Trump decides to go in for the kill (on his Presidency): $800 Billion Medicaid Cuts

[Skroe]

Tomorrow's Monday, and that means everybody's favorite show will start airing new episodes, but in the meantime, Donald Trump has decided that the slow and ardous process of destroying his political capital through lies, corruption, incompetence and bad judgement wasn't going quick enough.

So he's decided to straddle a third rail of politics: a major entitlement program




https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...582_story.html

President Trump’s first major budget proposal on Tuesday will include massive cuts to Medicaid and call for changes to anti-poverty programs that would give states new power to limit a range of benefits, people familiar with the planning said, despite growing unease in Congress about cutting the safety net.

For Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health care to low-income Americans, Trump’s budget plan would follow through on a bill passed by House Republicans to cut more than $800 billion over 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that this could cut off Medicaid benefits for about 10 million people over the next decade.

The White House also will call for giving states more flexibility to impose work requirements for people in different kinds of anti-poverty programs, people familiar with the budget plan said, potentially leading to a flood of changes in states led by conservative governors. Many anti-poverty programs have elements that are run by both the states and federal government, and a federal order allowing states to stiffen work requirements could have a broad impact in terms of limiting who can access anti-poverty payments — and for how long.

Numerous social-welfare programs grew after the financial crisis, leading to complaints from many Republicans that more should be done to shift people out of these programs and back into the workforce. Shortly after he was sworn in, Trump said, “We want to get our people off welfare and back to work. . . . It’s out of control.”

Trump’s decision to include the Medicaid cuts is significant because it shows he is rejecting calls from a number of Senate Republicans not to reverse the expansion of Medicaid that President Barack Obama achieved as part of the Affordable Care Act. The House has voted to cut the Medicaid funding, but Senate Republicans have signaled they are likely to start from scratch.

The proposed changes will be a central feature of Trump’s first comprehensive budget plan, which will be the most detailed look at how he aims to change government spending and taxes over his presidency. Although Trump and his aides have discussed their vision in broad brushes, this will be the first time they attempt to put specific numbers on many aspects of those plans, shedding light on which proposals they see making the biggest difference in reshaping government. Congress must approve of most changes in the plan before it is enacted into law.

Trump offered a streamlined version of the budget plan in March, but it dealt only with the 30 percent of government spending that is appropriated each year. In that budget, he sought a big increase in military and border spending combined with major cuts to housing, environmental protection, foreign aid, research and development.

But Tuesday’s budget will be more significant, because it will seek changes to entitlements — programs that are essentially on auto*pilot and don’t need annual authorization from Congress. The people describing the proposals spoke on the condition of anonymity because the budget had not been released publicly and the White House is closely guarding details.

The proposed changes include the big cuts to Medicaid. The White House also is expected to propose changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, though precise details couldn’t be learned. SNAP is the modern version of food stamps, and it swelled following the financial crisis as the Obama administration eased policies to make it easier for people to qualify for benefits. As the economy has improved, enrollment in the program hasn’t changed as much as many had forecast.

An average of 44 million people received SNAP benefits in 2016, down from a peak of 47 million in 2013. Just 28 million people received the benefits in 2008.

I'm all for cutting entitlements big time - I've been cheering that on for years. But going after Medicaid sidesteps going after the real culprit, Medicare, and does so in a reckless and cruel way. But moreover... and this is the best part, we've seen this movie before, and we know how it ends without a bipartisan political consensus.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/w...or-the-future/

Within days after the election, President Bush made it clear that he did not intend to play it safe on Social Security reform and other controversial issues. In a post-election press conference, he asserted, “I earned capital in this campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.” He was as good as his word. By mid-January of 2005, the White House had launched a huge initiative, directed by Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman, to mobilize public opinion and build public support for Social Security reform and other key presidential proposals.

