They really do love to cock back the trigger on the big three, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, don't they? That's what all the austerity freakout is about, trying to rip apart the safety net for all Americans to the benefit of Wall Street and private insurance companies. Speaker Boehner put drastic cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in his plan that would've been agreed to within six months.

Senator Reid's plan also creates a Super Committee that would decide on "entitlement" reform that actually are cuts. That aspect of his plan is similar to the Super Committee in Boehner's plan. Negotiations are still being undertaken on Senator Reid's plan, and midnight is the deadline for the Republicans to give their input, and so far, Reid isn't hearing any from them on his plan.

Reid said Friday that he has suggested using the Gang of Six’s work as a trigger mechanism to build bipartisan support, but not a single Republican has said it would be enough to win his or her vote for a Senate plan to raise the debt limit. “We considered that. The problem to this point is that we have not had a single Republican come forward and say they’d be willing to do something like that,” Reid said. “As I said, I’m anxious to talk to people about how we should move forward. I’ve invited the Republicans to call me, come and see me.” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said trigger mechanisms have become a focus of private negotiations. “That’s what it’s all about, whether it’s the debt ceiling or balanced-budget amendments — the question is, how do you guarantee at the end of the period the joint committee is meeting that something happens,” said Durbin. “The only way to do it and be sure that it works is to make sure there is adequate pain on both sides of the aisle.”

The ones firing the gun at the big three: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid won't be the ones to feel the pain. We regular Americans would. Your grandmother would feel the pain of losing $1,300 a year in her Social Security benefits, you wouldn't be able to enroll into Medicare before the age of 67 by the time 2030 rolls around, and you would be at the mercy of private insurance companies. Veterans, who have given their time, blood, and limbs in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars overseas, would also be hurt by the change in benefits, as you can see here: