As fiscal talks resume, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) believes President Obama must show he's "serious" by putting the Affordable Care Act "on the table."
Cantor argued, "There is no question in my mind that [Obamacare] is the largest expansion of government programs that we've seen." He added that he specifically wants to see the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) eliminated.
My primary concern with Cantor's argument is that it's incoherent. Put aside politics, ideology, and the merits of the health care law and we're left with a simple proposition: the House Majority Leader believes the way to reduce the deficit is to increase the deficit.
It's really not complicated. The Affordable Care Act cuts the deficit by over $100 billion over the next decade, and several hundred billion dollars more in the following decade. If the goal is to reduce the deficit and improve the nation's finances, targeting the law is not an example of being "serious"; it's the opposite.
As for IPAB, this is nearly as ridiculous, and Cantor's comments reinforce the impression that the House Majority Leader simply hasn't taken the time to read up on the basics.
In the coming years, health care costs, specifically in Medicare, represent a genuine fiscal problem. As Paul Krugman explained a while back, "[W]e cannot afford a system in which Medicare in particular will pay for anything, especially when that's combined with an industry structure that gives providers a strong financial incentive to engage in excessive care."
The Obama administration's preferred solution is utilizing IPAB -- putting the difficult decisions about best practices and responsible use of tax dollars in the hands of qualified medical and health care professionals, free of the political process on Capitol Hill.
In theory, Cantor should be thrilled. Not only does the Affordable Care Act reduce the deficit, but IPAB reduces unnecessary entitlement spending and saves taxpayer money. But he's not thrilled at all -- on the contrary, he wants to eliminate the law, scrap the mechanism that saves money, and replace it with nothing.
"All I can say is that the president has got to get serious," Cantor told Fox News. And all I can say is that Cantor may not fully understand what "serious" means.
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Nope nimrod. We are not going to put programs that are actually on the road to SAVING money and insuring MORE people on the block. We are going to put subsidies on the block. We are going to raise taxes. We are going to make this country WORK...with you or without you.
I hope and pray our president stands firm against these vultures. If not, if they try these tactics, I say we need to just go over the fiscal cliff.
In fact, I see it as the only way. I always have.
Cantor is a slime bucket.He was one of the leaders of the Party of NO, according to TIME magazine. he put his own need for personal political power over the good of the country when we were going down the tubes. The fact he got reelected floors common sense.
The President would have to have a "serious" case of amnesia or a "serious" psychotic break to follow Eric Cantor's lead here....
Cantor is the one who needs to get serious! Quit the posturing Cantor.
cantor , What-a-Gomer , he is just another puppet for the corporate agenda to Over-throw the American system for their own personal gain in profit ! These Middle-men obviously are fighting like Hell to keep their fingers on the profit - Extinguish All of these middle-men - That is why They are SOOOo Against the OBAMACARE System - PERIOD !
Plain and Simple "THEY" Just want to be able to Continue to RIP-OFF The American Workers and also foreign Working People within Every Avenue that they Possibly Can , in order to Increase Their Own personal wealth ! AS IF They Do Not have Enuff-Already !? They NEED To Pay their Fair-Share to OUR Taxation System and Stop Evading and Avoiding Paying Back-into OUR Financial system , and Stop The Collapse of Our Taxation System , of which Is A Major part of the Collapse of OUR Financial System !
What the GOP house members are serious about are two things:
1. Making Obama look bad.
2. Keeping their taxes from being raised. Most members of congress are wealthy. (Thanks to the lobbyists).
That's it in a nutshell.
Overthrowing the American system for personal gain? That is the American system. There is no overthrowing that. That is our reality. Pile of sh@t in the right hand, pile of sh@t in the left. Which one smells better. Vote for that one.
We need to be reminded exactly who has what fingers in which pies and they need to be constantly monitored and exposed for their kick backs and all hidden agenda. Names, dates, and videos if possible. Schumer as well as Cantor et. al.
Memories are short and we cannot forget those long hard waits in the election lines. Apparently Repubs got the memo and wiped their a** with it.
"Next time S*** pie." AbbieHoffman Steal This Book
Why would I want my medical decisions to be made by "qualified medical and health care professionals"? Isn't that what insurance companies are for?
No insurance companies are there to make money. Nothing more. OA you need yo use a snark tag. Just a suggestion.
