MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Republicans’s budget chaos that will gut medicaid and take away other essential services from Americans while giving trillions in tax cuts to billionaires and Meiselas interviews Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi. Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What impact does the Republican budget have on Medicaid and tax cuts?
So this budget that's providing massive tax cuts for the billionaires, cutting $880 billion in Medicaid, it's unclear what's going to happen. The MAGA Republicans, some of them are very outspoken even against this. You've got Republican Congressmember Thomas Massey.
moments ago saying that this is going to increase the deficit by at least $328 billion just this year if you take the best case scenario that's part of the Republican talking points. This is what Republican Congressmember Massey just said moments ago on C-SPAN. Play it.
Are you still a no?
Chapter 2: Why is Congressman Massey opposed to the Republican budget plan?
Is there anything?
They convinced me in there. I'm a no. Look, their own numbers, if the Republican plan passes under the rosiest assumptions, which aren't even true, we're going to add $328 billion to the deficit this year. We're going to add $295 billion to the deficit the year after that, and $242 billion to the deficit after that, under the rosiest assumptions. Why would I vote for that?
So are you solidly a no?
Yeah, they convinced me. I was at lean no until this meeting. Not a no. This is a no. Why? They're talking points. Look, these are not something I made up. This is the leadership's talking points. It adds $328 billion to the deficit. It adds $295 billion to the deficit the year after that. Yeah.
If the only way they get to this magic thing where it's not gonna kill our country is five years from now, they imagine that 2.5% growth accumulates. And that even right here, they say they're gonna cap discretionary spending. You think we're gonna cap discretionary spending and then spend at the rate of inflation after that? That has never happened. So their assumptions are wrong.
But even if you take their assumptions at face value, they told us in there they're going to increase the deficit in 2025 by $328 billion.
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Chapter 3: What are Congressman Suozzi's views on the budget and deficit?
Let's bring in Democratic Congress member Tom Suozzi. Congressman, what do you make of that?
It's going to be way more than that, even. It's going to be way more than $328 billion. You know, he's talking about the rosy assumptions. What they're doing is completely irresponsible, is they are trying to reenact these tax breaks that they gave to the wealthiest people in the country and the corporations again, and they're not paying for it.
And at the same time, they're trying to talk about the deficit and cutting some of the most important programs in the history of our country. So it doesn't make sense. The numbers don't add up. It's completely irresponsible.
So Congress member Swazi, you're from New York's third congressional district. That's actually the area where I grew up in. That's in your district. I know that area very well.
We're very proud of our favorite son and the fact that you have broken the record for the most downloads of anybody.
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Chapter 4: How does Tom Suozzi view data privacy and security under corporate control?
sounds good my my mom will love to uh would love to hear that i think she's still living in the district as well so my question for you though is uh people on long island people in your congressional district and across the country do they like that elon musk and these 19 to 25 year old doge workers who call themselves big balls are going through their tax records and their social security information and their medical records what do
you hearing from your constituents, Democrats and Republicans?
I don't think anybody in America who's paying close attention to what's going on is happy that these young guys who've never been vetted. I mean, there's a reason that we have these confirmation hearings for people to join the cabinet. There's a reason that people get security clearances and background checks because you're dealing with highly sensitive information.
And these 20-something-year-olds who are hackers, who are gamers, who are just looking, like in gaming, looking for a win, looking for something to get, who knows what they're doing with this personal information that people have? Who knows what the keystrokes that they're leaving behind are? Who's supervising what they're doing?
And it's almost, there's such a disdain that Musk seems to have for the importance of government and the importance of these records. And he almost like laughs it off. He doesn't realize how serious. If you have somebody in your family, he's got a mental illness. Somebody's got AIDS or somebody's, you know, on on SSI or your bank account.
Who wants to give out that private information to somebody who hasn't even been properly cleared? It doesn't make any sense to me. So I think that people are upset by the way this is being done so cavalierly. I'm all for going after waste, fraud, and abuse. I'm all for disrupting things, but you should have a plan at least.
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Chapter 5: What concerns does Suozzi have about government layoffs during critical times?
You don't fire people who are responsible for safeguarding the nuclear stockpile. You don't fire the people that are responsible for preventing the avian flu or measles outbreaks in the middle of an avian flu or measles outbreak pandemic. I don't wanna say pandemic, it's the wrong word. You don't wanna fire people at the IRS when you're in the middle of tax season.
I mean, they told the people, they said, we're going to give you a buyout and you can take the buyout, but you can't take it until after tax season because it's too important. We need you here during tax season. Then they went and laid people off. Why are they laying off the people at the lowest level, the probationary employees, at the lowest possible salaries?
Why not wait for the senior people to retire? Because there's a tradition every single year in the tens of thousands of people, let those people retire and don't replace those positions. I don't understand what they're doing. It's so chaotic. It's irresponsible.
Yeah, I think chaotic, irresponsible, and I think to your other point, just cruel, like just treating human beings like trash. And a lot of these people who work in these government departments are veterans, disabled veterans.
26% of the federal workforces are veterans, 26%. So in society, 5% of people who work are veterans. 26% of the federal government are veterans. We're laying these people off. What about their lives? What about their service to the country? What about the fact that we encourage them to apply for a job with the federal government? And now we're just like taking away their livelihoods?
That doesn't make any sense to me. It's like you said, it's cruel. You know, it's not only chaotic. It's not only cruel. It's unconstitutional. The way that they're doing this is unconstitutional. And some Republicans, thankfully, are starting to stand up and recognize that what's happening is unconstitutional. I think they're hearing from their constituents.
Some of them actually have a conscience and believe in the Constitution. And they realize that what's happening now is the executive branch and Musk are violating the Constitution right as we speak.
Now, Musk is what refusing to testify and or the a lot of the Republicans are blocking every single time oversight tries to issue a subpoena or the Doge subcommittee issues a subpoena. The Republicans are at leadership are blocking even the debate about whether Musk should have to show up. I mean, when I've been following a lot of these town halls and Ruby Redd,
Republican areas, the Republican constituents, they're just also saying, in addition to being pissed that Medicaid's being gutted, their services are being taken away, infrastructure projects are being dismantled. They're just saying, why not just do your job? You're a member of Congress. Oversight. Bring Musk in and ask him the questions, or what are you trying to hide from us?
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