We won this one---now let's win the fight for Social Security and Medicare.

[trumad]

Let's start with a bill that increases monthly payments for Social Security recipients.

The average monthly payment is $1,162. The small 1.5 percent raise would increase the typical monthly payment by about $17. Since 1975 the average COLA raise was 4.5. Not the last two years---the year before it was 1.7.

Any discussion that centers on SS should be on increasing it rather than decreasing it. I know they're trying to gussy up the decrease discussion with pretty acronyms like CPI, but that ain't gonna work with our savvy Seniors.

If Democrats fight for the folks who rely on SS, we will dominate in 2104-2016 and for years to come.

nuff said!

[djean111]

1. The Chained CPI is letting the camel's nose into the tent, and the Dems know it.

I would LOVE to see the Dems prose what you are saying, but it is never going to happen unless we get corporate money out of politics and set term limits for Congress.

[Tigress DEM]

11. CAMPAIGN FINANCE Reform IS the cornerstone of 2014 and beyond.

I think we should elect ONLY candidates who will agree to get Citizens United overturned.

I also think we should unseat any one of the 144 in the House and 18 in the Senate who voted NO on putting the government back in business in order to limit the ability of the Tea Party to continue to damage the system BEFORE 2014 by finding out if there is a RECALL law in their state for NEGLECTING their duty and going against their oath of office.

[cali]

2. right on! this is fight we have to take on.

[trumad]

3. It's one of my scratch my head, shake my head, WTF feeling I have about my Dem politicians.

If you're a football coach, you devise a game plan that will win.

It leaves me befuddled that the powers to be in my party can't see this game winning strategy.

Oh sure we have the Warren's and Grayson's who see it.... but the White House and many Dem members congress do not---or simply refuse to wade into the battle.

[Tigress DEM]

16. 27 Republicans in the Senate broke from the crazy and got us back on track.

AND there are polls and studies out there showing new divisions along the political spectrum getting stronger and they are the voices of "centrists" who believe this whole policy by fear mongering and taking control without taking responsibility are BONKERS.

I guess I'm saying that we are in a place to GAIN even MORE of the country's support by understanding that people can "see the light" even from the other side of the isle if they don't have their head up their rear.

[A Simple Game]

24. I know that you know better than this. You seem to be making the assumption

that they are playing the same game we are.

Many aren't even in the same stadium.

[madokie]

4. I think the President has found his footing

Plus, finally, they've pissed him off to the point that he looked for that footing. Now that he has found it there is no going back to the old ways for him.

I truly believe this

[LisaLynne]

9. I could see that.

I really think that for a long time, he was still struggling under the misconception that these are reasonable people. I think when he said that "this is not normal", he had realized that it is NOT normal politics. The Republicans are no longer just the opposite party to the Dems. They are not acting in good faith or in the interests of the country. Maybe Pres. Obama has seen and come to accept this.

And I think Pres. Obama is basically a good person, which is why he didn't want to really accept just how horrible these people were at first.

[LWolf]

13. I hope you are correct.

If so, Democrats might actually be able to accomplish something in the last years of his term.

[TBF]

5. Boomers paid in for years -

and of course Congress in it's infinite wisdom spent that money on warmongering.

First the "reasonable" people will try to convince us to cut it in various ways, shapes, and forms and then, second, they will try to privatize.

I'm glad you and Cali have both done threads on this. It is our next battle (along with TPP).

[grahamhgreen]

6. We've already won it, not sure even Obama knows it yet, lol

[B Calm]

7. It's a winner!!!

Social Security has nothing to do with the debt and that message needs to be pounded home!

[joshdawg]

15. Absolutely!

"Social Security has nothing to do with the debt and that message needs to be pounded home!"

Daily, hourly, time after time!

[Enthusiast]

17. Pounded?

Even just mentioning that social security has nothing to do with the debt would be an improvement.

[B Calm]

27. I agree

[Savannahmann]

8. We've already lost that battle

Our leadership withdrew the Sequestration demand, and in doing so it remains the law of the land. So in January Medicare will be cut again by another 2%. In January 2015, it will be cut by another 2%. And again in 2016, 2017, and on through to 2021. Every year two percent will be chopped from the top of it.

There is simply put, no way that the removal of this is going to go through Congress. There is no way that the President can hope to get it done. By winning the fight yesterday, we have essentially stopped our agenda until after the election of 2014. The Republicans have no choice but to stop everything else, and call that a political win. They have to in order to win re-election in their districts.