Cant or won't understand.
#3 Patriotic,
Never, ever , ever.
We need to get this one OUT! He's a really bad person. A cutthroat and a back stabber.
Well, yes. But I'm sure he must have some faults as well.
I think that the only back he wants to stab is John Boehner's. I think Eric wants to be Speaker of the House.
Caesar:
"Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look.
He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous."
D.C.Sessions, #3.2 LOL
As a matter of fact, he's also greedy, malicious, and treacherous. He was one of the ones in on the meeting the night Obama was elected (08) where they decided to ruin him for the next 4 years.
Everyone should read, It's Even Worse Than It Looks, or Do Not Ask What Good We Do, by Draper
Well, if you have a strong stomach, you should. It is nearly unbearable.
As per a different thread earlier this morning, "I do not think that word means what you think it means." ~ Inigo Montoya
I don't trust Obama's backbone to withstand a gentle blow from a wingnut's puppy, but I get the feeling this one gets the laugh response.
Seriously, people like Cantor, Ryan, Boehner, McConnell need to be made laughingstocks of the nation. How hard could that be? They're damned clowns.
They should have a voice activated laugh track installed in their foreheads.
There's already mumblings come out that they will probably "kick the can down the road" for about 6 months. I hope most of the Dems hold to the "let it go over the cliff" stand.
Larry 74, #5.2
My greatest fear is the one you just expressed, that they'll force Obama to allow them to kick the can down the road. If that happens I will never vote for a Democrat or a Republican again. I will never vote again.
I will move to the Isle of Man. I will spend my life in exile watching the TT races.
Vrrooomm...Vrooommm.............
Oh, come on, India,
Leave the histrionics to the regressives! You are much better than that.
Joan,#5.4
You are right. I was being a bit over the top. I don't even like motorcycle races.
I wouldn't leave my family either. I will be royally pi##ed off though. I don't believe I'll vote again.
You may be wrong on your one assumption: I am probably not better than that. Ask my husband.
Yep Ask her husband. lol
I don't think they can force Obama into anything. I don't think any short term deal will make it out of the Senate. Too many Rep and Sen have said without a "good" deal, there will be no deal.
Larry, I will sic Eddie on you. LOL Then what will you do?!
I agree that they probably will not back down. Obama seems determined as do Reid and Pelosi. Well, hope springs eternal, right!
Not Eddie, please. How bout "Jack". lol
Larry, LOL I just knew you were going to say that! Ha!
They wanted deficit reduction, we'll give them deficit reduction. Let's all ride over the fiscal curb together.
Yes, there may be a teeny tiny recession. Yes, my taxes will go up. Yes, the stock market will go down.
But the deficit will shrink quickly and defense spending even more quickly.
You got a better idea, let's hear it. But it has to be a better idea.
They didn't want deficit reduction. They wanted to cut taxes as a giveaway to their supporters, and then use the resulting deficits to "force" cuts in programs Democrats support, even though the deficits were the result of their tax cuts.
Red , Yep , They sure do like to run the American people around in circles for Their own financial gains and Screw Everyone Else - Don't They !!! Their Tactics are SOoo Obvious and Ancient , They are Still using the Very Same Play-book From the 1800's and Earlier !
@Redshift: I know the deal that is in place from 2011 is not what they wanted. But it is what will happen if they don't come to a better compromise.
I'm OK with that. And I hope President Obama is, too. But I think the country will blame Congress if nothing else is passed. Obama can say "this is not my preferred solution to the deficit, but until Congress passes a reasonable alternative, this is the law."
Obamacare should NOT be on the table, and if Eric Cantor wants to say the President is not being serious, fine. I suspect the GOP is saying these things to mollify their base.
And the Repubs will take the heat for it. As it should be.
The gop/teabaggers Do NOT Modify their base , They Merely re-arrange it using ALL of the same Old Crap with Nothing NEW and change their wordings ONLY !
6.5 Mud-Slide: i like your other avatar better.
seriously though, they haven't learned that changing the words isn't the same as changing the policies because IT WORKED. and, hey, if it worked then why change?
i hope they keep their attitude that you can win by lying. i've inoculated my children against that kind of crap and it seems that a lot of others have too.
