Budget hawk: A closer look at the Ryan plan

Paul Ryan: the VP running mate of Mitt Romney

By Liz Goodwin, Yahoo! News
National Affairs Reporter

Rep. Paul Ryan greets the crowd after Gov. Romney introduced him as his running mate Saturday. (Win McNamee/Getty Photo)
(운영자 Note: He is smiling and opening arms for the rich, not for the poor, of course not for you doctors. See below why?)

Mitt Romney's budget hawk running mate Paul Ryan made his name in Congress by releasing a bold, government-slashing budget proposal that he calls 'The Path to Prosperity." It was first proposed for fiscal year 2012. Democrats have criticized Ryan's budget as a "Darwinian" re-making of the federal government, which would reward the rich and corporations with lower tax rates while cutting safety-net programs like Medicaid by hundreds of billions of dollars. But Ryan and his defenders say he is one of the few people in Washington willing to state the obvious, yet politically risky fact that the nation's entitlement programs aren't sustainable.

President Barack Obama's campaign released a statement Saturday saying Ryan's plan "would end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting thousands of dollars in health-care costs to seniors." The attack shows Democrats will use Ryan's budget proposals as a weapon against Romney. But will it work on voters?

Below, we've laid out the five key points from Ryan's "Pathway to Prosperity" budget so that you can judge for yourself.

1. Ryan's budget plan cuts $5.8 trillion over 10 years from projected federal spending and reduces the deficit by $4.4 trillion over the same period. Discretionary spending, which includes programs like food stamps, would see more than $900 trillion in reductions. The budget also calls for the repeal of President Obama's health care reform law, which supporters say would save billions in federal subsidies that will be given to lower-income people to buy insurance.

(운영자 Note: As you see, all these budget cuts come from the poor people. Nothing from the rich !! Only the poor and the un-insured will knock your door. The rich will go to Mayo Clinic.
Just wait to see some more below...)

2. The most contentious part of Ryan's proposed budget are the changes to Medicare, the nation's insurance plan for retirees and a political third rail. Ryan's plan would eventually transform Medicare into defined payments that seniors can use to buy private insurance or a government plan on an insurance exchange. There would be no limits to the out-of-pocket costs seniors could pay in this program, but Ryan assumes that the increased competition between Medicare and private plans would bring down overall costs. The amount of money seniors get to buy insurance would grow at a slightly higher rate than GDP each year. (The Congressional Budget Office says this would save the government money, but also significantly increase the amount seniors will eventually have to pay for their own insurance.) The eligibility age would gradually rise to 67, from 65. Democrats say this transforms Medicare into a "voucher program" that may leave seniors with big prescription bills and other medical costs, and the Obama campaign is already using this against Romney and Ryan. If Obama can convince seniors--a powerful voting bloc that turns out at the polls--that Ryan would worsen or weaken Medicare, it could mean bad news for their campaign.

(운영자 Note: So, the insurance can charge you as much as they want to and we will be helpless about it.
Naturally, healthcare cost will skyrocket and higher the cost, the more monet they rake in.
All these years, you hoped that Medicare would someday cover your healthcare cost. Now, it's gone if Republicans have their own way. You will still have to pay for it.)

3. Ryan would cut the top federal income tax rate for individuals and corporations to 25 percent from 35 percent. The budget says some tax breaks and loopholes would be eliminated to help offset the revenue loss.

(운영자 Note: Only the rich and the super-rich pay over 25% tax. So, this is designed to benefit exclusively the rich. It won't make any difference for the poor and middle class. It says about closing some tax breaks and loopholes... just conveniently "some and only", not all.)

4. Ryan would slash Medicaid, the insurance program for some low-income people, by $735 billion over ten years, and hand the program back to the states to administer with more freedom. The CBO writes that states would most likely have to "reduce payments to providers, curtail eligibility for Medicaid, provide less extensive coverage to beneficiaries, or pay more themselves than would be the case under current law."

(운영자 Note: Wonderful !! Now, doctors have to treat all those un-insured and people who don't even have Medicaid. Remember.. no states in the union can afford to pay Medicaid bill alone. The law says that doctors can not refuse to treat people who come and knock your door. So, you end up treating all these people for free of charge. Paul Ryan just transferred the burden of the healthcare of the poor totally on your shoulders. Doctors have supported Republicans all these years and this is what you get in return !!)

5. The budget spares Social Security and defense spending, which are left at current levels. Ryan's decision to back off Social Security is interesting, since he put forward proposals to privatize the program around the same time that President George W. Bush tried to sell the nation on a similar proposal. (Social Security does not face the same solvency challenges as Medicare and Medicaid, and is not projected to grow much as a percentage of GDP over the next 20 years.)

(운영자 Note: This means, simply and definitely, this guy doesn't know what he is talking about. It's known as a typical Republican BS.)