stable footing. that is a winner for the united states. i think it would improve our economy. it would improve the solvency of some of our safety net programs. i think that s the direction we really need to move. shannon: what for is you a deal breaker or deal maker? what couldn t you vote for. i can t support something that balances our budgetary problems on the backs of our most vulnerable, our seniors, that does nothing to raise revenue, that allows, you know, these special interest tax cuts that go on at the expense of people on social security or medicare. medicare and social security haven t resulted in the current deficit. they do need work in terms of their long-term solvency. we shouldn t mix the two and, you know, balance our current deficit problems on their back. i don t think that s right. i don t think it s fair. i am willing, and i think most people are outside the beltway to have a shared sacrifice where things that are sacred to me have to sacrifice, some people th
something the president said on friday when it comes to medicare and this idea of mean testing for all of medicare. we know parts of it i think with the prescription drug benefit are means tested. is it right for the president to put that on the table, and could you support that as part of the so-called grand bargain? well what we re doing right now is trying to make sure that we can address our our long term and short term deficit problems. we re trying to make sure we can solve this problem in a big way, and the president has said repeatedly that he wants a big deal on the table. what we ve got with the republicans, again, is that they are willing to end medicare as we know it, and want to slash programs at the expense of the middle class and working families, and small business owners, and protect millionaires and billionaires, and, again, democrats are willing to put all of our sacred cows on the table, really be responsible and held accountable for that
make sure that elected members of congress avoid accountability by forcing decisions instead of requiring us to stand in front of our constituents and own up to the votes we cast, which is what we re elected and paid to do. totally irresponsible. i want to ask you about something the president said on friday when it comes to medicare and this idea of mean testing for all of medicare. we know parts of it i think with the prescription drug benefit are means tested. is it right for the president to put that on the table, and could you support that as part of the so-called grand bargain? well what we re doing right now is trying to make sure that we can address our our long term and short term deficit problems. we re trying to make sure we can solve this problem in a big way, and the president has said repeatedly that he wants a big deal on the table. what we ve got with the republicans, again, is that they are willing to end medicare as we know it, and want to slash
americas. social security is not the source of our deficit problems. social security if it is part of a package, would be an issue of how do we make sure social security extends its life and is strengthened. so, strengthened means cuts, get the code language out here. any time you want to strengthen something, you are going ask consumers, who pay into the program, have to do more for the two top percent. if it is not the the source of the problem, why address it now? washington sdwided the meanies and weanies that is the two-party system. the meanies want to take social security and medicare away from grandmaand grandpa. the weanies are willing to go along with it and compromise. people need social security and
trying the exelon patch. visit exelonpatch.com to learn more. the vast majority of democrats on capitol hill would prefer not to have to do anything on entitlements. would prefer not to have to do anything on the debt and deficit problems. but i m sympathetic to their concerns. i try to explain, number one, if