Page 5 - Entitlement Side News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> well, bill you know that and i know that in part because we watch fox news, and fox news reports it that way which is the straight forward way to report it. you can find that out from the other media, but you have to read it carefully because it's not apparent. all the conversation, all the discussion, all the news that's made in this whole discussion since the end of the election has been about what? it's been about tax rates on the rich. >> bill: right. >> that's been the whole story. the fact that the president hasn't come forward with anything meaningful on the spending side, especially...

Eligibility and the right is freaking out about the tax rates. so they have to decide. the administration is clear that the tax rates have to go up. obama has given in on this before and so there's pressure on him. there's a lot of pressure on house democrats so i think if they can come to some sort of agreement on the rate and if republicans are willing to push the other stuff to next year, that's a deal. i mean -- >> but i think what argues against a big deal that includes any sort of cuts for instance up front on the entitlement side is republicans, if tax -- tax rates are going up either w...

Republican senator lindsey graham, good to have you in studio. >> great to be here. martha: got out of the craziness of washington for couple days. >> my export expires. martha: you'll need one. talk negotiating tactics. does it make sense at this point in the game, what does it do to undercut john boehner's leverage when folks go out there and say we're willing to go book to 39.6%, as bob corker said over the weekend? is it helpful? >> i think it is hopeful for the republicans on the revenue side we're willing to move. i believe in capping deductions. bowles-simpson is bipartisan proposal. "g...

Eligibility and the right is freaking out about the tax rates. so they have to decide. the administration is clear that the tax rates have to go up. obama has given in on this before and so there's pressure on him. there's a lot of pressure on house democrats so i think if they can come to some sort of agreement on the rate and if republicans are willing to push the other stuff to next year, that's a deal. i mean -- >> but i think what argues against a big deal that includes any sort of cuts for instance up front on the entitlement side is republicans, if tax -- tax rates are going up either w...

Reform. we've heard some details about what they might be considering, you know, means testing, changing the means testing, raising the age of eligibility. what are you hearing with regards to sbimgentitlement ref that they would like to see versus the entitlement reforms that the president and democrats are likely to offer? >> i think all of this is more nuanced than we know right now. john boehner has to let rates go up. i think that's right. whether or not it's to 37 or whether or not we raise the threshold from 250 to something like $500,000 at the point we call people rich, that's a possi...