Pew Poll: Majority Don't Want Entitlement Cuts To Reduce Deficit | TPMDC

The problem in Washington, D.C. where the Very Serious People live is the average net worth of the elected officials, who have little idea of how close to the edge most people are. And, most importantly, don't understand that after retirement (voluntary or involuntary) Social Security/ Medicare/Medicaid are the only security most people have. Of course Serious People like David Brooks, are ready to "get tough on entitlements". - GWC

Poll: Majority Don't Want Entitlement Cuts To Reduce Deficit | TPMDC: "Despite all the talk about cutting the deficit, neither party has wanted to be the first one to put entitlements on the chopping block. A Pew poll released Thursday explains why, as it shows that a robust majority of Americans don't want the government to rollback benefits for entitlement programs, even if those cuts are made to reduce the deficit.


Six in ten Americans said it was more important to leave Social Security and Medicare benefits untouched than to make cuts as a way to reduce the deficit, roughly twice as many as the 32% who said the opposite.Further, 61% said Medicare recipients already pay enough of their health costs, while 31% said beneficiaries should pay more money into the program"

Republicans reward business with lawsuit limitations

“I remember the days when the attorneys didn’t advertise,” says Larry Mocha, an Oklahoma businessman who has been lobbying for state and federal lawsuit limitations for 20 years. “Now you’ve got them on TV advertising that they’ll file a lawsuit for nothing.”

from Stateline - the Pew Center for the States

Republicans reward business with lawsuit limitations:

"For the last two decades, Larry Mocha has had a simple request for lawmakers in his home state of Oklahoma: make it harder for people to file lawsuits against businesses.
Mocha, the 65-year-old owner of APSCO, Inc., a small, Tulsa-based company that makes truck parts, has a personal reason for his pursuit. In the late 1980s, he faced a pair of lawsuits from people claiming that faulty parts made by Mocha’s firm had led to personal injuries. Mocha strongly denied the accusations, but he never had a chance to prove himself in court because his insurance company — fearful of a big payout if a jury sided with the plaintiffs — forced him to settle, costing the insurer $600,000. Later, the insurance company dropped him altogether, even though he insists he never did anything wrong in the first place"