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AP
FILE - House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., delivers remarks on Capitol Hill in February.
From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Courage or political suicide? The plan that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan will unveil on Tuesday -- which would revamp Medicare and Medicaid -- is either a profile in courage, political suicide, or both. It’s courage because Ryan is seriously addressing entitlement reform, which is something that President Obama’s budget didn’t touch at all. But it’s also potentially political suicide because touching those programs, as well as Social Security, is highly unpopular. In our NBC/WSJ poll last month, 67% said cutting funding for Medicaid was unacceptable, and 76% said the thing about Medicare. (By comparison, the poll found that just 40% said a surtax on those making $1 million or more was unacceptable.)
*** Ryan’s plan: As Ryan unveiled on FOX yesterday, his plan would cut more than $4 trillion over 10 years. It wouldn’t increase taxes (“The problem with our deficit is not because Americans are taxed too little”). On Medicaid, the plan would turn that funding into a block grant to the states. And on Medicare, it would give seniors a subsidy -- though that amount would be means-tested -- to pick the insurance plan of their own. However, it wouldn’t apply to those 55 or older.
*** Ryan’s plan vs. Obama’s health plan: Ryan defended his upcoming plan and criticized Democrats who would attack it. “They are going to demagogue us, and it's that demagoguery that has always prevented political leaders in the past from actually trying to fix the problem. We can't keep kicking this can down the road,” he said yesterday. “The president has punted. We're not going to follow suit. And, yes, we will be giving our political adversaries things to use against us in the next election, and shame on them if they do that.” But demagoguery is a two-way street. You could argue that demagogue Medicare is what Republicans did with last year’s health-care bill, and that helped them take back the House. And unlike Republicans -- who didn’t say anything about reforming Medicare or Medicaid in their “Pledge to America” last year -- Obama DID campaign on health care in 2008. “There is no electoral mandate for entitlement reform,” a GOP strategist told First Read.
*** Ryan has no bipartisan cover: There’s also no way -- with Obama in the White House and with Democrats in control of the Senate -- that Ryan’s proposal will become law, unless there are major changes. Ryan, however, is doing it without any major bipartisan cover, and remember that he didn’t vote for the bipartisan debt commission recommendations (a vote that we're guessing Ryan regrets today more than he did then; the "Ryan is a serious buy on budget issues" would be an easier sell had he voted with Tom Coburn on the debt commission). “There is a belief that the country is more ready now than ever before for major change on the entitlement front,” the same GOP strategist adds. “Maybe that's true, but you have to have a willing partner on these issues and right now, Senate Democrats and the White House or more than happy to watch Republicans take this on by themselves.” Of course, whether or not Ryan’s plan becomes politically toxic depends on how Democrats play this.
*** Playing fire with seniors: Here’s a final point on Ryan’s plan: Republicans are playing fire with seniors, despite the fact that his changes to Medicare won’t affect anyone older than 55. Obama’s most vulnerable demographic group has always been seniors, and Republicans won them BIG TIME last year, due in part to their Medicare attacks against Obama and the Democrats. But is that going to change after Tuesday?
*** The House deadline is Tuesday: In the current budget/spending battle, the Washington Post makes this important point: “Under new House Republican rules, any bill to be voted on Friday would have to be posted by Tuesday night. Republican leaders have also come out against approving another stopgap measure to keep federal agencies open a few extra days as they finish their work.”
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I understand stepping up to the plate, but when something has ZERO potential for passing, you've got to wonder what he's thinking. Does he at least have his team of Republicans backing him up?
LOL! Like any tea bagger in good standing - he's NOT! ;o)
Since when do any of them let some good old fashion 'common sense' stand in their way?
Collaps cowards are working overtime on FT. GUess I'll ahve to put this one on here....
drive-by-observer
A question and an observation this morning:
First of all, who can tell me how many person-hours go into drafting, and then voting on a bill that declares itself law without it having to next go to the Senate, versus how many person-hours it takes to circle 32 basketball teams on a sheet of paper? I couldn’t seem to glean the answer on Hannity, Beck, O’Reily, Limbaugh or any of the many other ‘liberal’ media outlets.
Then, I have this observation: The church guy that burned the Korans: Who would like to chip in with me to cover the cost of sending him a box of Korans, a Zippo, some Kingsford Charcoal lighter, and a one-way airline ticket to Afghanistan so he can go over there in person, and show ‘em how he feels about the whole thing? Maybe save a couple of innocent lives in the process. Sound like a good idea to you folks?s
You're right Feisty! Especially since there are no poor, old, disabled or unemployed Teabaggers!.....
Caring about the unborn, not the born....that's their version of 'common sense'!
He's stepping up to plate, with a plastic bat and no clue how to hold it. He voted against the debt commission recommendation because it did not cut far enough and included a recommendation to increase taxes. This guy is another of those lunatics who truly believe you can balance the budget by cutting only domestic programs and never, never, never, never increasing taxes or eliminating corporate welfare.
The GOP has run outta Groups to Alienate, so why not go after Seniors!
They serve 1 GOD, the GOD of Corparations, but hey, they can vote now!
Couage or Political suicide?
Neither. "Not very smart" or even "dumb" fits better. An excellent example of how ones political philosophy smacks head-long into reality. He has been so wrapped up in his political philosophy he has not heard seniors say, "Don't mess with my SS, Medicare, and Medicaid."
Another Tea Partier whose ideas are only facing backward.
Courage?
Does Obama have an ounce of it?
He gives great speeches but will he tackle the tuff stuff - Debt, Deficit ........ he votes "present."
Make tuff decisions about national security? Afghanistan - tell me that wasn't a pure political calculation. Iran - Gutless. Syria - Gutless. Libya - Nebulous low hanging fruit. (Still he blew it).
Modern Dems are cowards in general. Look at Wisconsin where they run away and hide like spoiled little children.
The Dems didn't have the courage to even do a budget last year before the elections. Today they don't even the courage to say no to Bert and Ernie puppets.
BTW drive-by - How 'bout them Obama picks. 0 for 4, huh?
Not even any good at that either.
Ursula-279622
that is what you call TEA-BLABBER.
None. Obama is just another big government left wing hack. The Democratic party is full of them.
That part that confuses the Democrats is that we as a country are broke. We can't keep spending like Obama and the Democrats have done, but Obama proposes to do more of the same. Obama ran on "Change" in 2008. Some change, correct? He took the Bush deficits and super-sized them. And now Obama wants to run for re-election? On what grounds has he been successful at anything?
The Democrats are fighting for Bert and Ernie and Cowboy Poetry. The Democrats think the problem isn't too much spending, but not enough.
JoAnna,
Obama is great at raising campaign money - And he will need that "billion" to win again.
BTW Libbies - What about that "billion" ...... couldn't that provide so much help for womens health (abortions), couldn't that provide so much needed help for our childrens education (Ardvarks and Cookie Monsters)?
How about Obama take the public financing and donate the rest to the poor and middle class. He doesn't need it - you guys say every day that he is the best President ever .... why does he need a billion to be re-elected? Why are all of you guys donating to him instead of the poor?
Nope, it's called leadership, something that is in very short supply from Obama on this issue. We need a national conversation to help folks understand the magnitude of the problem we're facing. And that there's no way the goodies from the welfare state can continue at the levels they have in the past.
CBO has projected that under the policy proposals in Obama's FY12 budget request revenues will rise to 19.3% of GDP in 2021. That compares to the historical average going back to 1970 of 18%. At the same time, spending is projected to rise to 24.2% of GDP in 2021. That compares to the historical average of 20.8% of GDP.
So over the next ten years both revenues and spending are projected to rise, and in 2021 as a percentage of GDP both revenues and spending will be higher than their historical averages. But the inconvenient truth is that the gap between spending and revenues persists, even though revenues will be RISING from where they are now.
The only realistic way to fix the problem is to contriol the SPENDING side -- unless of course you're a leftist who would prefer that taxes be raised to 24.2% of GDP to match projected spending in 2021. That would work out to a hefty one-third increase in aggregate taxes in relation to GDP as compared to the forty year average. I'll leave it to individual readers to do the math and figure out how much more might be coming out of your own pockets.
The fact of the matter is that welfare state programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are fiscally unsustainable in their current form. We either fix them now, or a few years from now every federal tax dollar will be sucked up by those programs and paying the interest on the debt -- with no dollars left over for anything else. Even taxing the evil rich doesn't fix the problem. That's how bad things are.
dirp101-
Rep. Ryan's main objection to the President's debt commission Plan was that its assumptions, conclusions,and recommendations are based on the implementation of Obamacare.
Ryan has been a vocal and consistent critic of the Democrats'health care reform plan and hopes, I'm sure, that it will never be fully implemented...and either overturned by the Supreme Court, completely or partially repealed, or simply starved of funding.
Ryan has the right idea...THINK BIG!!!... Why think small like the itty bitty minds of libs and obama?
I noticed this morning on bloombergtv that while ryan addressed both medicaid and medicare no statement was reported on SS Sounds like good news for my mom.
It was interesting to hear ryan remark that the American public needed to be made aware of why such cuts needed to be made. Naturally any homeowner losing their home the past couple of years or seeing their home devalued can easily see the foibles of a continued program of spending beyond what it took to stabilize our recessionary economy.
I can see how those millions of workers who also lost jobs would now have a better understanding of the situation as well. Just can't keep spending like their is no tomorrow,
Ron Indiana:
Couage or Political suicide?
Neither. "Not very smart" or even "dumb" fits better
===============
So the Liberals plan is to ignore the problem, or deny that there even is a problem. And if anyone suggests there is a problem, the Liberals plan is to unleash an attack on those people like none other ever seen in politics.
You see Ron, the time where people can "Vote themselves a raise" are over. The country is broke. The country can elect Democrats at every level of government, it doesn't change the fact that the money is just not there anymore to support the governments largeness. No election will change the fact that these problems need to be addressed. The Republicans are introducing their plan, the Democrats better do the same.
Tells all those seniors in nursing homes who have outlived their savings about reductions in Medicaid. That will go over well I'm sure....talk about death panels. The Republicans demagogued that issue to death and they made some traction with seniors because of this. Well I submit to you Medicaid block grants to the states will be the start of dealth panels for some seniors especially those in states like Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Texas, South Carolina, etc. You think those states won't cut seniors off at the knees...guess again.
laurie-
This fiscal year, 43 cents of every dollar the U.S. spends is borrowed...$1.65 trillion out of $3.82 trillion.
What will happen to the seniors you speak of when investors around the world no longer believe that U.S. debt is something they regard as wise to purchase and hold?
And that day is coming, laurie...unless there is a plan, some plan, ANY PLAN to realistically address the ocean of U.S. debt.
And 53 cents of every dollar is spent on defense. If you don't cut defense spending, your never going to balance the budget, at the present level of revenue. If republicans ever balanced a budget then they would use that as an excuse to cut more taxes, for the people who need it the least.
Yes, when it comes to "starving the beast," why not keep a leaner military budget. Then, if it becomes necessary to increase the budget (due to war or peace keeping or defense spending), Congress can heroically authorize the necessary increase.
The President's debt commission offered him a Plan with across-the-board spending cuts, INCLUDING DEFENSE, and sweeping changes in tax policy.
Thus far, he's elected to pass on it.
Of course, other than the President's FY 2012 budget proposal (which offers up $13 trillion in new debt and annual debt service payments approaching $1 trillion within 10 years), the Democrats...unlike both the President's debt commission and Rep. Ryan...have no plan whatsoever, have they?
More like 20 cents of every dollar, but hey never let the facts stand in the way of a good rant.
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1258
You really need to keep up: "...the total budget authority for defense proposed in the President's [FY12] budget drops from $696 billion in 2012 to $646 billion in 2013 and remains below the 2012 amount until 2017. Outlays for defense would decline from 4.7% of GDP last year to 3.1% of GDP in 2021, CBO estimates."
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/121xx/doc12103/2011-03-18-APB-PreliminaryReport.pdf
That's another thing. Everyone says "the country is broke."
Our government spending, as a % of GDP, is not out of control. GDP has been steadily increasing. While the total spending has increased, so has GDP.
Unchecked, the GROWTH of the deficit could become a problem in the distant future, but we are by no means "broke."
If your Republican leaders in Congress are saying America is broke, are they intending to cause an unneccasry default on our debt? TREASON!!!!
Why can't our government learn to live within their means, like the people?
The debt and deficit crisis both seemed to taken center stage since Barack Obama became President.
I don't recall it being the topic of conversation every day of George W. Bush's presidency and yet if one has just arrive onthis planet they would be left with the impression that President Obama created this whole nightmare.Ryn and the rest of the Republicans keep repeating this mantra about "children and grandchildren, blah, blah blah. Did they not woryy about their children and grandchildren before January 21, 2009?
Maybe not.
Anyhow, the "let's blame everything on Obama" crowd are soooo transparent.
Good grief, are you ever out to lunch.
CBO has projected that under the policy proposals in Obama's FY12 budget request revenues will rise to 19.3% of GDP in 2021. That compares to the historical average going back to 1970 of 18%. At the same time, spending is projected to rise to 24.2% of GDP in 2021. That compares to the historical average of 20.8% of GDP.
So over the next ten years both revenues and spending are projected to rise, and in 2021 as a percentage of GDP both revenues and spending will be HIGHER than their historical averages. Furthermore, the gap between spending and revenues persists even though revenues will be RISING from where they are now.
We really do have a problem, whether some choose to acknowledge it or not. And the problem is primarily on the SPENDING side.
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/121xx/doc12103/2011-03-18-APB-PreliminaryReport.pdf
Currently, the federal government spends ever dime in takes in on the entitlement programs. Over $2.2 trillion dollars of the federal budget consumes all of the tax income the federal government collects each year. And with the Baby Boomers retiring, these entitlement costs will continue to increase. On the other hand, every dime of discretionary spending is from borrowed money. Things like Defense, Homeland Security, HHS, the FAA, etc. And you're telling us that this isn't a problem? You obviously have no clue.
HEY GUMP The Reps. did balance the budget between 1992-2000. It really started in 1980 but it took a little time to straighten out Carters mess. Im a lib dem union guy I voted for Obama Im trying to be patient but I'm not too hopeful.
Cuttting spending alone while we are busy cutting our revenue stream from those who can afford to pay is not a viable solution.
Explain this to me: whether we agree on the spending side or not, how does it help the deficit to reduce revenue ? How does it help to be increasing tax benefits to the wealthy ?
Why does GE, which made $5billion in the US, receive $3 billion from the US ?
How does a NEGATIVE 60% tax rate help the deficit ?
All I'm saying is that we are not broke, we just have the stupidest tax laws in the world.
How does this writer figure political suicide for the Republicans? Most folks (um, excluding the regular libs on this site) realize that spending has to be cut. The Republicans have offered a budget that includes cuts. If the cuts are not implemented, it's the fault of the Dems. So, who's committing political suicide?
Because GE has great lobbyists: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html
Because GE paid off the Ways and Means Chairman in the House at the time to keep their tax breaks: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42260137/ns/business-us_business/
Oh, we are broke. When you borrow $0.40 of ever dollar you spend, you are broke. And Paul Ryan has a plan to change the tax laws. Will you support him?
If Paul Ryan plans to change the tax laws so that eveyone is paying the same, i.e. close the kind of loop holes and give aways to companies like GE and BP, absolutely.
As to his budget plan, I would have to see the entire plan. Cuts alone don't do it. The deficit is too large to ever expect it to get under control solely by cuts.
Anyone who says that the budget problem is only with spending is disengenuous at best.
Joanna, his plans don't include gaining more corporate taxes or more taxes on the super wealthy do they?? Why not? (yes, I make over $250K). The problem is we ALL expect a lot from all levels of government. Social security and Medicar came about for very good reasons, as did child labor laws. Who, which districts in the US are willing to give up highway money, give up college tuition grants, give up NIH grants to local researchers, give up all those grants to local fire, police, libraries, schools, give up local military bases and jobs. Perhaps it IS time to understand we cannot have all the good things government brings us (and, yes, almost all are very beneficial) without funding the bottom line better (that is taxes we are talking about). Until all the Demos and Repubs pass on money coming to their community, they should shut up. I am retired military with over 26 yrs and I realize that the DoD budget is gigantic. I also realize that Russia and China are developing 5th generation fighters and while they are not enemies at the present time, they Are opponents and have destructive power that makes the terrorists look like Boy Scouts. It is Not simple and the simpleton comments about cutting spending here and there but not near me are proof that we are in one of the most disappointing and sad eras in American History. We need to outlaw all lobbyist and have our Senators and Reps make their staff figure out what issues to support and what not to do so.
JoAnna, Paul Ryan's change in the tax back increases taxes on the lowest income earners by 12.2% and drops it by 15.5% for the top brackets, thos few in between stay the same. In Far Right land that kind of taxation makes sense, but when 15% of the nation holds 90% of the wealth, that is shooting yourself in the foot, financially. What little credit he deserves rapidly evaporates when you see it for what it is, a way to get re-elected, as it is pandering to the wealthy.
Oh, yeah, Ryan is so brave! Cut seniors, healthcare for poor mothers and children. And he's so full of courage when he says, cut more taxes! Yes, that's a great idea, cut taxes for big corps. that will really get us out of debt even faster! Praise God, and pass the ammunition! Eureka! Total BS again, same old trickle down crap that has been taking our country down the past 30 years or so. Idiots.
"Courage or political suicide?"
Could Dems be more out of touch? Look at the November election results, one party committed political suicide, it certainly wasn't Republicans. How can they not understand that a policy of unsustainable spending (actual suicide) is political suicide? They are focused on buying votes to the point of complete blindness to reality.
Man, some of you guys must need a cigarette after the "I hate Obama orgy" you just had.
Bob, you say Obama has no courage. Did Bush have courage NOT to include any of the costs for Iraq in HIS budget? Yet Obama has to include it in his???? Did Bushwhack have courage to start a war based on false information (that he was well aware of)????? You guys are so transparent it is pathetic.
As Sheila said above, you love to blame Obama for ALL of the current spending. A lot of it was by Bushie. The Tarp fund is actually going to make money. Yes, Obama was going to spend 700 Billion on stimulus but only about 400 billion has been spent. By ALL studies from non-partisan agencies, the stimulus prevented even more massive lay-offs and prevented a depression. But you guys ignore any studies that show a positive for Obama so you just pile on the complaints. Now you want him to get tougher on Libya, but don't spend money. Blame him on Afganistan, yet he simply increased troops (as requested by defense) to stop something that SHOULD have been done under Bush's watch, but he went after the wrong country. But all the posting in the world on here will never change a cons opinion.
