Barack Obama on Budget & Economy : Feb 12, 2013
Uphold full faith & credit of US; keep government open

Joe Biden on Health Care : Oct 11, 2012
Medicare gives seniors choice, even if Rx prices negotiated

RYAN: And it would deny seniors choices.

BIDEN: All you seniors out there, have you been denied choices? Have you lost Medicare Advantage?

RYAN: Because it's working well right now.

BIDEN: Because we changed the law!

Q: Why not very slowly raise the Medicare eligibility age by two years, as Congressman Ryan suggests?

BIDEN: I was there when we did that with Social Security, in 1983. We made the system solvent to 2033. We will not, though, be part of any voucher [that says] when you're 65, go out there, shop for the best insurance you can get; you're out of Medicare. This voucher will not keep pace with health care costs, because if it did keep pace with health care costs, there would be no savings.

RYAN: A voucher is you go to your mailbox, get a check and buy something. Nobody's proposing that.

Barack Obama on Social Security : Oct 3, 2012
Tweak Social Security like Reagan did, but keep entitlements

OBAMA: I suspect that, on Social Security, we've got a somewhat similar position. Social Security is structurally sound. It's going to have to be tweaked the way it was by Ronald Reagan and Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill. But the basic structure is sound. But I want to talk about the values behind Social Security and Medicare--what's called entitlements. You know, the name itself implies some sense of dependency on the part of these folks. These are folks who've worked hard, and there are millions of people out there who are counting on this. So my approach is to say, how do we strengthen the system over the long term? And in Medicare, what we did was we said, we are going to have to bring down the costs if we're going to deal with our long-term deficits, but to do that, let's look where some of the money's going.

Paul Ryan on Health Care : Aug 11, 2012
Replace ObamaCare with patient-centered reforms

Unfortunately, the President's new open ended health care entitlement will exacerbate the current problems in health care. His plan has already forced people to lose their current coverage, increased premiums and will take away Medicare Advantage plans from millions of seniors.

Claims that the new entitlement will lower the federal deficit fly in the face of the facts. Adding tens of millions of new beneficiaries, who will be subsidized by the federal government, will drive up health care costs, and fees will force employers to reduce their workforces. We need to fix what is broken in health care without breaking what is working. That's why I voted to repeal this law. We need to replace it with patient centered reforms. I don't believe a bureaucrat should be in charge of your health care decisions--you should be in charge.

Gary Johnson on Budget & Economy : Aug 1, 2012
Lay out a process for state bankruptcies

"If Gary Johnson were president, he would immediately cut all federal spending--entitlements, defense, education, everything--by 43% to rectify our fiscal blunders. And he'd just be getting started. What is [Johnson's] philosophy? In 2 words: limited government.

"He suggests that to encourage fiscal discipline, the federal government should pass a law that lays out a process for state bankruptcies--which are impossible under current law and would be hard to square with sovereign immunity--and makes it clear that federal bailouts are off the table. 'Everybody would scream' if a state went into bankruptcy, Johnson admits, but a federal bailout would only encourage profligacy."

Gary Johnson on Homeland Security : Aug 1, 2012
Should we have 100,000 troops on the ground in Europe?

On Defense: We shouldn't have gone into Iraq and Afghanistan. But should we have 100,000 troops on the ground in Europe? Because America has been willing to be the world's policeman, other nations can afford infrastructure projects that the US cannot. That doesn't make sense. The alternative is for the US economy to slide to 3rd-world status. And the danger of a fundamental collapse is real.

Gary Johnson on Social Security : Aug 1, 2012
Raise the retirement age to 70 or 72

"Citing a story in USA Today which reported that a rash of retirements in 2009 is pushing Social Security to the brink, Johnson said the retirement age needs to be raised perhaps to 70 or 72. "This is the reality, we're broke," said Johnson. "We're broke."

That's STILL the reality.

Gary Johnson on Social Security : Aug 1, 2012
A portion of Social Security ought to be privatized

The [Social Security] retirement age needs to be raised. A portion of Social Security ought to be privatized, if not all. And there probably needs to be some means testing. It's a Ponzi scheme that's not sustainable.