The President followed up two weeks later, placing a lengthy discussion of Social Security at the heart of his 2005 State of the Union address. After citing the fiscal and demographic pressures moving the system toward eventual bankruptcy, he listed some basic principles and then reached the nub of the matter: “As we fix Social Security, we also have the responsibility to make the system a better deal for younger workers. And the best way to reach that goal is through voluntary personal retirement accounts.” This approach, the President argued, would offer younger workers a “better deal”: The rate of return would be higher than in the traditional system; the accumulation could be passed on to children and grandchildren; and “best of all, the money in this account is yours, and the government can never take it away.”

Having invested so much political capital in this issue, President Bush embarked on the first of what proved to be a long series of tours crammed with events at which he pitched his plan to the people. It soon became apparent that it would be a tough sell. Within weeks, observers noticed that the more the President talked about Social Security, the more support for his plan declined. According to the Gallup organization, public disapproval of President Bush’s handling of Social Security rose by 16 points from 48 to 64 percent–between his State of the Union address and June.

By early summer the initiative was on life support, with congressional Democrats uniformly opposed and Republicans in disarray.After Hurricane Katrina inundated what remained of the President’s support, congressional leaders quietly pulled the plug. By October, even the President had to acknowledge that his effort had failed.

The failure of Social Security Privatization, coupled with the pre-surge worsening Iraq War, capped off by Katrina ("Heck of a job, Brownie") all but ended the Bush Administration within 18 months of re-election.

With that in mind, I wish President Donald J Trump good luck in his successful push to utterly screw the lower income deplorables who voted for him. While Liberals, Moderates and anti-Trump Conservatives will be spending much of the next 18 months destroying his Administration from the outside, it's heart warming to know, as we've seen the past two weeks, we got such a reliable ally on the inside.

Truly Donald, you are doing the lords work here.

[GreenJesus]

Tomorrow's Monday, and that means everybody's favorite show will start airing new episodes, but in the meantime, Donald Trump has decided that the slow and ardous process of destroying his political capital through lies, corruption, incompetence and bad judgement wasn't going quick enough.

So he's decided to straddle a third rail of politics: a major entitlement program




https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...582_story.html



I'm all for cutting entitlements big time - I've been cheering that on for years. But going after Medicaid sidesteps going after the real culprit, Medicare, and does so in a reckless and cruel way. But moreover... and this is the best part, we've seen this movie before, and we know how it ends without a bipartisan political consensus.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/w...or-the-future/




The failure of Social Security Privatization, coupled with the pre-surge worsening Iraq War, capped off by Katrina ("Heck of a job, Brownie") all but ended the Bush Administration within 18 months of re-election.

With that in mind, I wish President Donald J Trump good luck in his successful push to utterly screw the lower income deplorables who voted for him. While Liberals, Moderates and anti-Trump Conservatives will be spending much of the next 18 months destroying his Administration from the outside, it's heart warming to know, as we've seen the past two weeks, we got such a reliable ally on the inside.

Truly Donald, you are doing the lords work here.

Putting work requirements ohhh noooo... the people have to woooorkkkk to get their free money... ooo nooooooo

[Skroe]

Putting work requirements ohhh noooo... the people have to woooorkkkk to get their free money... ooo nooooooo

It's the top line amount dispersed to the States, not the work requirement at issue, but don't worry everything's fine Trumpkin. Carry on!

[NED funded]

The program certainly needed a cut, but this is the worst approach to it and it's going to cost him big time.

[PC2]

With that in mind, I wish President Donald J Trump good luck in his successful push to utterly screw the lower income deplorables who voted for him.

Are you aware that low income people skewed Hillary?

[Skroe]

And actually, that's not even the point. The point is that he's going to spend what political capital he does have left on scaling Mount Dead End. Even if he wins this, he loses. Voters do not reward cuts to entitlements.

So let's give him a harness and climbing rope!

[Deleted]

Who recommended this to him ? Trump already get's called diplomatic in the news, because he hasn't called Allah the second best sky tenant. GG.

