08-10-2011, 06:14 PM
rankandfile wrote:
[quote=Grace62]
So if all of the Republican picks are no tax increase die-hards (in defiance of what a majority of Americans say they want) , and these Dems want to hold the fort on entitlement cuts, this committee could go down in flames like Congress did - which triggers that "automatic gutting of social programs" thing in this hideous bill that Congress just passed.
If the committee stalemates, then the automatic triggers require that 50% of the cuts come from defense. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid are all exempt from the "automatic cuts". Medicare would be subject to a 2% cut limit per year.
Cuts would be effective starting in Jan,, 2013, immediately after the Bush tax cuts expire.
That's good. Thanks for clarifying that R&F. But the cuts will go to state-level social programs not exempted in the trigger, mostly anti-poverty programs that support the poorest states and which receive about a third of their funds from the federal gov't.