Barack Obama on Health Care : Apr 24, 2012
GOP budget plan ends Medicare as we know it

Ryan sat and tried not to explode. The attack felt both gratuitous and personal to him. As he would later say, "'Autism,' 'kids with Down's syndrome,' 'maybe your grandparents' -- that's demagoguery. That's rank demagoguery, and it's beneath the office."

Paul Ryan on Health Care : Apr 24, 2012
Obama: Ryan's budget plan ends Medicare as we know it

Ryan sat and tried not to explode. The attack felt both gratuitous and personal to him. As he would later say, "'Autism,' 'kids with Down's syndrome,' 'maybe your grandparents' -- that's demagoguery. That's rank demagoguery, and it's beneath the office."

Ron Paul on Welfare & Poverty : Jan 8, 2012
Entitlements are not rights; only big guys get entitlements

PAUL: Entitlements are not rights. Rights mean you have a right to your life and you have a right to your liberty. I, in a way, don't like to use terms [like] gay rights, women's rights, minority rights, religious rights. There's only one type of right, it's your right to your liberty. It's caused divisiveness when we see people in groups because, for too long, we punished groups, so the answer then was let's relieve them by giving them affirmative action. I think both are wrong. If you think in terms of individuals and protect every single individual, no, they're not entitled. One group isn't entitled to take something from somebody else. There's a lot of good intention to help poor people. But guess who gets the entitlements in Washington? The big guys get them, the rich people. They run the entitlement system, the military industrial complex, the banking system.

Jill Stein on Social Security : Dec 21, 2011
Social Security is not in crisis; and it's not a handout

A: Social Security needs to be protected. People have put into Social Security--it is not an entitlement program in that sense. It is not a free lunch, not a government handout--it's a return on what people have put into it. It's critical to elders--their resources are being drained. Debt among elders is skyrocketing--we can hardly afford to trim back Social Security as would happen in a privatized system. We would challenge the very notion that Social Security is in crisis mode warranting messing with its foundations. It's not in crisis at all.

Q: Do you support raising the cap on Social Security deductions, above the current limit of $106,000?

A: The cap could be lifted to ensure that Social Security should be solvent m without question forever.

Mitt Romney on Corporations : Nov 22, 2011
Everything corporations earn also goes to people

Romney: "We have to make sure that the promises we make--and Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare--are promises we can keep. And there are various ways of doing that. One is, we could raise taxes on people."

Heckler: "Corporations!"

Romney: "Corporations are people, my friend. We can raise taxes on -"

Heckler: "No, they're not!"

Romney: "Of course they are. Everything corporations earn also goes to people."

Audience: [LAUGHTER]

Romney: "Where do you think it goes?"

Heckler: "It goes into their pockets!"

Romney: "Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People's pockets! Human beings, my friend. So number 1, you can raise taxes. That's not the approach that I would take."

What Romney means is that revenues earned by corporations end up in the pockets of people; corporations provide jobs that pay people money. What Romney doesn't discuss is what kinds of corporate employees benefit most from low taxes.

Mitt Romney on Health Care : Sep 12, 2011
Reform Medicare, but don't cancel prescription program

PERRY: No. But it's a $17 trillion hole that we have in our budget we've got to deal with.

Q: [to Romney] How about you?

ROMNEY: I wouldn't repeal it. I'd reform Medicare and reform Medicaid and reform Social Security to get them on a sustainable basis, not for current retirees, but for those in their 20s and 30s and early 50s.

Gary Johnson on Health Care : Aug 21, 2011
Block grant Medicare; carte blanche to the states

A: Specifically, and this is waving the magic wand, because I recognize that there are three branches of government, I would have the federal government cut Medicare and Medicaid by 43% and block grant the programs [to the states] with no strings. Instead of giving the states one dollar--and it's not really giving because there are strings attached--the federal government needs to give the states 57 cents, take away the strings and give the states carte blanche for how to give health care to the poor. I reformed Medicaid as governor of New Mexico and, in that context, even with strings attached, I believe I could have delivered health care to the poor. I believe I could have done the same thing with Medicare.

