Republican Budget Makes $4 Trillion-Plus In Cuts

[+EdwardGlen]

fyi;

 

Dear Republicans: You cannot continue to cut taxes on businesses and the wealthy how is the United States to receive revenues when you cut taxes on the richest. Oh and under this budget proposal medicare recipients will pay more for less services, medicaid states will get block grants, and SPAM will be regarded as a fruit.

 

And one major reason President Obama appears to be spending so much more is the wars are now on the books. The Bush clan never had funding earmarked for the wars they just pumped money into them unchecked by diverting from other programs and ghost funding..

 

The forces in a capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

- Jawaharlal Nehru

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http://www.npr.org/2011/04/03/135095859/republican-budget-makes-4-trillion-plus-in-cuts?ft=1&f=1001

 

A Republican plan for the 2012 budget would cut more than $4 trillion over the next decade, more than even the president's debt commission proposed, its principal author said Sunday.

 

The spending blueprint from Rep. Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, is to be released Tuesday. It deals with the budget year that begins Oct. 1, not the current one that is the subject of negotiations aimed at preventing a partial government shutdown on Friday.

 

In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Ryan said budget writers are working out the 2012 numbers with the Congressional Budget Office, but he said the overall spending reductions would come to "a lot more" than $4 trillion. The debt commission appointed by President Obama recommended a plan that it said would achieve nearly $4 trillion in deficit reduction.

 

Ryan said Obama's call for freezing nondefense discretionary spending actually locks in spending at high levels. Under the forthcoming Republican plan, Ryan said spending would return to 2008 levels and thus cut an additional $400 billion over 10 years.

 

Speaking broadly about the proposal, Ryan said it would include: a "premium support system" for Medicare, the government health program for the elderly. In the future, older people would choose plans in the marketplace and the government would subsidize those plans. Ryan said that would differ from the voucher system he has proposed in the past. Those 55 and older would remain under the present Medicare system.

 

Ryan acknowledged that the "premium support system" would shift more costs to Medicare recipients, especially those he called "wealthy seniors." He did not define at what level someone would be considered wealthy.

 

Block grants to states for Medicaid, the health program for the poor. Ryan disputed reports that the plan would seek savings of $1 trillion over 10 years from Medicaid, but would say only that the details would be in the plan.

 

"Medicare and Medicaid spending will go up every single year under our budget. They don't just go up as much as they're going right now," he said. Ryan said governors have told members of Congress they want "the freedom to customize our Medicaid programs. ... We want to get governors freedom to do that."

 

A statutory cap on actual discretionary spending as a percentage of the economy. While Ryan did not specify the amount during the interview, he said it would be at a higher level than proposed by Obama and would return the government to its "historic size."

 

Pro-growth tax changes, including lower tax rates and broadening the tax base. Ryan said overhauling taxes would boost the economy. The plan will not propose tax increases.

 

Ryan was a member of Obama's bipartisan debt commission but voted against its final recommendations, saying they failed to reduce spending on health care. The commission also endorsed tax increases along with painful spending cuts as necessary to dealing with the debt problem.

 

"We're not going to go down the path of raising taxes on people and raising taxes on the economy. We want to go after the source of the problem, and that is spending," Ryan said Sunday.

 

Ryan didn't mention how the budget plan would address Social Security which provides benefits to retirees.

 

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, part of a six-member group of Republicans and Democrats forging their own budget proposal, said that the lawmakers would be looking for "real balance" in Ryan's plan and wanting all options considered.

 

"I think we'll come at it differently," Durbin said on Meet the Press on NBC.

 

"The idea of sparing the Pentagon from any savings, not imposing any new sacrifice on the wealthiest Americans, I think goes way too far. We have got to make certain that it's a balanced approach and one that can be sustained over the next 10 years."

 

Ryan criticized Obama, telling Fox that the president was "punting on the budget and not doing a thing to prevent a debt crisis, which every single economist tells us is coming sooner rather than later in this country."

 

"You have to address the drivers of our debt," he said. "We need to engage with the American people on a fact-based budget, on stopping politicians from making empty promises to people and talk to the country about what is necessary to fix these problems.

