, 2013 at 7:57 pm
      
      If you had pointed it just at Obama I would have laughed. But lets face it, the congress passed a law and the GOP house spent tons of time taking the teeth out of it. Until we get the GOP out of office you will never ever see a bill to stop the banks or change the tax code. You will see nothing.
      
      However, you behaved your self
      What do you think? 0 0
charlie

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 8:14 pm

However, you behaved your self
__________________________________

Lol…

Maybe the GOP will surprise you.

thehill.com/blogs/blog-br...
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Gordon Hardy

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 8:56 pm

How can something you have paid into your whole working life become an entitlement? Why can’t the american people see that we are going down the toilet because we are not smart enough or too lazy to get these pickpockets out of office.They no longer serve the people only themselves. I refuse to vote for any incumbent office holder and if never vote for a party.
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matt

Mar. 17th, 2013 at 11:00 pm

If they want to gut Social Security, then give everyone back the money they put in, and call it even. The excess can pay down the deficit. Then since Social Security won’t exist, the government won’t be able to borrow from it.
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Producer James

Mar. 18th, 2013 at 3:10 pm

The question the media needs to ask the leadership and members of the
GOP is why do they hate Social Security & Medicare so much. Voters need to
know why they do and if they as a party have a better replacement for
system they hate so much. The GOP hates Affordable Care Act, yet they
have nothing better to replace with or to improve the current system.
What do you think? 0 0
Michael Hoenig

Mar. 18th, 2013 at 3:58 pm

When, PLEASE, someone, WHEN will any legitimate media outlet call the GOP out on Social Security?

SocSec is SELF-FUNDED. It adds NOT ONE PENNY to the national Debt, nor to the government’s Budget Deficit!

The Deficit has been reduced every year by President Obama; it is at its lowest since Eisenhower.

The Debt grows every year; that goes without saying. But with smaller Deficits, the Debt grows more slowly.

And anyone who pays attention to these sort of things *knows* that the Debt under President Obama had a HUGE growth spike because he put Bush’s two unfunded wars on the books, where they belong.

In fact, President Clinton left the Treasury with a Budget Surplus…we all know what Bush did with *that*!
What do you think? 0 0
DidITweetThat

Mar. 18th, 2013 at 4:37 pm

SS was originally set up to cover 90% of earned income. The current cap of $111K ± is WELL BELOW the 90% target.

Raise the CAP, slowly, quickly, whatever it takes to make SS solvent through 2050, 2075, 2090, 2100…. whatever it takes.

The sooner we do it, the more time value is added to the money in the future.
What do you think? 0 0
- Shiva(Moderator)
  
  Mar. 18th, 2013 at 5:44 pm
  
  John Mccain. Doesnt pay into SS, makes 40,000 a year on it and is many times over a millionaire.
  What do you think? 0 0