If you thought the federal budget proposed last year by Rep. Paul Ryan's House budget committee was extremely duplicitous and cruel, wait until you see his committee's plan for the 2013.
It promises to cut taxes more for the super rich and to close unspecified loopholes on corporate taxes. At the same time, it would whack Medicare recipients' guarantees for health care and slash spending on Medicaid, which provides health care to very poor, by fully 45 percent. That would leave approximately 19 million people without care, while adding roughly 33 million more to the ranks of the uninsured by rolling back health care reforms.
In fact, around half of the $5 trillion in cuts Ryan proposes for the next 10 years would come from an array of health care services, including federal support for public clinics and school health programs. Future Medicare recipients would be offered premium subsidies, but not the guaranteed coverage provided currently. Other cuts would come in public infrastructure investments -- including a reduction of $40 to $50 billion in the next year budget alone.
Rep. Ryan tries to sound like he is talking a good game and pursuing fairness, but in reality, it's more of the same old GOP policy of helping the rich and their corporations, while kneecapping vital social support systems and public infrastructure. That would mainly hurt the broad middle class, transportation, public works and housing, the poor and the uninsured who are now excluded by unaffordable policies for their current health conditions.
His budget proposal also tramples the 2011 bipartisan agreement by Congress and the White House to trim $55 billion annually, and equally, from current military and domestic programs over the next decade. His proposal actually would increase military spending, while deepening cuts in a broad range of domestic programs.
This isn't acceptable, and it surely will not pass the Senate. It is noteworthy nonetheless for the grim vision it paints for the vast majority of Americans.
Guess when it balances the federal budget? 2040.
Guess how much of a debt increase it'll have...up to 22 trillion dollars.
Ouch.
The Democrats had control of the House, Senate and White House the first two years of this foolish presidents term. No Budget was passed nor was one proposed until the Republicans took control of the House because of the Democrats support of the Socialist Obamcare. To this day the Democrat controlled Senate has yet to pass a budget or even propose one. All the budgets the Republican House have presented have been dead on arrival to the Senate thanks to the incompetent Democrat Harry Reid. As long as the Senate and White House are controlled by Democrats who have not passed a budget in 3 years this out of control spending, huge deficits and massive debt will continue to ruin our country. The Democrats have made it clear they do not want to be constrained by a budget, Hussien Obama has proven he has no ability or intention of negotiating a budget and then he lies about how the Republicans are the ones holding up the Budget process. Hussien Obama has proven he is a pathological liar. I am sure happywithbeingaliar will respond with one of his ludicrous lies. If you look at his post above he only attacks Paul Ryan's budget with no solution of his own. That is the Democrat way, attack what your adversaries propose and offer no solutions.
Last week the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office announced that the obamacare law will now cost American taxpayers $1.76 trillion over 10 years (2013 -2022), or around $12,753 per person. This is nearly double the amount that President Obama had originally told us this bill would cost and the law hasn’t even been implemented yet. Obamacare is starting out as another failure by Hussien Obama.
Last years Unemployment Benefit extension Harry Reid refused to let the Senate vote on. This is how irresponsible Harry Reid and the Democrats actually are.
The Republican House extended unemployment benefits for 13 months. The Democrat Senate bill extended unemployment benefits for only two months, meaning an estimated 4 million Americans could lose the extended unemployment benefits next year they would get under the House bill. The Republican House reformed the unemployment program to focus it more on getting people the training and education they need to get back to work, not just handing out checks. The Democrat Senate did not. The Republican House protected seniors’ health care for the next two years by ensuring doctors in the Medicare program don’t have their reimbursements cut by more than 27 percent. The Democrat Senate did this for only two months. The Republican House provided a one-year extension of the payroll tax holiday, ensuring a worker earning $50,000 next year has $1,000 more in their pocket. The Democrat Senate did this for only two months, meaning that same worker would have less than $200 in their pocket, or $800 less in take-home pay than under the Republican House-passed bill. The Republican House included a pay freeze for Members of Congress and civilian federal workers. The Democrat Senate did not. The Republican House put an end to welfare benefits being accessed at ATMs located in casinos, liquor stores and strip clubs. The Democrat Senate did not. The Republican House protected Social Security by reducing overpayments. The Democrat Senate did not. The Republican House included a provision that saves taxpayers $9 billion by cracking down on fraud and abuse that is known to exist in a refundable tax credit program. The Democrat Senate did not. The Republican House provided for economic growth and job creation in the high-tech industry through spectrum auctions. The Democrat Senate did not. The Republican House cut taxes to promote business investment and hiring. The Democrat Senate did not.
Strange, joneses, you neglect to mention that the Republican proposal for unemployment extensions was contingent on either spending cuts or a tax hike, as offset, but when it came to their tax cuts for the wealthy, well, that kind of deficit was perfectly fine, and no off-set was necessary. Strange, you didn't mention for every 1,000 that 50,000 takes home, the rich make 50,000 more, and that cost will come due in increased debt repayments. Nor did you mention how they're going back on their agreement to cut spending in the Budget Control Act as...well, that was just wrong, it cuts DEFENSE spending, and we can't have that. According to them.
But no, Joneses, I didn't offer another budget proposal, because that's not the subject of this editorial. If you want the editorial writers to offer a review of Obama's budget ideas, please suggest it to them, then it'll be on topic.
Right now, we're discussing the Ryan Budget. Why can't you defend how it won't balance anything till 2040, how it will increase the debt, how it won't cut spending to defense, but will cut Medicare spending?
Could someone show me the Dem budget proposal ? Can't seem to find it anywhere.
Really? Did you check Google?
The President's budget for 2013 was proposed back in Feb.
So happy you are saying the Senate has passed The Obama's "budget" ?
The Senate can pass a budget with a simple majority. So the GOP can't block it.
You asked for a proposal, now you're changing the goal posts?
But you're mistaken in your premise. Actually, it's the Republicans jumping on the claim whose words you are parroting that are mistaken.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2012/02/parliamentary-procedure
Read it, learn it.
Sorry, the Democrats in the Senate won't engage in an empty gesture.
Sorry, the Democrats in the Senate won't engage in an empty gesture. I believe this statement is the sorriest piece of kearn I have seen in several weeks here.
I went to the left wing Economist site suggested by harppy above. The the very first comment below it blows the article to pieces. HARPPY it is time for you to crawl under a rock somewhere.
This article shows a fundamental lack of understanding of how the United States Congressional budget process works. The author of said article tries mightily to seem steeped in knowledge, or at least to refer to someone who is, but is fundamentally wrong. Republicans have chastised the Democrats, those in the Senate, for "not having passed a budget in over 1000 days." Which, even the author of the article admits, is true. Drop dead true. The Senate hasn't. Not because Republicans are stopping them, but because they can't. They cannot get their own Senators to vote for anything approximating a budget because things are so bad. No one wants to take responsibility for the spending, the deficits, the debt ... anything.
jonross,
Obama proposed a budget but even the dems would not support it. It was that bad and would have been just another addition to his long list off failures. Obama should thank the dems for protecting him form his failures.
Happywithbeingaliar,
Please go get help to address the pathological liar you are.
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