This recap of the Obama Speech shows just why Socialist countries are failing all over the world and why we should not follow them.
Obama to Call for Medicare Cuts, Tax Hikes in Speech
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, two years into a presidency that increased spending to prime a weak economy, is turning his attention to the nation’s crushing debt and trying to counter a Republican anti-deficit plan with a framework of his own that tackles politically sensitive health care programs while also increasing taxes.
The president on Wednesday was to deliver a speech outlining his proposal to reduce spending in Medicare and Medicaid, raise taxes on the wealthy and cut defense costs. In a pre-emptive response Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called any proposed tax increase “a nonstarter.”
The White House wouldn’t offer details of the president’s approach ahead of the speech. But an official commenting on the condition of anonymity said the plan borrows from the December recommendations of Obama’s bipartisan fiscal commission, which proposed $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.
In a preview of the speech, the White House said it aims to achieve “balanced” deficit reduction by keeping domestic spending low, reducing the defense budget, cutting excess health care spending in the nation’s biggest benefit programs, and eliminating loopholes and breaks in the tax system.
Obama’s speech will draw contrasts with a Republican plan that cuts $5 trillion in spending over the next decade and which the White House says unfairly singles out middle-class taxpayers, older adults and the poor.
Obama could face resistance from Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to changes in Social Security.
The president is wading into a potential political thicket. Liberals fear he will propose cuts in prized Democratic programs like Medicare and Medicaid, the health care programs for older adults, the disabled and the poor, and in Social Security. Moderates worry that his plan could unravel bipartisan deficit-cutting negotiations. And Republicans already are poised to reject any proposal that includes tax increases.
