Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Republicans are really clever to 'hush up' about Medicare when it comes to elections.

Democrats need to remind their constituents the true priorities of the GOP and it isn't the Middle Class. This graph alone proves the wayward direction of GOP spending. They are funding their crony interests on the backs of American Seniors. What kind of priority is that? Democrats have to stress the fact these priorities are still part of the GOP platform and haven't gone away. Why give the Republicans the chance to carry out any of these pending tragedies to our Seniors and economy?

WASHINGTON 
Wed Mar 5, 2014 3:40pm EST
(Reuters) - Severe weather (click here) across much of the United States took a toll on shopping and consumer spending in recent weeks, leading to slower economic growth or outright contraction in some areas of the country, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday.
The Fed, in its anecdotal Beige Book report, said economic activity in January and February shrank slightly in two of its 12 districts, New York and Philadelphia, mostly due to "unusually severe weather."

Growth slowed in Chicago and activity was stable in Kansas City. While the other eight districts reported growth, the Fed said it was characterized as "modest to moderate" in most cases, an overall downgrade from its last report on January 15, which showed "moderate" growth in nine regions....
It might be weather related downturns, but, that doesn't mean it won't have a lasting effect on the economy. 
These priorities illustrates why there is a huge income gap between the country and the 1% and 0.1%.



What Cotton voted for (click here)

We’ve previously fact-checked the Pryor campaign on whether or not Cotton voted to turn Medicare into a "voucher system." We rated that Mostly True. Republicans typically prefer the term "premium support" to "voucher system," but the concept is the same.

Cotton voted for the budget proposal, authored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., in March 2013. The plan, which didn’t become law, called for issuing flat payments to seniors. Seniors would then have the choice to either purchase traditional Medicare coverage or private insurance.

The value of the payment would be either equal to the second-cheapest private plan available in a given area, or the cost of traditional Medicare -- whichever is cheaper.

The reform wouldn’t affect anyone currently 55 or older. Over years, though, under Ryan’s plan, the age for Medicare eligibility would’ve increased from 65 to 67.

Pryor’s campaign spokesman also pointed out that Cotton voted for an alternate House budget proposal from the Republican Study Committee. That proposal’s Medicare plan was similar to Ryan’s, but would affect all individuals under age 60, as opposed to 55. The change would’ve taken effect in 2019, five years sooner than Ryan’s....