The Republicans don't seriously expect anything like this to happen but they need to say things like this to show their base why they are still relevant and provide an immunization for the next election cycle and primary challenges by the tea party. It also has the added benefit of making the President look unreasonable by asking them to give when he won't.
This is American Fasion Politics: appearance is everything.
You nailed it. It's ridiculous. He offers a plan he knows is off the table then when it's rejected he can say the administration isn't working with the house republicans. This is the level at which this guy operates . Why was he re-elected !!!
Gerrymandering...
David, #7.2
That is exactly why! Most people don't "get" that.
Did he just fall out the sky yesterday? Has he missed the elections last month? We just voted for a mandate to uphold obamacare, social security, Medicaid and Medicare. Subsidies for big oil, and the rich are on the block, not the social safety net.
How about Cantor shows that he is serious about the entire country and not just his base by dealing with the fiscal cliff and leaving the Affordable Health Care Act alone until the courts are through messing with it? The first place to start is by discussing tax INCREASES.
The GOP wants to cut the spending, than why don't they start with the corporate welfare they are so fond of?
brighty, I belong to a group called Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog group, (A la Elizabeth Warren). Medicaid is an extremely efficient program as is Social Security. In no way do these add to the deficit. As for Medicare, the problem is not with the benefits to seniors, but the high price gauging from the drug companies. "Big Pharma" being the main offender. Obama has, over the past 4 years, added billions to Medicaid by going after these drug companies. He's been helpful.
One of the ways to lower the deficit is to raise the payroll tax limit up to 1 milllion dollars instead of the current 100,000 dollars. What a windfall! As it is, the folks making up to $100,000.00 are carrying the entire burden. (As usual).
Translation from my Repub Bizzaro to Reality-Based World machine: "Yes, we lost the election, so now do what we say, because the voters really have no idea how to vote properly, even after our best efforts at voter suppression. Just give us what we want, and no one get hurt. Remember, cutting the deficit can only be done by my party, and the lies put out by the CBO using actual numbers mean nothing when compared to my Koch Brother-funded talking points. My bubble reality trumps your objective reality".
I think we can all agree that if you want to see the living definition of a slimy politician, Cantor is the poster boy.
Does the GOTP interpret the shellacking that they took as a "sign" to dig their heels into the ground deeper? What part of YOU all need to move to the left don't these imbeciles understand? Is it just me not understanding what the word compromise means or are they just that g-- dayum thick that they presume that the President and the American people that voted him back into office need to accept it their way or NO way!
Pitchforks and torches - check!
Guillotine - blade needs sharpening, but check!
guillotine blades never need sharpening. save the effort, just add more weight.
p.s. - i know where we can get "shovels and rakes and other implements of destruction" cheap.
The question is and has always been whether these people believe their own story. I know from personal experience with a real nut case that angry, old white males in the electorate actually do believe the BS, but how can someone in Cantor's position not know that what he is pushing is pure biologically processed cattle feed.
IPAB takes the Medicare Fee Schedule out of the hands of Congress. This has really upset Cantor because he uses this to raise money from all those that benefit. The AMA and Insurance Industry pay millions of dollars to influence the Fee Schedule and The ACA takes this from them. That is why he is upset with it. "He" looses money. What a D-Bag Eric is.
IPAB is just another unworkable aspect of ACA. It really has no teeth, just another level of bureaucracy, with minimal savings projections. http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7961-02.pdf
IPAB cannot possibly or credibly be said to be unworkable. It hasn't even been set up yet. What do you mean, 'it has no teeth'? It has yet to be born, to use an uncomfortable metaphor. Taking these decisions away from politicians and putting them in the hands of experts, preferably those who have been involved in building and maintaining highly efficient local and regional healthcare systems; this is the way to go. Politicizing healthcare is the root evil of the situation we face because healthcare is by definition subject to obstruction and obfuscation for political gain. Political gain is not necessarily equivalent to the health of our country's economy, nor it's population.
Because Tom did not actually read what it stated. It stated that it is allowing the board to make the decision instead of the US Congress as is currently done which actually would mean less bureaucracy, not more.
He also forgot to mention this part. So apparently not only are they cutting government intervention and streamlining the process (according to the document Tom linked to), but they are going to do so while staying within the budget and without having the option of raising taxes.
So look at that it even has a plan to keep costs from dramatically increasing with Medicare. Again why do conservatives not like this?
And there are the savings
And there's the proof that it reduces bureaucracy.
