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Republicans set the stage for this spring's fiscal battles by readying the debut of their new budget blueprint on Tuesday, which they said would achieve $4.6 trillion in savings and balance the U.S. budget within a decade.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., argued that his forthcoming budget — the third he's authored as chairman of the House Budget Committee — would be able to achieve a balanced budget by 2023, and boost the gross national product by as much as 1.7 percent in the meanwhile.
The plan is unlikely to ever become law in its entirety; it assumes a repeal of President Barack Obama's health care reform law, and collects no new revenue from taxes, two elements which are unpalatable to Democrats.
But budgets are often more political statements about a party's priorities than a hard governing blueprint. With that in mind, Ryan, the 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee, sought to inoculate Republicans from criticism of the budget, and play offense against Democrats' forthcoming budget.
"Our opponents will shout austerity, but let's put this in perspective," Ryan wrote in an op-ed to be published in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal. "On the current path, spending will increase by 5 percent each year. Under our proposal, it will increase by 3.4 percent. Because the U.S. economy will grow faster than spending, the budget will balance by 2023, and debt held by the public will drop to just over half the size of the economy."
Ryan was set to detail his full plan in a press conference on Tuesday morning, but his op-ed contained key elements of the budget. Ryan's plan would:
- Achieve a total of $4.6 trillion in savings over the next decade
- Enact tax reform that closes loopholes and deductions, while reducing the number of income brackets to two — one at 10 percent, the other at 25 percent
- Change Medicare to a model in which future retirees would receive "premium supports" (Democrats call them vouchers) to subsidize the purchase of insurance from a menu of options, including traditional Medicare
- Repeal the president's health care reform law
- Approve the proposed Keystone XL transnational oil pipeline
- Enact welfare reforms to give states more flexibility in enforcing the program
There are other aspects of Ryan's plan that the Wisconsin congressman will outline tomorrow. Many elements of the new Ryan budget are familiar Republican proposals, weaved together in a comprehensive statement of governing principles.
The new budget, however, is only the opening salvo in a budget battle that could stretch throughout much of the spring. Congress acted earlier this year to extend the debt limit through mid-May, but only on the condition that the House and the Senate each pass a budget. The Senate budget, authored by Democrats, and their first in years, is also due this week.
And the political fighting over the dueling proposals has already begun.
"I hate to break the suspense, but their budget won't balance—ever," Ryan wrote. "We House Republicans have done our part … Now we invite the president and Senate Democrats to join in the effort."
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Seems the Ryan plan has an asterisk after each bullet point........*This is assuming that everything that can go right, does, that the economy improves, that revenue increases, and that our colonies on the Moon continue to send us our shipments of upsiedaisium
The Ryan budget wants to include the health savings from Obamacare but remove the health aspects of Obamacare. Guess he gets the bulk of his cost savings by having the elderly and poor die off quicker????
Next,let's give them an IQ test ,I bet they all fail that too.
Bush had about an 87,,
Obama proposes closing loopholes and deductions and the Boner gives him the one finger salute. Ryan proposes closing loopholes and deductions and the Boner says"What a good boy!", "What a genius!", "What courage!"
The GOP.....always good for a laugh.
The GOP,,the American Taliban
What a joke, 14 trillion in debt and he thinks he can balance the budget. I would like to know how considering the fact the government has to borrow more money every year just to make the interest payments on the debt, while not paying one red cent on the principal that is owed. Hell there isn't enough money printed to even pay off the debt, and the government has to pay the banks interest to print more money at the federal reserve. So in other words it is nothing more than a ponzi scheme, and will fail no matter how many band aides they try to put on it. The bail out of the banks in 2008 just delayed what is coming, the total collapse of the worlds economy. Nixon put us on this path when he signed the bill into law taking us off the gold standard, and making our money worthless, and the only way to get off this path is to crash the economy and start over again on the gold standard, as well as banning corporations from being able to give money to any government official or campaign, "and make them pay their share of taxes"!
Agreed,
The U.S. Deficit is falling at fastest rate since WWII. Paul Ryan is another career politician looking for a battle cry that does not exist. He just lost a Presidential Election and needs to go find an Honest Job. He also needs to keep his hands off of Social Security and Medicare.
Read this new short article that proves Paul Ryan is wrong;
http://news.investors.com/blogs-capital-hill/112012-634082-federal-deficit-falling-fastest-since-world-war-ii.htm
Lyan Ryan,a troll for his masters
So let me get this straight..
