The 5 Ryan Policies America Is Going To Spend The Next 3 Months Fighting About
Paul Ryan’s “Path to Prosperity” budget an an earlier “Roadmap” detail his vision for a scaled down government, with lower taxes, less regulation, and less support for the poor. These are the defining fights of the months to come.
1. Privatize Medicare
The most controversial element of the “Path to Prosperity” would convert the federal program for the elderly from a system of payments to doctors into a voucher for patients to spend as they see fit. The goal: To make the system both cheaper and more efficient. It’s a dramatic shift in the structure of the safety net, though it wouldn’t affect people currently older than 55.
2. Cut Taxes
Ryan’s plan would cut the top tax rate from 35% to 25% on income over $388,350, and levy only one other rate, 10%. A windfall for people with high incomes, Ryan argues it would free a huge new sum of cash to invest in the American economy.
3. Cut Poverty Programs
Over the next 10 years, Ryan would cut federal spending on food stamps by $133.5 billion, and Medicaid by $810 billion. The federal government would turn over the administration of the scaled-down programs to the states, which would receive the money in the form of block grants.
4. Cap Spending on Most Domestic Programs
The “Path to Prosperity” would limit federal discretionary spending to $1.028 trillion for 2013, which is billions below the current level. This means less money being put towards education, transportation, agriculture, and Veterans benefits, among other programs, in an effort to reduce the deficit.
5. Implement Social Security Vouchers
Though the “Path to Prosperity” omits this policy issue, Ryan’s “Roadmap for America’s Future” promises to convert the current Social Security program to a voucher system in which Americans would invest their retirement income, rather than receiving a guaranteed — but fixed — monthly payment.
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Apequake 10 months agoRyan is a very dangerous man. As a Wisconsinite, I can attest that he is very charismatic and well-spoken. When he speaks, it almost makes sense. You want to believe him because he has that “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” quality. However, trickle down economics never works. Yes, in most cases, government will spend rich people’s money better than they do. I’m not a 1%, but I earn enough to pay taxes to my state and the feds. Although April sucks, I understand and appreciate that they have our collective interests better considered than I can. Wealthy people generally will not go out of their way to support the collective’s needs. They donate to items or a cause that peaks their interest (e.g. universities, hospitals and their church or organizations of their affiliation). Businesses tend to go even harder after the bottom line and clutch their purse strings tighter. If they spend more, it would be to create an addition to their business or personal home, but not their employees so much. Although I agree their should be budget caps, applying hard budget caps is reckless. The worst part is the privatization of Social Security and Health Care. Health bills are insane. HMOs and Medicare is the only thing limiting even more gouging. While hospitals pay their staff huge sums of money in OT, expand with state-of-the-art wings and drug companies are charging ridiculous sums for pills (for research and marketing of their product), we go into debt. Even more, doctors are whores to their HMO and drug companies for bonuses and etc. There is no outcome where privatization will make those situations any better. I have studied Social Security extensively. It is not manageable “as is”. However, privatizing is an asinine solution. That money is for retirement. It cannot be gambled away by financial institution with the intent to take as much away from the “customer” as possible.
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Richard Parker 10 months agoWhat a surprise. Just another Republican looking out for the interests of the wealthy.
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dangerouslytalented 10 months agoPrivatising medicare and social security? The American private healthcare system is still the most expensive healthcare system in the world, and vastly inefficient, while giving trillions of dollars to the banks in the form of social security accounts will only result in the banks skimming massive amounts from social security and giving it to the executives.
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