Ryan does have the right idea that changes need to occur, but they are going to be made on the backs of middle and lower class in his book. God forbid we ever change tax codes that make companies pay a fair share. Also, if all income was subject to SS tax, it could solve the problem as well. I pay the same amount in SS tax as Warren Buffet. Anyone see a problem with that???? Duh...
LOL! Like any tea bagger in good standing - he's NOT! ;o)
Since when do any of them let some good old fashion 'common sense' stand in their way?
Cut spending across the board by .25% raise taxes by .25% each year untill we as a nation have a surpluss.
Thomas: if only it were that simple.
I would start by eliminating tax benefits which allow profitable companies to not pay any taxes.
Next we would need to look at where we are spending money. Like the jet engine no one wanted, I'm sure there are more "bridges to nowhere" throughout the budget.
An example, did we really need a sign telling us, every mile, that the backup we are on was caused byt the stimulas plan.
I find it difficult to remain civil in light of the despicable cowardice of those drawing benefits today by mortgaging the future of our children and grand children. Delude yourself with whatever notions help you sleep at night, but there is virtually NO difference between the dems and reps. It's nothing more than an diversionary tap dance. 60 billion cut for the republicans versus a 30 billion cut fr the democrats? We are more than a trillion in the red. In my opinion, both parties are working overtime with the intent and purpose of collapsing the economy outright. They are ALL bought and paid for. I just don't know who put up the dough.
I hope all of the dumbed down delusional nutballs enjoy the ride as the economic party bus goes over the cliff into the sea of third world nations. Don't worry, the government will wave it's magic wand and make the problems go away for you.
As smart as you dems and libs are what happend to you guys last november ? HUH guess you just didnt see it coming maybe this time in 2012 you will. what if obama loses have you thought of that
hate to break it to you but tarp was bush's baby. that is what saved us from a depression. obama gave us the stimulus and automaker bailout which certainly didn't hurt the recovery but it was tarp that was the most effective of the 3.
the comments on this follow the general trend I have seen since these silly things started - Dems suck, no Reps suck....blah blah blah. To even (and completely) define yourselves with some political party is small minded and useless. The absolute truth of this budget matter is (if everyone voted in acted in the "best" interest of our country) that we spend too much and take in too little. How is that a political arguement with any bias?! Seems black and white. CUT spending, RAISE taxes if you have to in the short term....I for one don't want to be paying China back for the remainder of my life. Think of the money we would have in this country if we weren't paying interest on stupid ideas of the past.
@pjam,
the november results show one thing: people wanted jobs, they elected republicans, and are getting kicked in the teeth on a daily basis for their poor memory of how we got into this mess in the first place.
Failed GOP policies. 8 years of GOP incompetence and greed have driven this nation from a surplus to a massive deficit.
If instead of giving the top 2% tax break after tax break, giving corporations making billions enough tax breaks to allow them to pay 0 in taxes, subsidizing the oil companies that are currently experiencing record profits, essentially giving up a good portion of the money that could help with the budget deficit or fund teachers and other public workers that are getting cut, which drastically hurts our chances for the future.
If instead of focusing on an agenda put forward by the religous right, these newly elected GOP reps should focus on how they can best help create jobs.
What has been proven to help create jobs is taxing companies, making them take advantage of the tax breaks for creating jobs and paying workers fairly for their work, in order to recieve the same breaks that they currently enjoy. This of course wouldn't be necessary if these corporations quit focusing soley on the shareholder, and returned to what they built their businesses on. The customer, the minimum wage earning, hard working customer that actually pays their salaries, their millions and billions of dollars that they earn for doing essentially nothing.
Nick, I always give Bush credit for Tarp. If for no other reason, usually the reps tend to lump Tarp and Stimulus together blaming all on Obama. You are correct, in my opinion, Tarp was a huge help in preventing a depression and the Stimulus by all accounts (except Reps) prevented even larger job losses, which would have stressed states even more with unemployment, etc. Funny thing is, Obama only spent about $400 billion of the original $700 billion, but nobody remembers that little detail.
Republican TEA. Yeah. Whatever.
Hey, Louis-
Don't get collapsed, OK?
I went overboard with you this morning...lol
President Obama submitted his FY 2012 budget proposal in January after receiving the recommendations of his debt commission last December. The CBO's analysis of President Obama's FY 2012 budget says that over the next 10 years, $13 trillion in new debt will added to the existing $14 trillion we already have, and that debt service payments will rise to $844 billion annually.
Until President Obama and the Democrats say otherwise, I'll consider that their plan for addressing the debt crisis.
Personally, I like the Plan the President's debt commission offered him...and, sight unseen, Ryan's plan has to be better than the one outlined in the President's FY 2012 budget proposal.
It's more courageous, too...allowing the nation to be swallowed by debt is worse than cowardly.
It's completely irresponsible.
Wow, Louis, I logged onto this site to see how you regulars were doing. I see that you're still offering those pithy, substantive comments - full of facts and thought provoking ideas. Keep up the good work!
How about---option (C) grandstanding--Are the cuts just symbolic? Yes. $686B in contracts are in there for Offense Contractors. No one has even addressed that one. Please take the time to see how much of the pie that you Senator or Congressperson took. $127M was spent in lobbying and the "boys" did get a whopping ROI.
Ryan- for each dollar you propose be cut, propose a dollar in increased taxes. Instead of cutting the deficit $4 Trillion over 10 years, it could be $8 Trillion! Look at what a HERO you could be!!
Drive By____How about for every dollar Ryan proposes to cut, we all agree to also anothter dollar of eliminated tax exemptions. You get the increased revenue, take all the crap exemptions out of the tax code, and move towards a tax system that makes even large companies and people (who are the only ones who can afford all the systems -wind turbines - and vehicles -Chevy Volt -- and technologies - solar systems - that are being subsidized by the ggovernment through tax exemptions) to pay their fair share. Don't just assume we need to increase taxes without removing the exemptionsthat let so many peole off the tax hoof!.