Little Pauly wants to do away with the patient protections inherent in "Obamacare", end Medicare as we know it,. and throw seniors a few bucks every year while they're at the complete mercy of private health insurers who are under absolutely no coverage mandates or controls whatsoever ??
I mean... What could POSSIBLY go wrong with that idea....
I've underestimated just how stupid little pauly really is... Again...
Yeah, yeah..Obamacare is great if you enjoy paying 50% more for health insurance while receiving 50% less in benefits. Just wait until the 2014 portion kicks in and causes unemployment to bump up 2-3 percentage points in just a few months....way to go, Obama!
more unadulterated crap from the party of pure crap.
this jerk is a travesty, a little lost boy wandering around in the maze of conflicting ideologies, his plan is NO plan, repeal Obamacare which is the law of the land, continue to fight for the rights of the wealthy and to so easily forget the needs and the MANDATE OF THE CITIZENRY.
pathetic bunch of whiners, losers and non-creative thinkers.
Forward is the only way, going backwards is simply going backwards.
@William...what is Obama's plan again? .....oh, he still doesn't have one? ....is that Bush's fault, too?
GOP is backwards
@Hopeisgone. Obama doesn't have a plan because he knows there is no way out of the debt hole we are falling into, all he can do is slow down the fall. And yes you can blame Bush for throwing this country off the cliff with his war mongering and over spending, not to mention his huge tax cuts for the rich, and the billions in grants to the riches Corporations in the world(the oil companies). Yup I sure as hell can blame a lot on Bush!
We are talking about Ryan the lying troll,not the dumb bush,but he was responsable for the current depression
Almost overlooked this little tidbit...
Little pauly also wants to lower the tax rate on millionaires and billionaires by about 25%....
Really.... I mean... REALLY.??????
And what's with teapublicans and the "Keystone pipeline"??? It's a non-issue.. It's meaningless... It changes nothing... Not ONE material thing.... But they apparently get fully erect at the mere mention of the word "pipeline"... LOL!!!!!
It really borders on irrational behavior....
The GOP work for the criminals.
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this…
So, that’s what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball.
“Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20″. Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men ? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?
The bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.
“I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,”but he got $10!”
“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!”
“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”
“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison, “we didn’t get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!”
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
With your ideas on how the taxes work, you should be a volunteer for Ryan. You seem to forget that the millionaires only pay taxes on the first 250k of income, and at a much lower rate than the middle class does. If the millionaires payed taxes on all their income, and at the same rate the middle class does like you claim they do, people wouldn't be up in arms over it. As far as I am concerned, they should throw out every tax code on the books, and put just one in the new book. Everyone pays the same tax rate, no loop holes, no exemptions, including all Corporations. If they sell here, they pay here.
HopeisGone explaining our tax system. That’s priceless! So what’s next for you HopeisGone? How about a step by step guide to open heart surgery?
@Whips...are you really that naive? Who on earth brainwashed you into thinking millionaires only pay on the first $250k????? Do a little research and educate yourself about reality.
@Jim...I pay taxes, therefore, I am a hell of a lot more qualified to speak of them than you.....
Hope is gone
America spoke.
America stuck their hand out.....
Republicons got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
The right bitch slapped Pissant Ostumbler with the sequester. The right will back hand Pissant Ostumbler by crashing his gun grabbing and illegal alien amnesty agendas. And coming up a foot up Ostumbler's butt with more forced cuts with the debt ceiling. Want anything done leftist loons? Bite me. Kiss my a$$.
But,he won right tard. Get over it,,,
ha you so sad because you keep loosing! lol
Loosing is your bowels.
Get over it? We're gonna make these next 3 plus years hell for Pissant Ostumbla. He'll need a wheel chair and Alzheimer's med on his way out of the Whitehouse.
Bohner head got his spending cuts,,next up,,revenues through loopholes,,got a nice ring to it ,lmao
Repukes won't get in office for a very long time,,,
Looks like all the old republicans had to go to bed,,,,,must be old age,,that and the fact you lost
The Republicans can only pump out so many lies a week from their propaganda machine with all the budget cuts they have to endure.
Lets do the Republican plan
Destroy every union and social benefit
Then we will have total chaos
But remember no police or army that would be government intervention in the "Free" market of ideas
I'd agree with the destroying of all unions.....they are antiquated, not needed,and do nothing but promote mediocrity....
why would anyone listen to a loser! you lost -da
Always amusing to hear teapublicans talk about closing tax loopholes and deductions...
