Obama: Deliver Goals Now!

09 July 2011 |permalink | email article

Paul Krugman sees a political landscape in which details matter, and in regard to the deficit deal both progressives and Democrats have every right to be very concerned.

Not skipping a beat the Nobel Laureate suggests it’s getting harder to trust President Obama’s motives in the budget fight, given the way his economic rhetoric has veered to the right.

After Thursday’s meeting in the Oval Office with seven men and one woman – yes, just one woman – Obama seemed to reiterate the Herbert Hooveresque theory that deficit reduction is what we need to “grow the economy.”

Channeling Obama Krugman seems convinced that the president is turning for advice from people who believe that the deficit, not unemployment, is the top U.S. issue today and that most of the deficit reductions should come from spending cuts.

If a debt deal does emerge, and it favors conservative priorities and ideology, Krugman ponders whether Democrats in Congress should vote for it if Obama suggests it’s the best deal he could get. Sadly, it will echo Republican rhetoric and result in a forfeit of trust. Even Reagan once famously said, “trust but verify.”

Home Health Care

A new national survey out Saturday found overwhelming opposition to proposed home health care budget cuts and new beneficiary cost-sharing,

Among the key findings, conducted jointly by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Fabrizio Ward, included:

—Opposition is bipartisan, with 88% of Democrats, 70% of Republicans and 62% of Independents, rejecting the home health care costs.

—Voters also strongly oppose out-of-pocket co-pay costs for home health care patients, with 73% of voters opposing, including 81% of seniors.

The survey also found strong public support for alternatives to contain Medicare costs with more than 80% of voters supporting a number of alternative proposals.

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