GOP Bait and Switch on Medicare

In something of a reversal, Republicans in 2009 cast themselves as the protectors of Medicare. President Obama's healthcare reform proposal foresaw savings from Medicare being used more efficiently. Republicans called these cost savings "cuts," began to grandstand on the issue, and prompted the infamous "Government hands off my Medicare!" signs that became a symbol of the Tea Party. Obama was going to slash Medicare and Republicans were out to save it.

Rick Ungar, Forbes, September 2010:

Despite the 'doom and gloom' predictions you may have heard, the proposed savings in Medicare are designed to come from two sources; (a) a crackdown on Medicare fraud, estimated to currently cost the federal government as much as $60 billion per year and (b) a reduction in what is paid to the Medicare Advantage programs offered by private insurance companies.

If you need a simpler explanation, Reuters had it. "There are no cuts to the traditional Medicare benefit," they reported. "The lion's share of spending cuts are in Medicare Advantage -- a program that uses private firms such as Humana and UnitedHealth Group to deliver Medicare benefits."

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Pickpocket Republicans

Yesterday, I wrote about an ad by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America supporting workers in Wisconsin against Governor Scott Walker's union busting. At the time, I said it was a good, compelling ad, akin to a documentary film. As of this writing, that ad has generated more that $200,000 to keep it on the air.

Those numbers come from across the nation, as many see the fight in Wisconsin as their own. Americans seem to be tired of watching Republicans grab what the middle class has, then turning around and giving it away to wealthy donors and corporations. Nationally, Republicans push for deep, wounding cuts to everything from PBS to Medicare, but leave giveaways to the wealthy untouched. For example, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives recently voted unanimously to extend tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to big oil, while telling workers that we're broke. This comes after demanding that $36 billion be added to the deficit in order to fund tax cuts for the top 2% of income earners. Every time a taxpayer turns around, he finds a Republican's hand in his pocket and some Wall Street type with their hand out.

That Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid money? That's yours. You paid for it. Likewise PBS, Planned Parenthood, a decent educational system, public highways, etc. All yours. And all being cut -- i.e., taken away from you -- so some oil cartel can keep getting corporate welfare or a handful of paper-shufflers and money resellers can hold on to their tax cut. At the very least, if these programs and institutions absolutely must be sold off, you should get the money. But this isn't the case. From you, to them. And here I thought Republicans were against the redistribution of wealth. Silly me.

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