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Senator Dick Durbin has been a pretty good voter overall for the Left, but to see these reports start to come out is very sad and inexcusable.
Two months ago, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a member of the bipartisan "Gang of Six" deficit-reduction talks, said the group was "getting close" to striking a deal. Two weeks ago, however, the negotiations "nearly collapsed," and the whole initiative was on the verge of being scrapped.
As of yesterday, members of the gang signaled that the talks are not only back on track, but are also "very close" to a compromise. And given what participants are saying about the plan's substance, Democrats will soon wish the talks had collapsed.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a member of the Senate Gang of Six budget negotiators, said Sunday on "Face the Nation" that tackling Social Security's solvency remains on the table for the group.
The Gang of Six is attempting to put the December recommendations of the bipartisan fiscal commission into law. Social Security does not contribute to deficit spending since it draws benefits from a separate trust fund, but the fiscal commission sought to ward off a solvency crisis for Social Security after 2037 by raising the retirement age while reducing benefits. [...]
Including Social Security in the Gang of Six package appears to be a concession by Democrats made in exchange for agreement to raise some revenue by Republicans.
In addition to needlessly going after Social Security, the gang also reportedly intends to eliminate the home mortgage tax deduction. As Warner put it, "We are going to make everybody mad with our approach."
To make a deal that makes everybody mad is not something to be proud of. The Beltway media won't be "mad," because they are rooting for American workers to "share" all of the sacrifice while the rich go untouched, so they'll be celebrating it. Congress should do nothing rather than cave in to Republicans who refuse to raise revenues with any form of taxation and to cut our benefits, just to appease Republican ideological ideals; that is not "honorable."
Why Mark Warner thinks that the Holy Grail is cutting Social Security benefits -- which has nothing to do with the deficit -- is fair game season while leaving taxes where they are is beyond me.
The bipartisan "gang of six" may recommend changes to Social Security as part of its deficit-reduction plan, even though some Democrats have insisted such a proposal would be a non-starter.
"You know, part of this is just math -- 16 workers for everyone retiree 50 years ago, three workers for every retiree now," Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a member of the group, told CBS "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer on Sunday.
SCHIEFFER: So that's where you would get the additional revenues, by eliminating deductions, not necessarily by raising taxes?
WARNER: We're not talking about raising taxes.
Being a Conservative Democrat is no excuse for Warner to praise Paul Ryan's fraudulent budget and then attaching Social Security to any deal the Gang of Six come up with. Here's the transcript from Face The Nation.
Durbin should hear from the base and hear loudly so contact his office civilly, but often.
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