MAJORITY OF TEA PARTY MEMBERS HAVE COME TO THEIR SENSES

I previously wrote: The people that identify themselves with the Tea Party are an angry lot fed up with big government and high taxes. Their solution: Slash government spending and lower taxes. The Tea Party Republicans in Congress propose slashing government spending by making deep cuts in government sponsored health care for seniors (Medicare) and for the poor (Medicaid). Many, if not most Tea Party followers are seniors. They’ll sing a different tune once they discover that the proposed changes to Medicare will more than double their out-of-pocket health care costs. Those seniors will be much angrier than they are now when that happens. And do those seniors really want to see Medicaid slashed to the extent that the poor will no longer receive a minimum of adequate health care?

Apparently the seniors and at least some younger Tea Party members have come to their senses. Not so the Tea Party Republicans in Congress.

HOW EVEN TEA PARTY SUPPORTERS ARE OPPOSED TO SLASHING FUNDING FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID

Mail Online
April 21, 2011

The Tea Party - the U.S. political group that wants to slash government spending - has said it opposes cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

Up to 70 per cent of people in the party oppose slashing funding according to a new poll compared with 80 per cent of registered votes as a whole.

The news is something of a surprise for members of the group which is normally associated with cut backs.

The healthcare programmes are among America's most expensive and much of the widening deficit is as a result of the growth of Medicare and Medicaid budgets.

The survey, which was carried out by pollsters McClatchy-Marist found that the Democrats were the most supportive of keeping funding levels with 92 per cent opposing cuts.

Republicans were 73 per cent against cuts while three quarters of independents also opposed budget slashing.

The poll also found that most people (64 per cent) wanted to see an increase in income tax on those earning more than $250,000 while the same proportion thought the country was on the wrong track.

The country is fairly evenly split on reduction of military spending with people opposed to defence budgets slightly ahead at 54 per cent.

Sweeping cuts for 2012 were announced earlier this month in a federal proposal budget that would slash the deficit by $6.2 trillion over the next 10 years.

However critics say it would hit the planned national health plans, hitting the elderly and poorest hardest.

According to The New York Times, that's bad news for Republican Paul Ryan's plans to give Medicare beneficiaries vouchers to receive private treatment rather than paying hospitals when they are treated.