So Obama has supposedly offered to put SS and medicare on the negotiating table, whats your opinion?

The heated talks are on between Democrats and Republicans to come up with some kind of deal to raise the debt ceiling. The Republicans basically say they won’t do it without incredible cuts in the budget (to the tune of 4 trillion dollars), and the Dems are adamant that various tax fixes (including closing loop holes, subsidies to oil companies ending, and raising taxes on the richest couple %) must be included.

Until now though no one has mentioned the 400 pound gorilla in the room and his 1000 pound elephant friend… Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. Even making draconian cuts to the budget and raising taxes on everyone in the country, it would still be very difficult to get the math to crunch out to even a significantly smaller deficit, let alone taking away from the debt.

The only way we can realistically do it (at least in my opinion and many others) is to reform medicare/medicaid, and social security. But no politician is really up for putting it on the table cuz it’s usually political suicide (the last person to suggest changing either was the Republican who suggested going to a waiver program for medicare, which eventually was derided by other Republicans who helped write the plan).

The President hasn’t even made an official announcement (it’s rumored through the back channels that he’s put it on the table in private), let alone explained how the programs would be reformed or how their budgets would be cut, but gut reaction what do you think of this?

I think it could be either really good, or really bad…. the President is treading a thin rope, and if he trips it will guaranteed cost him the next election (not to mention Democrats as a whole).... But if he makes it to the end…... and somehow makes a balanced budget out of this huge mess that everyone is at least satisfied with….. he may go down as one of the best presidents in the last 100 years, or maybe even our history.

What say you?