Mitt Romney on Corporations : Aug 11, 2011
Corporations are people

Romney, speaking to a crowd at the Iowa State Fair, was being pressed about raising taxes to help cover entitlement spending. When one mentioned raising corporate tax rates, Romney responded by saying corporations were no different than people. The line earned him a sustained round of applause from the crowd.

But the Democratic National Committee fired off emails almost immediately after the remarks, as part of a continuing effort to frame the GOP frontrunner as an out-of-touch elitist, writing: "This is what Mitt Romney is going to run on?"

A small band of hecklers, positioned near the stage, continually quarreled with Romney about whether wealthy Americans should pay higher taxes. "There was a time in this country when we didn't attack people based on their success," Romney said.

Gary Johnson on Budget & Economy : Jul 21, 2011
Opposed TARP, stimulus & Fannie Mae bailout

He has said that he would cut the federal budget by 43%, "Start out with the big four - Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and defense," Johnson said in New Hampshire in early 2011.

Gary Johnson on Health Care : Jul 21, 2011
Salud!: managed care for Medicaid recipients

In 2002, Johnson proposed limiting eligibility for Medicaid from 235% of the federal poverty level

Gary Johnson on Social Security : Jul 21, 2011
Reform all entitlements, including Social Security

Johnson: Medicaid and Medicare and reforming Social Security.

Bachmann: Obamacare, the largest entitlement and spending program in our country's history.

Gingrich: Also, fraud in Medicaid and Medicare are rampant. We should stop paying the crooks.

Cain: I would focus on major entitlement reform. This would focus on programs similar to Social Security.

Gary Johnson on Social Security : Jul 21, 2011
Open to personal accounts for Social Security

Governor Johnson has also said that he would be open to personal accounts for Social Security, as well as means testing the program.

Gary Johnson on Welfare & Poverty : Jul 21, 2011
Impose gross income cap on welfare recipients

• Block grant Medicare and Medicaid funds to the states, allowing them to innovate, find efficiencies and provide better service at lower cost.
• Fix Social Security by changing the escalator from being based on wage growth to inflation
• Repeal ObamaCare, as well as the failed Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Gary Johnson on Health Care : May 2, 2011
Repeal ObamaCare & failed Medicare prescription drug benefit

Government spends too much because it does too much. Unchecked deficits are the single greatest threat to our national security. Unless we take significant steps soon, our federal debt will equal the entire economic production of the United States. We should start by reassessing the role of the federal government, and always asking the question: Should the government be doing this in the first place? We must act now to enact responsible entitlement reform:
• Identify and implement common-sense cost savings to place Medicare on a path toward long-term solvency.
• Block grant Medicare and Medicaid funds to the states, allowing them to innovate, find efficiencies and provide better service at lower cost.
• Repeal ObamaCare, as well as the failed Medicare prescription drug benefit.
• Fix Social Security by changing the escalator from being based on wage growth to inflation. It's time for Social Security to reflect today's realities without breaking trust with those soon to retire.

Paul Ryan on Health Care : May 2, 2011
FactCheck: No, Medicare cost doesn't exceed national defense

• $125B on DVA and Veterans pensions
• $47B on Homeland Security
• $109B on interest on debt from past war expenditures
• $34B for defense-related expenditures under the FBI, NASA, the Energy Department, & the State Department
• National defense expenditures hence total $979B or 28% of the budget.

Gary Johnson on Social Security : May 2, 2011
Change escalator from wage-based to inflation-based

We must act now to:
1. Balance the Budget. The math is simple: Federal spending must be cut not by millions or billions, but by trillions. And it must be done today. It's time to:
   • Reassess the role of the federal government and identify responsibilities that can be met more efficiently by the private sector.
2. Enact Responsible Entitlement Reform: Most people in Washington seem to think that we can control spending and balance the budget without reforming Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. This is lunacy.
   • Fix Social Security by changing the escalator from being based on wage growth to inflation. It's time for Social Security to reflect today's realities without breaking trust with those soon to retire.
3. Audit the Federal Reserve: We have a right to understand the process by which our currency is being created and managed.
   • Get the Federal Reserve out of the business of propping up the stock market through quantitative easing.