Please people actually read your links before sharing them with everyone. It'll save you time.
Cartoon: I did read the link before I posted. I woul gladly agree it is worthwhile if someone can show me what savings proposals they can suggest. How can you put a number on something that is so ill defined? And, after all that, a mere 4billion a year? IPAB is just another ploy to appear that the govt is doing something - so far in the future that people will forget.
Why are Cantor, Ryan, Boehner and MacConnell still there? Any way of getting rid? Things might get done if they were to vanish.
Anyone?
Yes, this kind of nonsense makes me angry enough to go stand on a street corner with a sign. In the cold.
I was blown away by all the photos TRMS posted of long lines of voters on Nov. 6. (Was it really just three weeks ago??) People were so determined and engaged in this election. I think a display of support of the President's position on the Fiscal Cliff discussion might be the only way to push these bullies back on their heels. They do NOT have the mandate and do NOT dictate the agenda. Period.
In all seriousness, one of the requirements for a leadership position in Congress is that you have to be from a safe district. The administrative work soaks up the time that would normally go to "constituent services" and as a result they're more vulnerable than otherwise.
It's been quite a while since a sitting Speaker or Majority Leader lost his seat to being voted out by his constituents (Gingrich and DeLay were something else again.)
Yes they are protected but this ain't over and two outta three ain't bad.
If Cantor wants show he is "serious", let him put eliminating Congressional pensions on the table.
Dude, I just double-checked: Your side LOST on Nov 6. Let it go...
It's not that he hasn't taken the time to read up on the basics, it's that he still thinks his base is stupid and that saying things like this is likely to get him re-elected. It's seriously time for our elected officials to BE and TALK as smart as they are. I do not want my elected officials to be the kind of person I want to have a beer with. I want them to do their jobs. I have plenty of friends to drink beer with and I want NONE of them to be the leader of the free world. GET OVER the fact that they lost and move the country forward like they promised. I hope Boehner gives him the 'ole bitch slap.
madscientist74, "I hope Boehner gives him the old bitch slap".
If not, I'd be glad to fill in. LOL
If everything that the President has done over the last four years has not convinced Mr Cantor that he's serious, I think we can safely assume that Mr Cantor will never be convinced.
Eric Cantor does not wish for seriousness from the President, he wants submission. I hope that he is seriously disappointed in that wish.
SOOOOOOOOOO Sick of Republican intransigence
god damn, i was hoping cantor wouldn't get re-elected.
Hey suzette = Here-Hear !!!! What is Wrong with these people that voted this Nimrod back in ?
Cantor gets reelected because of defense contracts in his state! He does not want the fiscal cliff because of reduction in defense spending but I hope he gets it because remember what Boehner said about the cliff deal was that the GOP got 98% of what they wanted! GIVE IT TOO}}}}}}}them! Happy Holidays to us! Happy Holidays to us!
I wouldn't want to call Eric Cantor stupid because I don't think he is. But disingenuous and feckless might describe him pretty well.
He was on Morning Joe today and was similarly ridiculous. He has no ideas or plans to reduce the cost of healthcare specifically or to deal with the national debt generally but he is certain that what we need are lower taxes and fewer regulations. He is just an absurd public figure.
He is a big $$$$$ kind of guy! You know the big $$$$$ kind of people who make sure he gets elected by spending big $$$$$s on his campaign.
Expecting a serious conversation from FOX and a right wing loon? That is a serious mistake.
Having lost the war these brave reactionaries refuse to surrender! Seccessionists unite and cut off your noses to spite your face.
Obamacare is NOT on the table. Read Nancy Pelosi's lips.
Fox has convinced my Father that "ObamaCare" is just the beginning of a complete govt takeover of our health care system. Cantor's remarks only make sense in that context.
WOW
These folks refuse to look at the reality, easily falling for rhetoric and even have been convinced that facts are in the eye of the beholder.
The refusal to even seek truth is mind boggling.
At least Geraldo Rivera came out against the Benghazi hype. But they exiled him for speaking against their designed anti Obama b.s.
McCain spoke the truth the other day, he said it wasn't Susan Rice to blame, but the President.
Will they ever stop the sour grapes/political grandstanding? Obviously not.
Cantor is one of those smiling robots that have nothing to offer but "NO". He/they is/are truly annoying.