Hi Billy, For the record, *this* is something I consider a fair critique of Paul Ryan.
Stupid in terms of Presidential Politics, but alas all-too-rational for the House of Representatives. E On Mar 20, 2012, at 6:46 PM, [email protected] wrote: > What did anyone really expect from a Randian "economist" ? > This latest garbage by way of an economic plan is guaranteed > to anger and outrage seniors, viz 50+ million voters, guaranteed > to alienate low income voters who were trending Republican this year, > and give the Democrats all the ammunition they need to ague a > convincing case before the public this Fall. > > Republicans never learn, they are incapable of learning. > > As the adage has it, Republicans have a real knack for > snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. > > Another election down the drain it what it now looks like. > And for what ? And why ? The answer to both is the same, > the triumph of half baked Libertarian" "ideas" among the Republican > leadership. It isn't just that RC is in direct competition with Libertarians > for the hearts and minds of Independents, it is that Libertarianism > is a formula for disaster generally. > > This is stupid beyond belief. > > My honest opinion > Billy > > =============================================== > > Ryan introduces GOP budget plan, slashing social programs and tax rates > > By Lori Montgomery and Rosalind S. Helderman, March 20, 21012 > > Washington Post > House Republicans renewed their commitment Tuesday to the politically risky > strategy of targeting Medicare and other popular social programs to tame the > national debt, unveiling a $3.5 trillion spending plan that would also slash > the top tax rate paid by corporations and the wealthy. > > The GOP blueprint, authored by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan > (R-Wis.), is designed to draw a sharp contrast with President Obama heading > into the November election in the ideological battle over taxes and spending. > But the plan also renews a narrower fight over agency budgets that has tied > the Capitol in knots since Republicans took control of the House last year. > > Bowing to demands from conservatives influenced by the tea party movement, > House leaders are pressing to protect the Pentagon in 2013 while cutting > budgets for domestic agencies below levels set during last summer’s showdown > over the federal debt ceiling. The decision has alarmed both Democrats and > some GOP moderates, who said the move could spark a fresh clash over the > annual bills needed to keep the government running into the new fiscal year, > which begins Oct. 1. > > If that dispute is not resolved, Democrats warned that the government — or > significant parts of it — could shut down five weeks before the election. > > On Tuesday, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) defended the decision to > set agency budgets $19 billion lower than the cap established last year. > > “People have limits on credit cards. That doesn’t mean that you’re required > to spend up to the limit,” Boehner told reporters. “It just says you can’t > spend any more than that.” > > Democrats immediately accused the GOP of reneging on the hard-fought deal, > which both parties had hoped would get them through the Nov. 6 election > without additional drama. In the Senate, Budget Committee Chairman Kent > Conrad (D-N.D.) filed a motion to permit spending bills to be drafted at the > higher level — which, he noted, “everyone agreed to just last year.” > > “House Republicans, I hope, would do the same,” Conrad said. “If they fail to > do so, they will once again threaten to shut down the government and > needlessly imperil the economic recovery.” > > It was not clear, however, that Boehner could deliver on last summer’s > agreement even if he wanted to. Centrist Republicans responsible for writing > the annual spending bills openly fretted about being squeezed between the > demands of the Senate and the demands of their own right wing, where the $19 > billion cut is widely viewed as too timid. > > “I don’t know how we get our work done,” said Rep. Steven C. LaTourette > (R-Ohio), who allowed that Democrats have a point about Republicans breaking > their word. “It’s law. . . . So I have difficulty backing off,” he said. > > Ryan said he has the votes to push the broader, $3.5 trillion budget > blueprint out of committee Wednesday and present it to the full House next > week. But the committee vote could be close. > > The blueprint largely reprises the spending plan Ryan unveiled one year ago, > with a few new details penciled in. The plan would put the nation on course > to balance the budget by 2040 and shrink the national debt to historic norms > as a percentage of the economy. But because Ryan rejects higher taxes, that > path would require significant reductions in a host of popular programs. > > The plan would cut spending on the major programs for the poor, including > Medicaid and food stamps, while giving the states greater responsibility for > their administration. Recipients would also be given a deadline to find work > and get off the dole. > > Education and job training programs would be consolidated and “modernized,” > the plan says. And spending on Pell grants would be reduced and retargeted > toward low-income college students most in need of assistance. > > On Medicare — a flash point last year — the Ryan budget once again proposes > to raise the eligibility age to 67 and cap spending on those who turn 65 > after 2023, offering them a set amount with which to purchase private health > insurance on newly created federal exchanges. In reaction to Democratic > criticism that his plan “ends Medicare,” Ryan now aims to preserve > traditional Medicare as an option, though it could cost seniors more than the > cheaper private plans. > > All told, Ryan proposes to slash federal spending by $5.3 trillion over the > next decade, compared with Obama’s latest budget blueprint. But deficits > under the Ryan budget would be only about $3.3 trillion smaller because his > plan would generate less tax revenue. > > On taxes, Ryan proposes to collapse today’s six brackets into two. The bottom > 10 percent rate would be preserved, while the top rate would fall from 35 > percent to 25 percent. Corporations would get the same reduction, as well as > dramatically lower rates on profits earned overseas. > > To pay for those changes, Ryan proposes to wipe out deductions, credits and > other tax breaks that benefit people at every income level. Neither he nor > House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) would spell out > specifics on Tuesday. > > “We owe the country an alternative path if we don’t like the path the > president is taking us on. Whoever our nominee is going to be owes the > country that choice of two futures,” Ryan said. “We’re helping them put this > together.” > > Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney immediately endorsed the Ryan > budget, calling it “a bold and exciting effort.” Former senator Rick Santorum > (R-Pa.) was silent. Meanwhile, reaction from the White House was sharp. > > “The House budget once again fails the test of balance, fairness and shared > responsibility,” White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a > statement. “It would shower the wealthiest few Americans with an average tax > cut of at least $150,000” — paid for, he said, “by undermining Medicare.” > > > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