Gary Johnson on War & Peace : May 2, 2011
Eliminate ineffective interventions in Iraq & Afghanistan

• Revise the terms of entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, which threaten to bankrupt the nation's future.
• Eliminate the costly and ineffective military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan; limit defense spending to actions that truly protect the United States.
• Stop spending on the fiscal stimulus, transportation, energy, housing, and all other special interests. The US must restrain spending across the board.

Gary Johnson on Budget & Economy : Apr 22, 2011
Balance budget by cutting entitlements AND Defense

"I think we should balance the federal budget tomorrow," Johnson said. "I'm optimistic. I think Americans are optimistic. We went to the moon, we can balance the federal budget. We can fix this. We're not addressing the problems that we face, and that starts with Medicaid, Medicare, reforming Social Security and Defense. And I mean cutting those areas

Ron Paul on Health Care : Apr 19, 2011
ObamaCare is only as socialized as Bush's & Nixon's reforms

Barack Obama on Health Care : Jan 26, 2011
Repealing healthcare reform would cost $250B

This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. The health insurance law we passed last year will slow these rising costs, which is part of the reason that nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. Still, I'm willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that Republicans suggested last year--medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits.

Sarah Palin on Government Reform : Jan 25, 2011
Cut funding for "fluffery" like the NPR and NEA

Paul Ryan on Health Care : Jan 25, 2011
Open-ended healthcare entitlement moves US toward bankruptcy

Businesses and unions from around the country are asking the Obama Administration for waivers from the mandates. Washington should not be in the business of picking winner and losers. The President mentioned the need for regulatory reform to ease the burden on American businesses. We agree--and we think his health care law would be a great place to start.

Last week, House Republicans voted for a full repeal of this law, as we pledged to do, and we will work to replace it with fiscally responsible, patient-centered reforms that actually reduce costs and expand coverage. The President's law is accelerating our country toward bankruptcy.

Paul Ryan on Social Security : Sep 14, 2010
Invest 1/3 of payroll tax in personal savings account

The problem, in a nutshell is this: Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, three giant entitlements, are out of control. Expanding costs will drive our federal government and national economy to collapse.

Marco Rubio on Social Security : Apr 7, 2010
Raise retirement age for those now under 55

Asked what he would do, Crist said that raising the age "really flies in the face of an awful lot of my fellow Floridians" and said he would root out waste and fraud instead.

Marco Rubio on Social Security : Mar 28, 2010
Hard choices for people under 40, to avoid runaway growth

RUBIO: The freeze is not enough. We can freeze the non-military discretionary spending and it's a good step forward. But ultimately, tackling the issue of the federal debt is going to require significant entitlement reforms. That means programs like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid have to be reformed if we hope to save them so that they exist for my generation. That means we are going to call upon people my age--I turn 39 in May--and people that are far from retirement to make difficult but important and necessary choices to ensure that the runaway growth in entitlement programs and federal spending does not diminish our future or bankrupt America.

Mitt Romney on Social Security : Mar 2, 2010
So-called "Trust Fund" has defrauded American people

To put it in a nutshell, the American people have been effectively defrauded out of their Social Security. In 1982, the government raised Social Security taxes with the intention of creating a surplus that could be set aside in some fashion for the baby boomers when they retired. But for the last thirty years, the surplus has been spent, not on retirement security, but on regular budget items.

Mitt Romney on Welfare & Poverty : Mar 2, 2010
Entitlements: focus on future beyond next election

Mitt Romney on Homeland Security : Feb 20, 2010
No Miranda rights for suicide bombers

Conservatism has had from its inception vigorously positive, intellectually rigorous agenda and thinking. That agenda should have, mind you, three pillars: strength in the economy, strength in our security and strength in our families.

