Paul Ryan Plans to Phase Out Medicare in 2017

[Triloby]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/ryan-plans-to-phase-out-medicare-in-2017

According to an interview with Fox's Special Report, Paul Ryan has been planning for a long time to make a big push in phasing out Medicare and replacing it with private insurance. This wasn't possible before due to Obama, but now that the GOP controls the entire government, they somehow want to make this push (along with trying to repeal Obamacare) sometime early next year in 2017.

I don't know what to say about this. On one hand, I almost want this to happen. On the other hand, I actually want President-elect Trump to smack that asshole Ryan across his face.

 

[vi edit]

May as well as go ahead and give a giant fuck you to everyone else that voted them in. Coal and factory workers aren't going to see shit for their votes. May as well as pull the rug under the 60+ year old population while they are at it. The GOP party. Sticking it to women, gays, poor, unemployed and the old. Well done.

 

[K1052]

May as well as go ahead and give a giant fuck you to everyone else that voted them in. Coal and factory workers aren't going to see shit for their votes. May as well as pull the rug under the 60+ year old population while they are at it. The GOP party. Sticking it to women, gays, poor, unemployed and the old. Well done.

It's going to be ironic to watch the GOP try pulling the health/social safety nets out from under the US population and all the broke white people who voted for them suddenly realize that they weren't just talking about taking stuff away from brown people.

 

[Sonikku]

It's going to be ironic to watch the GOP try pulling the health/social safety nets out from under the US population and all the broke white people who voted for them suddenly realize that they weren't just talking about taking stuff away from brown people.

I think Paul Ryan's plan a few years ago was to keep Medicare and Social Security the same for baby boomers to avoid their ire at the polls, with the promise that they're not fucking with them so much as they're just fucking with the younger people down the road that are currently too young or not yet able to collect or benefit. By the time the shit hits the fan it will be a different administration and there will be no going back. It is always a lot easier to break things down than it is to make or pass it.

Republicans in general seem to have an over arcing plan to increase spending and welfare to the military complex, big oil, big pharm and big everything with extremely lucrative government contracts and subsidies at which point they complain government spending is too big and how we now have to make heroic "hard choices" with gutting all the social programs for the sake of solvency. It's a sinister attempt to shift government spending from the benefit of the many towards the benefit of the few.

 

[fskimospy]

Didn't GWB pretty much try exactly this with social security and fail miserably?

 

[disappoint]

Sounds like more lies from the left. Of course the ones that want to believe it will eat it right up. How's that anger, resentment and angst you direct at others working out for you so far?

 

[theeedude]

I think it will be a disaster for Republicans in 2018 and 2020, plus it is going to be a whole lot easier to pass Medicare for all if seniors are put in the same boat as everyone else.
But I don't think it will go very far, self preservation instincts will kick in among the GOP ranks.

 

[fskimospy]

I think Paul Ryan's plan a few years ago was to keep Medicare and Social Security the same for baby boomers to avoid their ire at the polls, with the promise that they're not fucking with them so much as they're just fucking with the younger people down the road that are currently too young or not yet able to collect or benefit. By the time the shit hits the fan it will be a different administration and there will be no going back. It is always a lot easier to break things down than it is to make or pass it.

Republicans in general seem to have an over arcing plan to increase spending and welfare to the military complex, big oil, big pharm and big everything with extremely lucrative government contracts and subsidies at which point they complain government spending is too big and how we now have to make heroic "hard choices" with gutting all the social programs for the sake of solvency. It's a sinister attempt to shift government spending from the benefit of the many towards the benefit of the few.

Yes, that has been the general game plan for a long time now. Pass large, debt financed tax cuts for rich people and then complain about deficits and say this requires cutting the social safety net. This is because voters really like the social safety net and so actually just arguing that it should be cut down fails every time. You have to have a crisis.

Like I said before, remember how Republicans thought the debt was such a big deal that they were willing to risk a global financial crisis to rein it in? Watch that concern magically disappear because they never actually cared about debt, it was just a useful tool with which to attack the welfare state.

 

[pauldun170]

Might as well start postin links
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-miller-medicare-idUSBRE87E15N20120815
http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2011/09/20/medicare-is-more-efficient-than-private-insurance/
http://www.accuracy.org/release/med...s-increasing-bureaucratic-bloat-merger-mania/
https://www.cato.org/blog/private-insurance-more-efficient-medicare-far

 

[ivwshane]

Good! Lets get all the Republican policies in place in one fell swoop. Then there will be no denying as to whether or not their policies work.


The chickens! They are coming home!

