Tagged: Fiscal Cliff

The nation is fast approaching the so-called fiscal cliff, and after last week’s school shooting in Connecticut and the addition of gun policy to the legislative agenda, it’s unclear whether democrats and republicans will be able to make up their minds on anything before the end of the lame duck session.

Today we’re talking about what the so-called fiscal cliff means for Medicare and Social Security. Joining us for this discussion are two experts on these topics.

Cheryl Matheis is a senior policy strategist and executive with AARP. As senior vice president for policy, she heads the effort to enlist opinion leaders in an informed dialogue to engage the American public in the future of Social Security and Medicare.

Neal Lane is the former director of the New York State Office for the Aging. He is widely recognized as an innovator for aging services.

Progressive activists are staging demonstrations and taking other actions across the country Monday to urge no cuts to social safety net programs be part of any deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.  In western Massachusetts they took the message to a district office of the state’s senior US Senator John Kerry.   WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

Advocates for the elderly across the region are raising red flags over potential cuts to Medicare and Social Security as federal leaders argue over what should be done to avoid the fiscal cliff.

AARP Vermont is concerned that last minute budget deals in Washington could have a negative impact on Vermonters.  The group has issued an analysis of how a budget deal that may include Medicare and Social Security changes would impact the state’s seniors.