[公告] Tonight in Denver: Obama vs Romney on retirement

aimei

When the presidential candidates face off in Denver tonight, issues affecting retirees are guaranteed to be among the night’s major subtexts, even if they’re not in the foreground.

aimei

Recent poll results have sent mixed signals about how the public views President Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney where retirement issues are concerned. A Wall Street Journal/NBC survey published today shows the president with a 48%-to-35% edge over Romney among voters in general on the question of who would be better at dealing with Medicare; on the other hand, Romney has held a steady lead among voters who’ve already reached retirement age.

aimei

Medicare Reform: Obama and other Democrats have hit Romney and veep nominee Paul Ryan fairly hard on their Medicare reform proposals, which involve giving some recipients subsidies to encourage them to buy insurance on their private market. Romney and Ryan say such moves will utilize market forces to cut costs and improve care; the president’s camp dismisses such moves as a voucher program that will cost Medicare recipients much more out of pocket. (The GOP candidates also say that benefits for current Medicare recipients won’t change.)

aimei

The Federal Deficit: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2037, mandatory government spending on health care—much of which, again, involves Medicare spending—will account for 10 percent of the U.S. economy all by itself. As the AARP’s piece points out, any plan for reducing the deficit has to take Medicare into account; any suggestion that deficit-reduction can happen without controlling Medicare spending probably merits some deep skepticism (to put it politely).

“Obamacare” and Medicare: Romney’s promise to repeal Obamacare lock stock and barrel has been one of his most enduringly popular themes on the stump. There’s a chance the candidates could revive a past argument over the magic number of $716 billion : Obama’s camp has said that number represents savings attained through reforms; the GOP says it represents cuts in benefits to seniors. Obama may also argue tonight that repealing the Affordable Care Act will mean ditching several features of the bill that benefit seniors, including measures that plug the “doughnut hole” in Medicare’s prescription drug benefits.

Social Security: Romney told the AARP he approves of raising the retirement age and applying some means-testing for benefits; Obama has largely avoiding offering specifics on the issue.

好酒

一对不合格的总统，民主也不是万能的啊。悲哀啊

aimei

回复 5# 好酒

我吃不消1st lady 的穿衣打扮呀