Fed up Senior,
The liberal imbeciles here at FR believe tax rates and tax revenues directly correlate.
They have no clue about the tax code, which is good news for the Dems. The Dems would never have the "courage" to change it. If they changed - how would the buy of their friends and special interests? How would they be able to promote their agenda?
Let's not call it a tax. Let's use Gov. Barbour and Gov. Pawlenty and Gov. Romney's ideas and call these "fees." Let's have a one-time "fee" to go specifically toward paying down the principal on US debt so that the ensuing interest payments will be less. The fee wouldn't have to adhere to any tax code. It could apply to each and every person and business.
What agenda is that, Bobbie?
In a recent bloomberg interview with david Coat, CEO of Honeywell he made mention that if Americans were serious about debt reductioin, not only spending cuts were required but he also believed that both corporate and individual tax deductions needed to be done as well.
Funneling money to insurance companies will only work if they are regulated, and the states to a p_ss poor job of that. (By the way, Ryan's plan is simply the German Bismark model, that the GOP so opposed). And we are going to have to get our arms around the costs of prescriptions - the latest re-approval plan by the FDA backfired pretty badly. AND, we absolutely cannot allow the GOP to circumvent the proposed Medicare changes by creating some sort of FSA/HSA plan that simply allows the affluent to put money aside free of taxes to save for their private Medicare.
I primed the pump therefore it is right for me to suck everyone dry. Your corporate stooge.
Here's an idea. General strike and boycott. One week first. No change? Two weeks. Those of us who are deprived for a living (intended) won't suffer, but there will be mogul throwing themselves and their peers out of windows.
"In our NBC/WSJ poll last month, 67% said cutting funding for Medicaid was unacceptable, and 76% said the thing about Medicare. (By comparison, the poll found that just 40% said a surtax on those making $1 million or more was unacceptable.)"
That poll may be a push poll, but it may mean we are doomed. A generation has been brought up and brainwashed with the culture of dependency, the liberal mantra of getting something for nothing. If voters refuse to starve the beast of Big Government, it will get us all.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul...will get Paul's vote. Trouble is, Peter is broke.
You are assuming that Peter cannot afford to support Paul and himself and still fund his own lavish life style. Or that it would be a disincentive for Peter to help Paul. Or that Paul wouldn't be a more productive member of society when he is not under the stress of ill health or old age. Or that Paul does not contribute in some other tangible way to society. Or that Paul wouldn't be better off had Peter not moved his company to Mexico and re-incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
Bob, as a physician with ove 40 yrs in practice, I can tell you that health insurance funding could easily be found from one source, the billions in profits of the private health insurers. Their profits went up 5 fold in the last decade and your monthly premiums went up 125%. Those profit dollars from you and me went directly to investors pockets, her and abroad (yes, foreigners, my God) instead of going for health care. The Health insurance companies are very skilled and very practiced in picking our pockets without any outcry. Come on, folks, that's our money! Doesn't anyone care?? That money would be way more than enough to fund health insurance for all Americans so that all could get proper health care. Call it a medical fee or just call it a tax and use those fund for something useful. We liberals don't want something for nothing, no are we brainwashed like the current generation of lemmings following the drug abusing, prescripton forging numbskull called Rush Limbaug or the cocaine, alcohol abusing fried brain named Glen Beck. Government can give the people services that are unobtainable by individuals (including protection from our fellow greedy industrialists, regulating commerce for the common good and national defense. It does a hell of a lot more that private enterprise can do. The health insurance problem wouldn't be so bad but there is No proper competition in any state, only a very few companies with standard fees. I will add that I am now retired from active practice, 26 years in the military as a leader and commander as well, and the rest in private practice. I now work full time for Social Security and I wish all the conservatives who think they did it all by themselves would see how many hard working but unfortunate people wind up disabled because they cannot afford care: diabetics who cannot afford meds and become blind, lose kidneys or become amputees; hypertensives without care or meds who die of congestive heart failure; cataract sufferers who are blind and cannot afford surgery and are allowed as disabled. Wouldn't it be better if we could furnish adequate healthcare to everyone, and just perhaps improve the quality of life? I love private enterprise but Private Enterprise has failed us all in the worst way and our government is the only option to fix those things that private individuals and companies cannot or will not.
Ken--well said--and so true!
I suppose only the well off should have anything. Thin gruel for the rest of us in this situation that is manufactured from the top down. Capitalists and pedophiles can share cells. Talk about institutional abuse!
Get people off welfare and unemployment and we would do just fine. Think how well schools could do if you took that FREE lunch money and put in the class room and made the parents take care of there child like feed them instead of giving them a cell phone and then saying they dont have money for lunch give me a break
The biggest spending president we have had is George Bush. His deficits looked like they were less simply because he took both wars off budget.He also lead us to the financial crises that Obama inherited and that drove more spending to keep us out from financial disaster. Joanna smith1 you are an idiot.Get your facts straight, entitlements do not consume the entire budget and past congressional leaders including republicans took my social security taxes and used them to reduce deficits. Social security is not a budget problem it is a management problem.It is not an entitlement in the budget sense of the word since it was paid for with payroll taxes. Job growth was faster under the Clinton administration with higher tax rates for the rich than it was under Bush and the tax breaks he passed.One more thing he used the same tactic to pass the cuts that the dems were attacked for using to pass health care. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU START TYPING.
As usual--no, not just "usual," as ALWAYS!!--Republicans are approaching entitlement reform with an ax rather than a scaple and are offering up a highly reductive strategy that can't and shouldn't be taken seriously, even if they are serious. And they do appear to be serious--seriously partisan. First, yesterday, on Meet the Press, Repub strategist Mike Murphy off-handedly spoke the Republican mindset and no one (NO ONE) called him on it. He said, there are only two ways to balance the budget: cut spending or (and let's emphasize that as OR) raise taxes. As usual, Repubs think in reductive, dualistic, either-or terms. Why can't it be both? And maybe even something more--say, like improving the overall economy. Doesn't anyone remember how Clinton reduced the deficit? Second, as usual the Repubs speak out of both sides of their mouths: they say they want to reduce the deficit but then they want pass tax cuts to the very wealthy. I'd take Ryan's proposal a little more seriously if he'd actually show that he was really interested in reducing the deficit.