We will strengthen our security by building missile defense, restoring our military might and standing by and strengthening our intelligence officers. Conservatives believe in providing constitutional rights to our citizens, not to enemy combatants like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Not on our watch. A conversation with a would-be suicide bomber will not begin with the words, "You have the right to remain silent."

Paul Ryan on Health Care : Jan 29, 2010
Medicare is a $38 trillion unfunded liability--add vouchers

Rep. RYAN: No.

Pres. OBAMA: No?

Rep. RYAN: People 55 and above are grandfathered in.

Pres. OBAMA: But just for future beneficiaries, the basic idea would be that at some point we hold Medicare cost per recipient constant as a way of making sure that that doesn't go way out of whack, right?

Rep. RYAN: We drew it as a blend of inflation and health inflation. Medicare is a $38 trillion unfunded liability-- it has to be reformed for younger generations because it's going bankrupt. And the premise of our idea is, why not give people the same kind of health care plan we here have in Congress?

Barack Obama on Health Care : Jan 29, 2010
Medicare is major driver of our long-term liabilities

Rep. RYAN: No.

Pres. OBAMA: No?

Rep. RYAN: People 55 and above are grandfathered in.

Pres. OBAMA: But just for future beneficiaries, the basic idea would be that at some point we hold Medicare cost per recipient constant as a way of making sure that that doesn't go way out of whack, right?

Rep. RYAN: We drew it as a blend of inflation and health inflation. Medicare is a $38 trillion unfunded liability-- it has to be reformed for younger generations because it's going bankrupt. And the premise of our idea is, why not give people the same kind of health care plan we here have in Congress?

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Jan 27, 2010
Freeze discretionary government spending for 3 years

Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don't. And if I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will.

We will continue to go through the budget, line by line, page by page, to eliminate programs that we can't afford and don't work. We've already identified $20 billion in savings for next year.

Paul Ryan on Budget & Economy : Jul 4, 2009
Road Map for America's Future: cut entitlement spending

"Currently, we are on a path of unsustainable Federal Government spending. The main problem, and greatest threat to our nation's economic future, is the looming crisis of entitlement spending. The well-intentioned social insurance strategies of the past century--particularly Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid--are headed toward financial collapse...compounding this problem is a tax code that discourages work, saving, and investment--and puts American companies at a significant disadvantage with business overseas."

Barack Obama on Social Security : Oct 7, 2008
Good health care and tax reform will save entitlements

OBAMA: If we get our tax policies right so that they’re good for the middle class, if we reverse the policies of the last eight years that got us into this fix in the first place and that Sen. McCain supported, then we are going to be in a position to deal with Social Security and deal with Medicare, because we will have a health care plan that actually works for you, reduces spending and costs over the long term, and Social Security that is stable and solvent for all Americans and not just some.

McCAIN: What we have to do with Medicare is have the smartest people in America come together, come up with recommendations, and then, like the base-closing commission idea we had, then we should have Congress vote up or down.

Barack Obama on Budget & Economy : Sep 26, 2008
Spending freeze is like a hatchet where you need a scalpel

McCAIN: How about a spending freeze on everything but Defense, Veterans Affairs and entitlement programs? We ought to seriously consider, with the exceptions of caring for our veterans, national defense and several other vital issues.

OBAMA: The problem with a spending freeze is you’re using a hatchet where you need a scalpel. There are some programs that are very important that are currently underfunded. I want to increase early childhood education. We’re currently spending $10 billion a month in Iraq when they have a $79 billion surplus. It seems to me that if we’re going to be strong at home as well as strong abroad, that we’ve got to look at bringing that war to a close.

Sarah Palin on Budget & Economy : Sep 21, 2008
Program of $1,200 to every Alaskan: spent on consumer goods

A: She is not for smaller government. Aside from putting the city of Wasilla in debt for the ice rink/sports complex, as governor, she created a new entitlement program that promised $1,200 to EVERY Alaskan to help with the high cost of heating bills. The checks just arrived a few days ago, and I went to WalMart and the store is empty: there are no flat screens, no IPods, no electronics, etc. A better investment would have been in alternative energy projects.