Without of course, ever naming a single one...
Ever...
The only tax reform I will ever agree to: tax rate the same for everyone (including Corporations), no exemptions or loop holes for anyone, if you make the money here in this country, you pay the taxes on it in this country.
Absolutely...
Right after we institute legislation providing the same income for everybody...
I'm in...
Oh..... good luck with that , by the way...
@Whips....I have an S-class corp...Last year, I paid just under 50% of my total income in taxes. Is this fair? Where did you get that previous garbage that corporations pay taxes on only the first $250k from?? This is a total lie and fabrication probably fed to you from some "reliable" source on the left....
K1200RS....the lazy normally want to be "paid the same as everyone", while the workers do not.
Rookie boy Ryan just doesn't get it. Refuses to admit Congress is directly behind the financial problems the USA is facing. Congress directed the VA to negotiate with drug makers for lower prices but stopped Medicare from doing the same. Congress exempted the compounding industry from FDA oversight after the surgeon general said this was dangerous, people would die. He was right, people died, congress was wrong. they should be prosecuted for medical malpractice. Read how Congress set up our medical system for failure, kowtowing to drug and medical equipment when they threw a few dollars in front of them. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2136864,00.html Get rid of congress, fix our budget, save billions and billions of dollars.
You forgot to mention the Drug companies fund the FDA ( they pay the FDA just over 5 million for every drug they appove). Why do you think there are so many new drugs popping out of nowhere on the market here, while at the same time, every other country in the world has already ban their use because they are not safe for human use. And most of them are pointed at our children and the elderly.
@whips.....name 2. Name just 2 legal drugs that are banned everywhere but here........I'll wait.
Ritalin to name one, it was developed in Sweden, and was ban across Europe before the testing was even completed because of the suicidal side effects, and mind altering side effect it had. It was also found to retard the development of the brain in young children. you know the same drug that most of the kids were on before or at the time of just about every school related shooting that took place in this country. Methotrexate is another one ban in all other countries, here it is used as a immune system suppressant, but it causes liver, kidney, heart damage, as well as cancer in it's users. Try watching a few documentary's on the subject, you may just learn something.
@ehips.....wait, I thought guns were responsible for all those shootings, and not the people?
The Right doesn't know what the more Right is doing and is lost by what the Far Right is doing. Campaign and vote vocally against the tax hike for the wealthy and then use it in your budget as a great revenue tool? Campaign on the "terrible injustice" done to seniors with the $716B reduction in Medicare costs and then use that as a great revenue tool? Complain that closing tax loopholes and targeting deductions are other words for tax hikes and will never happen.....and then add that in your budget as a great revenue tool? Cut, Cut, Cut to social programs. Add, add, add to defense, and the budget that had no hope of balancing in 40 years will now balance in 10? Change the tax structure to 10% and 25% and keep the same revenue? A fairy tale. Voucherize SS? Tell those 55 years old that in 20 years, when they are 75, that they will have the joy of purchasing insurance in a market with no controls? And that this is a benefit? And can someone please tell me how balancing the annual budget, i.e., money spent equals money in, has any hope of reducing the billions in the deficit??
Nailed it....
Thankfully,.. there's still some classic free thinkers in this country....
People who don't swallow the ideological blather. whole...
'Approve the proposed Keystone XL transnational oil pipeline'
A large majority of Canadians are against this pipeline but it is being shoved down our throats none the less. Makes me think it is a done deal no matter what the Canadian people want. Our right wing federal government has recently dissolved or completely diluted our regulatory agencies dealing with the environment. A disaster in the making...
The gap between the wealthy and the middle class is bigger, amazingly in midst of the budget and deficit crises, with about 7.7% unemployment and majority of middle class making little than before, as more part-time jobs available, with a boost of the emerging technology.
Trying to paying off some national debts may seek from the wealth of the wealthy instead of from the middle class; as the low income middle class has depended upon the government programs, to make the end meet.
More middle class families have crisis in retirement, saving, and in paying off their own debts. Has anyone in Congress, such as Ryan, thought about those middle class, the majority of 99%, such as what if they shut a government program, then how they survive that end?
What the Congress can do is to stop all the Pork Projects as they are so eager to tackle the national deficit, untilll at least the unemployment is dropping down below 4.5%, for the pork projects can save a lot of money, as they have tried to cut government programs that provide public safety and security.
If Ryan would like to twin the size of government, such as our Congress, he can cut the size of our Congress; perhaps, it may help though.