Ryan is interested in currying favor with those above him. Those below matter not. Send him down there. The truthis that most of our leaders an most of our wealthy are not worth their salt.
Who are the Republicans going to tax when all the poor have starved to death and the middle class no longer exists?
Dirp101- if the American public was willing to pay for "made in the USA" rather than "Made over seas" todays economics may have been different.
With the march of technology the new middle class will be those capable of learning the skill sets required to be productive in the US.
Those thinking that they can achieve high pay just by being able to turn a wrench or screwdriver will fall into the lower income category.
A best selling book once declared that the poor shall be with us always.
Tell the dems to quit running all jobs out of America
you have got to be kidding me! Corporations are making record profits, paying their top mulitiple millions of dollars, huge bonuses, then saying they HAVE to cut jobs, cut pay and benefits for the ones that still are here, and move jobs to countries where they can pay $5 a day! They are making huge profits and most are not even paying taxes. They are just greedy and don't want to pay fair wages for their workers! How in the hell are working Americans supposed to compete with wages from 3rd world countries? What needs to happen is stop the corporate welfare and tax loopholes and make laws that give incentives to companies to KEEP good paying jobs here and punish the ones that outsource!
jjdcc I totally agree....if those companies were taxed higher for outsourcing our jobs to other countries....they definitely would bring them back!! Thats is what should happen!! Thanks!!
Maybe you could get china and mexico to go UNION since unions are so great and we have so many of them they must be ? or at least thats what the dems say
Republicans are good at making a very good thing look bad and that has always been their strategy.
Can't they recall that they are the ones who have always caused economic problems with their impractical policies and each time they do that, it is the Democrats to fix it. Republicans are the Mr. Cause the Mess while the Democrats are the Mr. Fix it.
Republicans with their stupid and impractical policies caused the Great Depression and the Democrats had to come in to work very hard to fix the problem. President FDR had to spend in order for him to fix the problem and had he made a mistake of failing to spend to get the country out of the Great depression, America would have failed.
WE all know that having caused the 1920s and 1930s mess, Republicans repeatedly yelled at President F.D. Roosevelt to stop spending the same way they are telling President Obama today to stop spending for the sake of grandchildren.
We as grandchildren of the FDR's error can now look back and feel happy that FDR spent and that is why America as a country managed to survive. Our future grandchildren will also be happy when they look back and see that President Obama and the Democrats had to spend to rescue the future of America.
"Mr Fix It" FDR took office in 1933, and the Depression was still as bad as ever in 1940. 7 long years of failure.
So are you saying Obama will 'fix" this Depression the same way? That we will wait until 2017?
Democrats arent "Mr Fix It", they are "Mr Break It".
Bob, study history or you are doomed to repeat it. The depression was well under way in 1933, when FDR took office. Unlike FDR, President Obama was fortunate enough to have a predecessor who took action to stem a financial crisis. While many despise the so called "bank bailout," it did prevent the total financial chaos which took place in the 1930's.
FDR was unable to act until after four years of failed policies by President Hoover and the Republicans in control of the entire Congress did little to reverse the course of the downturn. Eventually, that led to what is called "the Great Depression."
Hopefully, the actions President Obama took early in this recession will limit its length and severity. While the business community has seen a general upturn, the lagging indicator (jobs) has ben abnormally slow in responding. Only in recent months has there been an indication that the job market is improving.
With the RNC eliminating hope, I guess if you vote for them, and you don't have a job, you have "no hope" of getting one, either.
dirp101 - Actually both you and bob have it right. With no economic "history" so to say, hoover took the course of "do nothing" with regards to a government economic policy after 1929. Smoot- hawley tariff act was also a disaster for our economy. FDR had the right idea of keeping the economy going by creating "work". Unfortunately, the years of constant spending by FDR did little to put all Americans back to work on a sustainable level. Only WWll kicked it for us as well as the "marshall plan" to rebuild europe and japan.
Bob, when my kids were young, I taught them that just because I said the sky was red, when it was actually blue, did not make the sky turn red. I was trying to innoculate them against "revisionist history." What you say about the New Deal is an example of revisionist history. Unemployment rate in 1933: 25%. Unemployment rate in 1940: 14.8%. I guess that essentially cutting the unemployment rate in half is failure in your eyes. YMMV ...
As George Will pointed our yesterday, the U.S. lost more jobs during this Great Recession than the previous four recessions combined. This was not the usual up-and-down economic slump. All things considered, I don't think any President could have done more to end this Recession as quickly as he did.
Bob, how quickly you forget. It was that genius Mr Bush who ruined our economy, entered us into an unjust, expensive, unbudgeted war that alienated our allies, decimated our millitary, revealed our weaknesses to our enemies and allowed our only enemy, bin Laden, to go free. In 8 years, he put this country in a corner where we (and Mr Obama) had no good choices left at all to us. How could you forget? Surely you didn't actually vote for the great destroyer, did you?
"As usual, Repubs think in reductive, dualistic, either-or terms"
As usual, progressives think in class warfare terms.
"Tax the rich" doesnt work, even moonbats know it, but they have to play to their base of hateful class warfare zealots.
I don't see the problem with "class warfare." Some of our best revolutions were the result of class warfare. Such is the problem of a democracy, the rabble can vote who to tax and how much. You are simply assuming that the rabble don't have sense enough not to tax the goose that lays the golden egg. And you are assuming that the affluent have a superior right to define their responsibility to the society as a whole, as opposed to society's elected representatives. You don't seriously believe that if wealth distribution becomes too concentrated in the hands of too few, that the majority doesn't have the right to engage in class warfare?
Do not ask a question that engages the brain thingy. Ouch. Tax the rich? Yes. Tax them more? Yes. Why? 1) they are where they are at the grace of the country. 2) Excessive wealth currupts the system to the will of the accumulators. PS Robbing workers of added value does not count as wealth being "productive". If you know of a rich person down on their luck, please feel free to kick them. They can appreciate the attitude.
I hope Obama runs on letting tax breaks to everyone expire 2012. We need to pay down our debt. He also needs to raise revenues. I suggest he starts taxing large businesses, like Walmart, for every employee still needing public assistance on their payroll. That should be done to all, but "real" small businesses, to encourage living wages. I realize this means I pay more for stuff and waste much less but that is a lesson all Americans need to learn going forward. It is ok to mend socks and reuse tea bags. It is actually a conservative principle to learn to live within your means.
