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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the insurance industry is fleecing us like country bumpkins at a P.T. Barnum side show. That's what Cantor and his ilk are protecting.
Eric Cantor is a treacherous, malicious, pernicious, evil man and he needs to be voted out in 2014. This one, more than any other, needs to be neutered.
He is a malignant force in the GOP House.
I totally agree with India LeCarre. This Eric Cantor is inthis game for his own ego, not to help America. He should be imprisoned for Treason!!!!!
Like Bachmann's race, Cantor outspend Col. Powell by more than 12 to 1. I've sent a note and hope that more people will encourage Powell to run again. It's difficult to unseat an incumbent the first time around and Powell did a great job in spite of the money and the district being so red. Powell is the man for the job......he actually will work. Cantor is once again proving his uselessness dragging the ACA into the conversation......serious?? It's a done deal.....drop it already! The redundancy of bills and talking points is insane coming from Congress. What were voters thinking to let these yahoos stay in office? It's not only his district that is affected by his do-nothing, irrational behavior. The Country needs to support Powell in 2014 !!!!
WTF? six got banned !! We've got a batch of vicious old and "newbie" trolls and six gets the axe?!?! Spamming??? And the "sacred cow", the king of spam, is still allowed to hang around? Scottie....Sullyman....Steve Johnson just to name a few of the meanest and most useless posters to be on MSNBC blogs. This is just unbelievable. six??!
Hi Kathe,
Actually, Sixpick had gone way over the top. I always was able to talk with him until this past year and then even I had to put him on ignore. You may have missed some of his more outrageous accusations against the president. It had really gotten bad.
Hi gals..Six was a wee bit too much, can I say that?
Kathe before we pick the next bunch we gotta weed out the fence sitters. Seems the more radical they are the better the money likes them..Maybe Rove will be banned from the republican party, if they only had the balls. Better luck next time Col.
To India Le Carre:
I totally agree with you and furthermore think Eric Cantor should be imprisoned for Treason.
He is not only not doing his job he is obstructing our recovery. He took an Oath of Office which he is now violating.
Lisette
You should read the book, Do Not Ask What Good We Do.
It's nearly unbearable how bad some of these people are, how Machiavellian; how downright evil. Cantor may be the worst.
If Cantor and friends want to get serious, let's get serious. President Eisenhower warned us about the military industrial complex in his farewell speech. He was talking about businesses that profit from weapon manufacturing and supplying the military with goods that have been fleecing the taxpayer for *years*. Now we've added contractors that do jobs that our soldiers did like construction and feeding our military. They charge exorbitant prices for shoddy construction and crappy food. We can't afford these rip off artists who exist only for profit without quality results for what they get paid. We need to do what Ike said and protect ourselves from these war profiteers.
Some call it a strong military! Strong smelling!
The Grand Ol' Opry Party runs the country like it's a homeowner's association. Good luck with that one.
Mr. Cantor, Social Security is not an "Unfunded Liability!" It has consistently had a SURPLUS in revenue since St. Reagan "fixed" the problem by increasing the payroll tax rate, and it will CONTINUE having a surplus EVERY year until 2033 when it will start having less revenue than expenditures.
Ronald, You are absolutely correct. Also, Medicaid and Medicare are highly efficient programs and should not be changed, apart from Big Pharma's overpricing of pharmaceuticals. Almost 100% of the abuse in these programs is from the provider end. Obama has addressed some of this, especially in Medicaid and Medicare.
Indeed your both right. I would think long before that Obamacare will have health cost down. Walker Cantor both would make more money if Obamacare was repealed. Greedy bastards.
The Ed blog is a waste of my time and internet usage. Get rid of it Ed or you have gotten rid of me.You talk about the greedy filling their pockets I would expect this kind of BS from a Conservative site. Maybe its time for you to hang it up. You can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?
Every time that schmuck opens his trap I wanna punch him right in his big ugly schnoz!
Stop threatening Ed...xxx
Did six get banned? WOW! What's he gonna do with all that free time?
yes...he got banned....no warning, no second chance and for something bogus. As far as his time....I don't know....I guess he could come back like Md-Slide.....
you must have missed the BS SIX was spamming all over the board last night , if he was not banned , I would have given MSNBC an ear full
Patango,
I think you need to take a look at a lot of the posts on the vine. There are many well respected people who do exactly what Six did and never get any complaints. Honestly, I always thought spamming was repeating over and over the same post. However, I did find a definition that shows it is posting a link or the writings of a link without commenting on it yourself....
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/blog-spam
I have seen more bloggers do that more times than I care to count.....I guess what really bother me about it was ...Six was not given a warning by the mods. I see people constantly making personal attacks and they get a one day suspension. I have even seen people get warned several times about comment spamming (the same thing Six was Banned for). So why was Six not given the same level of punishment? I also believe that Six as well as many others do not understand all of the definitions of Spamming and that is why there needs to be a small punishment for this to educate people on what the mods are looking for. Six is a really good person and posted a message of hope and uplift and was banned for it. I hope everyone involved is happy with themselves.
With the Powerball being over 400 million dollars Sheldon Adelson is buying as many tickets as he can! Hoping to recoup the massive losses he wasted on Romney! He's just doesn't know how to place a bet! A new twist on an old adage...A old fool and his money are soon parted...
Check out this band Delta Rae! They are up and coming!
http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2012-11-20/watch-delta-rae-cover-fleetwood-macs-the-chain-you-oughta-know-live/
Later..
I say let's go over the cliff, cut bloated defense spending and raise taxes on the rich. Then we'll see if the Republican
s want to go on record opposing tax cuts for the middle class. I'd rather risk paying more taxes than allow these bastards to further gut core social programs. In reality there is no cliff. There's nothing irreversible about these cuts. Let's call the Republicans bluff.