[Wyrt]

Want to save money? Just look at any of the countries that do healthcare better than us at low prices. We're paying more for healthcare than countries with universal healthcare. How does this make any sense?

[Anevers]

Yep.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/...38364187602944

[NED funded]

Want to save money? Just look at any of the countries that do healthcare better than us at low prices. We're paying more for healthcare than countries with universal healthcare. How does this make any sense?

Expanded Medicaid is fundamentally universal healthcare. Everyone that wants to get an insurance can get one throught it.

[Templar 331]

More suffering for his voter base...

[Edge-]

Oh look, Trump going back on campaign promises and making decisions that amount to essentially killing poor people.

Yep, seems in-line with the modern Republican platform under his leadership.

Expanded Medicaid is fundamentally universal healthcare. Everyone that wants to get an insurance can get one throught it.

This is not remotely accurate in the slightest.

[Skroe]

Are you aware that low income people skewed Hillary?

I don't care. What are they going to do? Super-duper not vote for Trump? We just need a few thousand more anti-Trump low income voters in the right areas to turn against President Illegitimate. Little by little.

Let me explain what we're doing PrimaryColor. This actually goes to what the heart of the group i work for is about. Even if, against all odds Donald Trump makes it to 2020 as President, it's not going to take a heck of a lot to electorally make him not President starting in 2021. Just moving a few voters in the right places. Consider that Plan D.

This helps that. Trump-Russia may not get through to the deplorables, but you know what will? "He's going to go after Medicare and Social Security next!!!!" messaging. True or not true, again, turning Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania against Trump is not climbing Mount Everest. It's about getting people to believe voting for "four more years" is not in their interests.

Remember: if Trump runs in 2020, he's the Establishment.

[Anevers]

Expanded Medicaid is fundamentally universal healthcare. Everyone that wants to get an insurance can get one throught it.

Question though, you want to cut it...wouldn't that make it hard for anyone who wants to get insurance through Medicaid to get it? Wouldn't it be mote prudent to have price negotiation or strict price controls in place, eliminate waste, and root out fraud than doing a cut like they are doing which will cause a great many Americans harm?

[Toppy]

Putting work requirements ohhh noooo... the people have to woooorkkkk to get their free money... ooo nooooooo

I'd somewhat agree if getting completely needed disability wasnt nearly impossible in some states.

Red states are hell on earth.

[NED funded]

Oh look, Trump going back on campaign promises and making decisions that amount to essentially killing poor people.

Yep, seems in-line with the modern Republican platform under his leadership.



This is not remotely accurate in the slightest.

Explain. 1234

- - - Updated - - -

Question though, you want to cut it...wouldn't that make it hard for anyone who wants to get insurance through Medicaid to get it? Wouldn't it be mote prudent to have price negotiation or strict price controls in place, eliminate waste, and root out fraud than doing a cut like they are doing which will cause a great many Americans harm?

I'm not disagreeing with that.

[Bullettime]

Any politician who supports that plan is going to commit political suicide.

[Skroe]

Question though, you want to cut it...wouldn't that make it hard for anyone who wants to get insurance through Medicaid to get it? Wouldn't it be mote prudent to have price negotiation or strict price controls in place, eliminate waste, and root out fraud than doing a cut like they are doing which will cause a great many Americans harm?

Japan's healthcare system is the model, but America, generally completely full of shit when it comes to Healthcare, is supremely creative in coming up with Bullshit reasons why *its special* and why it has to innovate something different. It does this rather than implement the strat of our fellow hyper-capitalist country which solved it's Healthcare crisis in 4 years in the Early 1990s.

There is precisely zero innovation that has to go on With healthcare. We're not pioneers. We're in the running for 90th place.

[NED funded]

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/...602944?lang=en

Get it?

Dude is answering to this:

Expanded Medicaid is fundamentally universal healthcare. Everyone that wants to get an insurance can get one through it.

[Skroe]

Any politician who supports that plan is going to commit political suicide.

Yep. So let's cheer them on!


Go Trump go!