Right you are! There was a reason that these tax cuts had an expiration date. They were put in place to help the economy after the recession of 2001. At no time, were they ever meant to be permanent. So why is congress ignoring this fact?
Want to balance? Tax corporate profits at 100%. That will change the model. Outlaw open ended investments and restrict speculators. New crimes need to be defined in this age.
Thank you Bob, Bill and & American for adding more money to President Obama's reelection!! 2 more companies have agreed to donate for every negative remark against our President!
Tommy - you fail to realize most companies contribute to both parties. Regardless, why do we need to be drones like the libs.
I am impressed that obama has finally started to embrace the republican/conservative ideals of business is what creates private sector jobs. As Honeywell CEO David Cote recently said...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-31/u-s-must-cut-entitlements-to-slash-deficit-honeywell-ceo-says.html
Yessir, obamas new found republican beliefs are quite refreshing. Tax credits, incentives and breaks to business. Not to mention his appointment of business leaders to further lead obama in the right direction of government becoming more business friendly. The old republican standby of "business is Americas friend". Who would have thought such a thing except a conservative
American, that would be just great, if business would actually HIRE somebody instead of pocketing all the cash we are giving them. Read the paper or internet. Profits are prodigious now, yet hiring is really very minimal. And many companies are still sending jobs overseas to Japan, China, Latin America. Yes, that is the American way, but it really doesn't help the American people very much. There are many industries, such as steel making, garment working and many others that hardly exist any more thanks to these entrepeneurs that you are so happy with. The Republican thought now is close to the beginning of the 20th century when the Captains of Industry ruled the economy and to hell with their employees. Perhaps child labor could make a comeback and undercut the unions, if we could just get rid of some guv'ment regulations.
Amer.... (cause you aren't)
Re: closing question - a fascist.
rep ryan obviously does not care for the seniors or the middle class who elected him. his goal is wealth transfer and lower payroll taxes for business. his approavh is reckless and demeaning to those who struggle to stay alive. social security and medicare are trust funds which are insurance plans for future retirerment and I believe he has crossed the line of no return. he certainly is a walker man and we all know how well that's going in wisconsin.
Republicans are good at making good things look bad and that has always been their strategy.
Can't they recall that they are the ones who have always caused economic problems with their impractical policies and each time they do that, it is the Democrats to fix it. Republicans are the Mr. Cause the Mess while the Democrats are the Mr. Fix it.
Republicans with their stupid and impractical policies caused the Great Depression and the Democrats had to come in to work very hard to fix the problem. President FDR had to spend in order for him to fix the problem and had he made a mistake of failing to spend to get the country out of the Great depression, America would have failed.
WE all know that having caused the 1920s and 1930s mess, Republicans repeatedly yelled at President F.D. Roosevelt to stop spending the same way they are telling President Obama today to stop spending for the sake of grandchildren.
We as grandchildren of the FDR's error can now look back and feel happy that FDR spent and that is why America as a country managed to survive. Our future grandchildren will also be happy when they look back and see that President Obama and the Democrats had to spend to rescue the future of America.
We are all grandchildren of a certain past generation and because of God given knowledge, we are able to study and understand how the past generation that we are grandchildren to handled tough economic situations they got into during their time to enable them move the country forward.
FDR's 'New Deal' policy involved spending even more than what the Democrats are spending now. Further to that, it was due to massive and Increased spending in preparation for the 2nd world war that finally got the country out of the depression. If you want to get out of trouble, you must spend. Aren't the grandchildren of FDR's generation and aren't we not happy that he took all those initiatives of spending to ensure that this country America moves on? Let some jealous idiots not keep on confusing our elected leaders from using their good judgments to fix the problems caused by them Republicans.
Hi Sam,
You are right on. Great Post.
ryan's budget will be stupid. ( as soon as it comes out ) where is the news media ????? not one word from them about the 2 year tax extension on the bush's tax cuts for rich. does the news media have a.d.d. ???? they talked about in december 2010 than nothing. ed schultz and chris matthews mentioned it more than anyone else in the media. (ed schultz and chris matthews report the news) you don't need be to a rocket scientist that the repeal of this for the rich would do a hell of a lot. the republicans call this a tax increase on them. what do they call what their doing to the middle class???? a donation??? look at wisconsin, ohio, michigan and more. this bush tax cut was never paid for and now when the country's deficit is so high they want more from the middle class. washington greed!!!! answer me congressman ryan and boehner how do you explain this?????
Republicans are holding millions of American students hostage.
This is the month opf April and various colleges have notified students that their financing for the next semister still remain undertermined. By this time, students should have received reply from their respective colleges about how they will pay for their studies for the coming semister but this time, it has been different; Republicans in the Congress are still playing political games with the budget. Their intention is to shut down the government. Why don't the Democrats let them shut down the government as they want so that it remains in record that Republicans shut down the government.
Millions of students are not happy with what republicans are trying to do to them.
Sam, do you think the fact that the Democrat majority congress had this very thing planned when they failed (for the first time in history, I might add) to come up with a budget to keep the country running? Perhaps the social agenda could have waited until a budget was passed.
Students tend to vote Democrat anyway...at least until they are living on their own dime. Then they realize it isn't fair to them to have to pay for everyone else and many defect to the mean old Republican party.
Big B, the Republicans did it in the 90's-and suffered for it,as they will now since they think they have the purse strings.
The become pugs wannabees. They hate the system until they are on top, like most.
Bring on the pirates! That seems a natural reaction.
At least Bismark gave his people universal healthcare. One of the more successful models. Ryan is either deluded or another corporate shill.Â
Republicans are holding millions of American students hostage.
This is the month of April and various colleges have notified students that their financing for the next semester still remain undetermined. By this time, students should have received reply from their respective colleges about how they will pay for their studies for the coming semester but this time, it has been different; Republicans in the Congress are still playing political games with the budget. Their intention is to shut down the government. Why don't the Democrats let them shut down the government as they want so that it remains in record that Republicans shut down the government.
Millions of students are not happy with what republicans are trying to do to them.