[Swede Atlanta]

14. Unfortunately I agree with you.......

I have no expectation that anything other than status quo will come out of conference.

The Republics want to make even more dramatic cuts to so-called entitlements, gut EPA, Labor, Education, Interior, etc. while preserving all the tax give aways to the big corporate donors to their campaigns.

The Democrats want to repeal the sequester, increase spending in areas to stimulate job creation, NIH, social safety-net, education, environmental protection etc. and start reigning in the trough feeding for the corporations.

Since these two positions are exact opposites, nothing will happen.

[socialist_n_TN]

32. I just hope there's no "Sequester II" lurking since.........

they probably won't be able to agree on anything.

[ebbie15644]

10. Joan Walsh, Salon

When Social Security needs “fixing,” we should lift the cap on
income subject to the payroll tax.

[Blanks]

18. In fact it should increase as income increases.

15% up to $100,000
20% up to $200,000
30% up to $300,000 etc.

And 90% after a certain point.

If we aren't going to have a reasonable top marginal tax rate - it needs to come from somewhere. The payroll tax is as good a place as any.

People mistakenly believe that it is 'their' money, but money is only in existence to barter and if its not being used to barter it needs to go back to the government.

High taxes worked to bring the deficit under control after WWII and didn't stifle economic growth. It can work again to take care of the less fortunate.

[MannyGoldstein]

20. Any politician who suggests a 90% top marginal tax rate would be eviscerated

Oh wait, who's that... Oh, hello Eisenhower's ghost, how are you?! Huh? You had a 91% top marginal tax rate? And while both houses of Congress were controlled by Republicans? And the country did great?

[Blanks]

30. The only reason we aren't there now...

Is because too few Americans are aware that we ever had a top marginal tax rate of 91%.

...and they are completely unaware that it was during the greatest economic expansion in world history.

That's what happens when we leave history teaching to right-wing talking heads.

There is also a large population who are completely unaware that there is a cap on social security.

There was only a brief period of time when congress was controlled by republicans during the Eisenhower administration. I've never heard that they made any attempt to reduce the top marginal tax rate, but they did put 'under God' in the pledge and 'in God we trust' on our money - so they were busy (at least compared to our recent republicans). They were in control around that time anyway.

[MannyGoldstein]

31. When we leave history teaching to right-wing talking heads, and...

Pusillanimous Democrats.

[kelliekat44]

12. FIRST, let's fight for JOBS!! Most of my older family is on SS and they are doing ok as long as

they get their checks on time. The folks suffering in my family are the younger generation with families trying to get work and then trying to get work that pays decent wages. Once the jobs picture improves and more people are working we will have some leverage to fight hard for SS, including increases. We need revenues from taxes from the wealthy as well as working men and women earning decent wages. Otherwise, the RW will win this argument as their low-information base follows their propaganda.

[magical thyme]

22. agree. plus the more people working, the more flowing back into the coffers.

That is the #1 thing.

Number 2 thing is increasing social security, not cutting it.

[Liberalynn]

19. This

[malthaussen]

21. Respectfully, bullshit.

We won nothing. We managed to stave off disaster for another three whole months. In January we do it again. And then in April. And then July. This has been going on since Mr Obama won the 2012 election.

Meanwhile, nothing gets done.

Guess it's time for the 41st attempt to repeal Obamacare to hit the House floor.

-- Mal

[magical thyme]

23. the tea partiers are pledging to continue using the debt ceiling to hold us hostage.

Right up to the 2014 elections. This is a good thing. Americans are too willing to forgive and forget. If they keep shitting all over us and then rubbing our noses in it, they'll be decimated in 2014.

President Obama started with a majority, and many of us (myself included) feel he wasted it. If he ends with a majority, he'll be positioned to make up for it.

[malthaussen]

25. That would be ideal, of course...

... so long as no more than, say, 48 hours passes between the last Teabagger excesses and the 2014 Congressional elections. Longer than that, and it's history.

Possibly I am too cynical.

But consider that we are celebrating the fact that our Congress has barely met (and only temporarily) what should be the minimal expectation of a government -- to keep the government functioning. This is how low we have fallen?

-- Mal

[magical thyme]

26. I'm not celebrating.

I'm relieved and I'm resting, in preparation.

[bluedeathray]

28. As the man says...

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[Scurrilous]

29. K & R