 

[glenn1]

Good! Lets get all the Republican policies in place in one fell swoop. Then there will be no denying as to whether or not their policies work.


The chickens! They are coming home!

And they'll roost atop the poor dying in front of hospitals. Tibetan style sky burials are a much cheaper way of dealing with them.

 

[MovingTarget]

Honestly, I'm conflicted. I truly fear what privatizing Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security will do, especially for those of us that are nowhere near retirement. However, perhaps the only way to finally be done with this GOP 'fiscal conservatism' nonsense may be for the Dems to abstain from voting in congress to let conservatives get *exactly* what they want... and see it fail. It really is tempting and I feel horrible for thinking that knowing how many it would screw over. It won't happen though, which is probably a good thing. Even the GOP (at least as we knew it) would recognize that third rail of politics.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Ryan VS Trump is going to make this a fun 100 days.

“Abolishing Medicare, I don’t think you’ll get away with that one,” Trump said. “It’s actually a program that’s worked. It’s a program that some people love, actually.”

 

[pauldun170]

I've watched my private insurance cost increase over my 25+ years in the workforce.
I watched what my parents and older coworkers went through dealing with pre ACA private health care costs, to post ACA exchanges and finally to medicare in both New York and Georgia

Instead of detailing my opinion and overall rant...I'm just going to post links for now


http://www.post-gazette.com/healthy...-become-what-it-is-today/stories/201404150167
http://www.beckershospitalreview.co...o-healthcare-reform-from-truman-to-obama.html

 

[soulcougher73]

He might as well sign his death certificate now. I mean poltically, not for real

Maybe he should just implement this in his home state as a test bed and see how they like it. You know...states rights and all.

 

[IronWing]

For immediate benefit to lowering the deficit, I would hope he would start by cutting off current recipients. We would have early data to evaluate the effectiveness of this bold plan.

 

[K1052]

He might as well sign his death certificate now. I mean poltically, not for real

Maybe he should just implement this in his home state as a test bed and see how they like it. You know...states rights and all.

No, Kansas. They enjoy trying crazy shit in Kansas.

 

[Roflmouth]

It's going to be ironic to watch the GOP try pulling the health/social safety nets out from under the US population and all the broke white people who voted for them suddenly realize that they weren't just talking about taking stuff away from brown people.

LOL, another racist liberal using the epithet "brown people" to refer to minorities. Keep it up

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

LOL, another racist liberal using the epithet "brown people" to refer to minorities.

He was using it to point out the mindset of the other tribe. It wasn't meant to be viewed as his mindset.

 

[K1052]

LOL, another racist liberal using the epithet "brown people" to refer to minorities. Keep it up

The truth of a lot of the racial motivations behind the electorate who voted for Trump must be so painful that you've got to project onto me I guess.

 

[dainthomas]

Old people vote. Anyone touches SS or medicare and it's buh-bye.

 

[soulcougher73]

No, Kansas. They enjoy trying crazy shit in Kansas.

I dont want that here lol

 

[Sonikku]

I think it will be a disaster for Republicans in 2018 and 2020, plus it is going to be a whole lot easier to pass Medicare for all if seniors are put in the same boat as everyone else.
But I don't think it will go very far, self preservation instincts will kick in among the GOP ranks.

On the contrary, this is the perfect time conceivable. They have majority power, filibuster could be dismantled and Trump is president. He will take the majority of the flack and the blame, making him a convenient scapegoat to mitigate the damage against the rank and file in the party. Costing him the White House in 2020 would basically be pure gravy as they probably don't want a non-establishment maverick holding their feet to the fire anyway. This is what you call eating your cake and having it too.

"We weren't in control, we were being manipulated by a once in a lifetime mad man president!!"

Don't get me wrong, the whole party as a whole would still take a lot of heat. But with this action more or less being their end game surely if any time was ripe to do it, now is the time.

 

[Maxima1]

How does this even make any sense? A master sergeant in tool crib gets a near $2 mil pension after 20 years only with no college and heavily subsidized health care for life. They would have to after all that otherwise, the disparity between government and private sector becomes even more ridiculous.

 

[Double Trouble]

Did you guys even read the article and Ryan's quotes? He said nothing about phasing out Medicare. If he did, you'd see a lot more credible news sources than talkingpointsmemo.com run with it. The author of the article is speculating on what Ryan and republicans might do in the future:

Ryan says current beneficiaries will be allowed to keep their Medicare. Says. But after the cord is cut between current and future beneficiaries, everything is fair game.

There is absolutely no reason not to look at all options on how to balance the budget in the future.