[+420Atheist]

Well there they go again. That Medicare "premium support system" sounds a lot like what they just got rid of. Medicare Plus or Medicare Advantage was a program where Medicare was administered by private companies and not the government but paid for by tax dollars. People on that program cost tax payers 30% more than the government run Medicare. That savings is one way the Portable Health Care Act paid for the extra people who would be eligible for Medicare. Changing that will mean tax payers will have to cover the cost of mansions and yachts for insurance company execs.

 

They are saving money by cutting programs like heating assistance and head start but not once do you hear them say a darn thing about the over 4 Billion dollars in oil company subsidies or the over 3 billion given to GE who made a profit of 14 billion and paid zero taxes. And by the way whenever you hear the term subsidies when talking about corporations that means welfare. We need to start calling it what it is. Corporate welfare for companies that made huge profits like GEs 14 billion.

[TimmyHill]

maybe they want some of us to voluntarily line up to be shot and killed to get us off of the rolls. it's always the less fortunate in our society who get dealt the harshest blows. i miss my wife dearly but i am glad she is not here to see me suffer. i barely survive and no not what the future holds. these are very scary times. a good friend of mine told me many years ago that the democrats were simply the lesser of two evils but i a m not so sure any more because our president signed off on those bush tax cuts that he promised he would not extend. face it folks, we are being systematically eliminated one piece of flesh at a time. there are too many people in this country and not enough money. something has to give. look up fema camps on google. i won't live to see it but many of you will. rougher days are in store for this once great nation of ours. very sad about our law, our state, our politicians, and our nation. the republicans in power obviously don't care about any of us and are proud to act like that. the democrats are just a little sneakier and try and spin things to make us feel good while we're all getting a good rodgering from good old uncle sam

[Big J]

Well there they go again. That Medicare "premium support system" sounds a lot like what they just got rid of. Medicare Plus or Medicare Advantage was a program where Medicare was administered by private companies and not the government but paid for by tax dollars. People on that program cost tax payers 30% more than the government run Medicare. That savings is one way the Portable Health Care Act paid for the extra people who would be eligible for Medicare. Changing that will mean tax payers will have to cover the cost of mansions and yachts for insurance company execs.

 

They are saving money by cutting programs like heating assistance and head start but not once do you hear them say a darn thing about the over 4 Billion dollars in oil company subsidies or the over 3 billion given to GE who made a profit of 14 billion and paid zero taxes. And by the way whenever you hear the term subsidies when talking about corporations that means welfare. We need to start calling it what it is. Corporate welfare for companies that made huge profits like GEs 14 billion.

While I would hate to see anyone with out heat or an education if you want to call a spade a spade then we need to do just that. When a politician talks of cutting welfare, heat, headstart, or any other social program the truth is it is not a cut. They have not fully cut much of anything in years. The so called cuts of today are actually a reduction in increase. Instead of spending 4 billion dollars next year on a program they are only going to spend 2 billion. When the opposing politician wants to paint the other side in a bad light they call that a 2 billion dollar cut. When actually it is still going to be raised 2 billion dollars. Don't get me wrong I by no means am a rich person as a matter of fact I am broke as a joke but I do understand truth and spin. No matter who is running the show until we the people put the government, the police and all public employees in there place we are just going to see the continuation of the republican and democrats shell game. Remember those in power wish to stay in power. And absolute power corrupts absolutly.

[Big J]

Also the solution to the people feelin the rich get away with something is an easy one. It is called a flat taxes set a percentage say 10 percent. Everyone and I mean everyone pays 10 percent from the fry guy at mcdonalds to the CEO of a major corporation. There are no more loopholes there are no deductions period no exceptions everyone pays 10 percent of what they earn. The other idea is a sales tax that way everyone including people in the country illegally would have to pay it. Currently illegals do pay some income tax however most pay drastically less because they claim large numbers of dependents because they are not ever going to file at the end of the year. A sales tax or a flat tax fixes that no exceptions no deductions if you work you pay.