I am totally ashamed of our media today. There is more honest arguement on this site than we see in a month on corporate TV or Newspapers. No in depth information. Their job, they feel, it to report what is said ... not the truth. When the truth does become evident ... and it will...I think you will see the Tea Party will be the most angry and be leaders in the fight against the corporate shills. They are the ones that have believed the lies and they are also some of our most patrioitc Americans. Hell hath no fury like a Tea Party member betrayed!
Gary, I don't think you are correct, the Tea Party have their version of the truth and that will not change, They believe democrats are socialist and the president is not an American, no matter how many times they hear the truth they will not believe it. Corporate America spends a lot of money to convince middle class Americans that unions are their enemy and the big wall street CEO's are their friends who want to create good paying jobs but the Socialist in the white house is preventing that with regulation and taxes that are forcing them to go overseas. Like it or not, that is what they believe now and that is what they will always believe.
You got that right.
I think, in the end, the "Tea Party" will prove to be, like the "moral majority" just another repackaging of the conservative fundamentalist agenda.
Most are just a little to nutty to be taken seriously. Many are also birthers and truthers. When all mixed together, its hard to tell.
Unfortunately, for the TP, most people figured it out all too quickly the real agenda has been to take from the middle class and give to the wealthy. Unfortunately for the country, they were not discovered soon enought to prevent them (except for some of the Senators) from being elected. Wisconsin, Ohio, Maine, Indiana, Michigan and other states are all experiencing buyers remorse. Funny how what has come up repeatedly has been "they never said that."
Welcome to the world of real politics, where politicians lie just to get elected.
While Candidate Obama wants to close Gitmo prison, President Obama has to deal with a Congress that won't allow it.
You are so right dirp101!
I have to give credit to Ryan for having the courage to stick to his convictions, I'm not sure how many Republicans will follow along. The biggest problem I have with all of the conservative budgets is they want to solve our fiscal problem using only one side of the equation which is disingenuous at best. There are so many tax loopholes and so many subsidies to oil companies, farms and many others that also need to be o the table. I have no problem with means testing for Social Security, a person making a million dollars a year certainly doesn't need Social Security, I also don't have a problem with gradually raising the retirement age, but vouchers and privatizing SS is like Medicare Part D, a give away to private companies., which will eventually lead to less benefits and higher premiums.
USAF here and you are so right! But Conservatives sell their crackpot ideas with smoke and mirrors and fear and smear. I cant name one single program they ever passed that benefited the middle income people. Its all about balancing the budget on the backs of the middle class and crying "class warfare" if anyone objects!
C-...
perhaps it is time to give them real class warfare. Remember Marie Anoinette.
I completely agree with Retired Military. To add to your pint we now allow seniors to go back to work and make as much as they can while collecting SS. My problem with that is some of them make well into the hundred thousand dollar and get medicare and SS. They don't need the medicare because they have health insurance from their job, and they shouldn't get the SS while earning bug $. There used to be a cap on what you could earn while you were collecting what happened to that cap? George Bush took that cap away which further helped with depleting the funds. And yes corporations need to start paying there fair share they paid 30% 50 years ago now they pay 6%. And if you are fortunate enough to make over $500,000.00 a year you should definitely pay higher taxed I think #250,000.00 is to low because in states where the cost of living is high 250 is like yearning 100 some place else.
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This guy hasn't a clue its the 2008 failed play book ...He makes no mention of dropping the senate /congress pay and benefits to 35k no benefits no retirements ...he isnt listening to what the people want ! Also no mention of closing the pentagon and cutting the military budgets .We should have one military service who is cross trained to fly plane's sail ships be a foot soldier..etc not all these different branches ..No mention of all foreign aid being stopped ... until the Americans are fed and housed and have health care ...this guy is way to young and a political hack at best ... once again NOTHING from the Rethuglicians !
I believe that Constitutionally the only approved standing military force is a Navy.
I must be dreaming should post this on the Presidents web site All the points you made on so good maybe a politican will see them and use them when he runs against the teabaggers in 2012
We're sorry. But we here at Democratic Financial World can't buy the "leadership" argument. Where was the leadership last year when the Republican called for permantizing the Bush Tax cuts with Barrowed money?
The ire's no credibility and that dog don't sing no more. Where was the leadership in notputting 2 wars on the budget? The allowing them to hang like afterthoughts-don't our men and women deserve better than that?And where was the courage to actually fund the wars. In ever other war we raised taxes to support the troops. We said we stand behind you-the Republicans ran away,
They has 8 years to fix entitlements when they were in power. They promised a $400 billion program, and then withheld crucial estimates from Congress that the actual figure was $540 billion, If this was so expensive why didn't they adopt the Democratic proposals to reduce the costs?
They had years of leadership to soit-and didn't.
Annd here at Demcratic Financial whorld we don't by the"robblin Peter to pasy Paul "arguement. The last we looked Wall Street Brokers took in $141 Billion in bonuses. No tax Jeff Imelt got $26 million and this list goes on and on? Even the Koch Brothers have yet to plead poverty.
Accondin to IRS staitiscs tere are more millioniare than ever befpore. Peter's not broke. He just doesn't want to payhis fair share to the country that made him rich and keeps him free. When the won't even want to pay for war war when America was attack-we know now the true meaning of unpoatriotisnm.
"Richie Rich Ryan" is going to force the working Middle Class, the working poor, the disabled, and the elderly in economic suicide. The Big Wall Street Bankers, large corporations, and the large insurance companies think "Richie Rich Ryan" has great courage. In Wisconsin, "Whacky Walker" is hoping that the unions would politically commit suicide, and economically he would be happy to administer the economic pill of poison. The "Nazi News Network." AKA. Fox News. Just loves to promote the unfairness of the "Richie Rich Ryan" economic plan of economic puke. The Progressives in Wisconsin need to wake up quickly because, the GOP has been on the political war path since the President took office.
Private Ryan. Only this one is no hero.
Progressive the name calling really sucks can't we be above that leave thename calling to the repubs. Why not try saying something smart for a change
It's in their blood time 4truth. Will not change.
Merely exposition.
To those poor souls who say "govement should live within it's meare like people do" take a look at private debt and credit card debt. Take look at people living in Big McMansions theycan barely afford who whine constatly about property taxes being"too high' when they were the ones who bought it at inflated prices..
No..I say they have a goverment jus tlike them...