Topic: Medicaid
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If not 'sequester,' then what? Five ideas from left and right.
Few in Washington believe that "the sequester,” $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to hit the federal budget as of March 1, is a good idea. But what's the alternative? Here are five proposals, from the right, the center, and the left, to replace the sequester. Which do you like?
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Sequester 101: What happens if $85 billion in cuts hit on March 1
The sequester is a complex concept with a tortuous history. Here are the basics on the automatic spending reductions set to kick in March 1.
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Senate freshmen: What the 14 new members bring to Capitol Hill
A freshman Senate class was sworn in Jan. 3, bringing diverse skills and experience – not to mention agendas – to the legislative body. Whether the 14 newest senators help break partisan gridlock, or refuse to work across the aisle, will be the test for the 113th Congress.Twelve were elected on Nov. 6, including three Republicans, eight Democrats, and an independent. In addition, a Republican and a Democrat were appointed to vacant seats after the election. Here is a look at the 14 and what they bring to the Senate:
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How much do you know about US entitlement programs? Take our quiz.
The push to reform entitlement programs is at the heart of debates about the future of the US budget. They include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare).
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Focus
The Monitor's top 11 US stories of 2012
From storms to politics, the year was a wild ride. What are the most meaningful US stories of 2012? Here's the Monitor's list, in roughly chronological order.
All Content
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On the Economy Obama tried to help the budget supercommitte. Really.
In September, the president proposed a budget to the supercommittee that included budget cuts meant to please Republicans. Yet some say he failed to "reach across the aisle."
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Why Congress is a favorite GOP whipping boy
Next to President Obama – and each other – the foibles of Congress have provided an easy target for small-government-is-better GOP presidential candidates.
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On the Economy Mitt Romney needs to get his facts straight
Mitt Romney asserted that federal low-income programs are administered so inefficiently that “very little of the money that’s actually needed by those that really need help, those that can’t care for themselves, actually reaches them.” But administrative costs only count for between 1 and 10 percent of these programs' spending.
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Tax VOX Rick Santorum's tax plan explained
Rick Santorum's tax agenda would lower rates for individuals and corporations, substantially cut taxes on capital, and increase the personal exemption for dependent children. Like those of his GOP rivals, Rick Santorum's plan would likely add trillions to the federal deficit.
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Election 101: Where the GOP candidates stand on the economy
With more than 13 million Americans out of work and wage increases so modest they’re failing to keep up with inflation, voters have put the economy and jobs at the top of their checklist of presidential issues. The Republican candidates all share the same broad approach: Spur private-sector confidence and job creation through permanent tax cuts, reduced federal deficits, and lighter regulatory burdens on businesses. In the same vein, they generally call for efforts to boost trade, encourage domestic oil and gas production, and limit the power of organized labor. But who has the best economic plan?
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Local budgets: The crisis that didn't happen (yet)
State revenues have rebounded, and there was no municipal bond default crisis. But given the furor over public pensions and labor compensation more generally in 2011, the coming year could be one of conflict in state capitols and city halls.
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Health insurance: 2.5 million young people added to rolls
Health insurance program has shrunk the number of 19- to 25-year-olds without health insurance. But 26- to 35-year-olds have made no gains.
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Ron Paul: Medicare in Constitution
Ron Paul is known for his libertarian views, and he's drawing lots of people in this week's swing through New Hampshire.
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Election 101: Where the GOP candidates stand on immigration, abortion and other social issues
Social policies are a defining issue in this, or any, Republican race. With the GOP electorate increasingly focused on social issues in recent decades, their leaders' views have shifted in kind. At stake: the support of the powerful evangelical conservatives, so-called values voters for whom social issues like abortion are deciding factors. While they have their differences, all the main candidates espouse conservative social values. Take a look at where each of them stands.
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Two options for fixing the nation's budget mess
With congressional deficit reduction efforts largely collapsed, the question remains: What are we going to do about the nation’s long-term budget crisis?
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Health insurance for poor? Maine eyes cutting it.
Health insurance program costs Maine $40 million in the past two years, says governor, who's expected to unveil plan that cuts the health insurance initiative.
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What kind of society do Republicans want? It looks like social Darwinism.
They’re not conservatives. They’re regressives. And the America they seek is the one we had in the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century.
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Absent a super committee, now who'll lean on Congress to cut US deficit?
Global markets or deadlines for extending tax breaks may yet force Congress to try again for a 'grand bargain' to shrink the US deficit. But big action before the 2012 election is unlikely.
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Bush tax cuts debate helped to doom super committee effort
Bush tax cuts: A tussle between Republicans and Democrats over the future of the Bush tax cuts played a large role in scuttling the congressional super committee's attempt to reach an agreement on reducing the budget deficit.
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Five reasons why the congressional supercommittee failed
Congress’ goal when it created this panel was not to resolve a fiscal mess. It was merely to buy time so it could avoid painfully tough choices.
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Three days left: why debt super committee is poised to throw in the towel
By law, the deficit-reducing super committee must deliver a plan to Congress by Wednesday. But the prospects for success are fading to black.
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Debt deal prospects sour amid partisan wrangling
Fanning out to the sets of the Sunday morning talk shows, Democrats and Republicans on the deficit-cutting "super committee" blamed each other for a deepening impasse that has all but doomed chances for an accord.
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As the debt crisis drags on, more questions
The financial moves that governments are making aren't enough to solve debt problems, at home or abroad
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Seven days left: Is super committee ball now in Democrats' court?
Following a GOP proposal on the deficit-cutting 'super committee' to raise tax revenues, Republicans say it's the Democrats' turn to show they're serious by making cuts in entitlement spending.
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More Americans than not want health care law repealed
A slight majority of US citizens in a recent poll want to see health care reform signed into law last year overturned.
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Piece by piece, will Obama's health-care reform law be dismantled?
The administration itself has abandoned a long-term health-care provision for seniors, and the Supreme Court will decide soon whether to take up the law. Critics see beginning of the end for Obama's health-care reforms.
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Medicaid: NY auditors stumble on $60 million in savings
Medicaid auditors in New York discover Medicaid was often being billed incorrectly.
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Bipartisan plea for $4 trillion in deficit cuts: why it could work
A bipartisan group of 100 House members will call for the deficit 'super committee' to make massive deficit cuts – even if it means entitlement or tax reform. The strong backing could be key.
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5 best books by 2012 presidential hopefuls
“You’re not a real candidate, Pinocchio, if you haven’t written your own book,” Mark Halperin, political director of ABC News, once said. Indeed, these days the one – perhaps only – condition all serious presidential candidates seem to satisfy is publishing their own book, whether it’s a rags-to-riches memoir, a political manifesto, or a motivational manual. While plenty of political lit is ghost-written pabulum, some titles pop with personality, authenticity, or just plain good writing. Here’s our pick of the five best books by 2012 presidential hopefuls.
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Deficit-cutting 'super committee': Can it come up with a plan in time?
Congress's super committee may have just days to act in order to meet its deadline and prevent $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts to defense and nondefense spending. So far, no plan has emerged.
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