Q: Do you think Sarah Palin is equipped to contribute to the handling of our economic crisis?

A: Sarah has zero clue about the economy and the bank crisis and the mortgage crisis.

Ron Paul on Health Care : Apr 1, 2008
Replace Medicaid with volunteer pro-bono medical care

Mitt Romney on Social Security : Jan 30, 2008
Rein in the excessive growth in entitlement programs

Mitt Romney on Budget & Economy : Jan 24, 2008
Make sure that we rein in spending

Mitt Romney on Government Reform : Dec 12, 2007
Focus on global Jihad, immigration, tax cut, and healthcare

Barack Obama on Health Care : Oct 30, 2007
Tackle insurance companies on reimbursement system

Hillary Clinton on Health Care : Oct 30, 2007
Insurance companies cannot deny people coverage

Mitt Romney on Social Security : Oct 21, 2007
Favors private accounts; prepared to be entirely bold

Ron Paul on Government Reform : Jun 15, 2007
Conservatives support big government war policies

Hillary Clinton on Health Care : Mar 24, 2007
Require electronic medical record for all federal healthcare

After Hurricane Katrina I went down to Houston to see the people who had been evacuated, most in them from the convention center. The elderly, the frail. People who were very dependent upon health care, their records were gone. Those 15 pieces of paper were destroyed. And a lot of doctors told me their biggest problem was trying to figure out what prescriptions to give to people. The only people they could help were the people who had shopped at chain drug stores because they had electronic medical records. If we had that for all of our health records, we’d get costs down & we’d have higher quality health care.

Ron Paul on Social Security : Mar 5, 2007
Federal government won’t keep its entitlement promises

Don’t believe for a second that we can grow our way out of the problem through a prosperous economy that yields higher future tax revenues. To close the long-term entitlement gap, the US economy would have to grow by double digits every year for the next 75 years.

The answer to these critical financial realities is simple, but not easy: We must rethink the very role of government in our society. Anything less, any tinkering or “reform,” won’t cut it.

Marco Rubio on Welfare & Poverty : Nov 1, 2006
Institute tax-free zones in downtrodden inner-city areas

Fostering growth in downtrodden regions requires a bold, dramatic, and innovative approach to economic development and urban revitalization. The Legislature should institute a pilot program that creates a tax-free zone in the most economically depressed areas of our state. Florida must resolve to break down the economic obstacles that exist in many urban centers today with the same vigilance and zeal used to assail racial and gender barriers over the past forty years.

Hillary Clinton on Health Care : Oct 11, 2006
FDA should compare drug effectiveness--not just safety

Hillary opposed the bill, on the grounds it was not comprehensive enough. She supported numerous amendments that would have enlarged the program and further increased government involvement in the dispensation of prescription drugs.

One of her amendments sought to order the National Institutes of Health to conduct and compile more drug studies, as well as to advise and inform patients and doctors about which drugs work best. The amendment was specifically aimed at increasing the government’s role in medicine. Clinton defended it by noting, “While the FDA is responsible for determining safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs compared to a placebo, there is no government entity responsible for examining whether drug A is more effective at treating a particular condition than drug B.”

Barack Obama on Health Care : Oct 1, 2006
The market alone can’t solve our health-care woes

Given the money we spend on health care, we should be able to provide basic coverage to everyone. But we have to contain costs, including Medicare and Medicaid.

The market alone cannot solve the problem--in part because the market has proven incapable of creating large enough insurance pools to keep costs to individuals affordable. Overall, 20% of all patients account for 80% of the care, and if we can prevent disease or manage their effects, we can dramatically improve outcomes and save money.

With the money saved through increased preventive care and lower administrative and malpractice costs, we would provide a subsidy to low-income families and immediately mandate coverage for all uninsured children.

There is no easy fix, but the point is that if we commit to making sure everyone has decent care, there are ways to do it.

Mitt Romney on Social Security : Aug 25, 2006
Reform entitlements by negotiating behind closed doors