Comments on: Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Budget: Don’t Use It As A ‘Cheap Political Trick’

By: ncal

ncal — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:42:58 +0000

Obamacare was designed to decrease annual gov’t healthcare costs from 16% to 10% of GDP ($14.16T), like all other countries. That’s an anticipated decrease of $847B per year. (Fortunately, he put the healthcare cost cutting strategy — IT — in the stimulus plan so it can’t be defunded by Congress).
Using Obama’s 2011 proposed budget numbers ($3.69T in spending vs $2.174T in revenue), $847B seems to cut the annual deficit in half.
I would argue that he has already made a significant contribution to solving the deficit problem. True, the savings don’t start immediately. But the sooner the better. 25% of the population (born 1946-1948) are eligible for Medicare before 2014, when Obamacare kicks in for the rest of the population.

By: Jan Woods

Jan Woods — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:32:19 +0000

Republicans are squeezing the life out of the average and poor American…why is that people don’t know how to vote in their own best interests? Why doesn’t anyone get it? Who could think that we will save money this way? How many jails will we have to build? Preschools not prisons…support for green energy…support for education…infrastructure projects are the only answer and the best investment
we can make in our future…Duh?

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:00:48 +0000

If you want to be a true reporter why would you have Bloomberg on for a story on guns in the South? Bloomberg is a bag of wind and you are slanting the news—

By: Lydia

Lydia — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:33:28 +0000

Sandra Gaub, I agree with your comment 100%:
‘First to honestly address the budget, Social Security (fully not an entitlement) and medicare and medicaid (only partially an entitlement)needs to come totally out of the budget. They are self-paid and deserve their own account (they were owed 2.4 trillon in 2008 by the federal government). Pay those accounts off, then let the politians address the true budget and see what they can do.’

By: Sandra Gaub

Sandra Gaub — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:42:32 +0000

First to honestly address the budget, Social Security (fully not an entitlement) and medicare and medicaid (only partially an entitlement)needs to come totally out of the budget. They are self-paid and deserve their own account (they were owed 2.4 trillon in 2008 by the federal government). Pay those accounts off, then let the politians address the true budget and see what they can do. Good Luck

By: parma hts gary

parma hts gary — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:15:37 +0000

It is one thing freezing wages, but when everything else is going up, it is more like taking a pay cut. Another issue is a lot of the companies out there are cutting their workforces, either with increased technology, or outsourcing to lower paid people in other countries. How many prices go down?? Some of the auto makers have slahed jobs, paychecks, benefits, but the car prices go up. You can go into a hospital, have a gall bladder removed, go home the same day, and it costs more than it did in the old days with a week lon hospital stay. You can go to college online, and pay more than you are paying for a house. The expenses go down while the prices stay the same, or go up, unemployment, and underemployment are on the rise, BUT, we now have more millionaires than at any time in history, so I guess as McCain said once: Things aren’t that bad.

By: CND FOX

CND FOX — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:56:39 +0000

LoyalOpposition”…don’t know if you will “get” this or not…but here goes. The very last thing that I want right now is some “black and white thinking clown(S) saying that they will cut the spending by some “gray area” number of $100 billion without explaining the number of middle class job losses that will occur with it. Because I am smart enough to understand that right now we have as much of a “revenue producing” problem as we do “spending problem”. More lost jobs in an economy of 20% unand under employed will not BALANCE the budget. Anyone with a high school education or college education should know and understand that. The main problem? Too many dumbed down in the base that are the “loudest and most fanatic”. Actually…a “bell wearther” of a nation in decline.

By: cesf

cesf — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:41:03 +0000

Yes, let’s “cut the deficit” on the backs of our most vulnerable and poor. Freezing to death because subsidizing heating bills for the poor have been cut from the budget and letting people die because they don’t have insurance should trump slightly raising taxes for our wealthiest Americans. How about cutting a bloated defense budget in half? Not doable, in the eyes of the Republican party. What is this Country coming to when we take from the most vulnerable in our society while propagating war and death around the world? Shouldn’t we be the change we wish to see in this world? SHAME!

By: secondlook

secondlook — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:42:03 +0000

Bloomberg is so wrong on this one. The right does nothing but attack and slander. It’s about time Obama dished the games back.

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:49:38 +0000

So what’s a President to do when he’s been backed into a corner by the opposing party AND from within his own party? If he cuts Medicare and Medicaid by the Billions that need to be cut, his own party throws a hissy fit. If he cuts the Billions out of the DoD budget that need to be cut, the Republicans start screaming about national defense and jobs. Oh, that’s right, So-Be-It-Boehner doesn’t care about losing jobs at the moment. Just as long as the military engine plant in his home district doesn’t get closed by budget cuts. What a joke. They’ll never agree to anything substantial and we’ll all suffer for it. Bunch of babies in Washington that can’t play nice together.