The House Budget Committee Plan Part 2

Ok, now I’ve seen a few more of the details. It’s all Republican magic with mirrors and fun with numbers. Always beware of any politician who quotes a number WITHOUT JUSTIFYING THAT NUMBER but especially beware of Republicans holding tax reform proposals.

Here are the total nonsense portions of the plan that I’m aware of:

Save $1.4 trillion by repealing the Health Care Plan.
I guess Ryan wasn’t copied on the memo sent to Boehner in January from the CBO pointing out that repealing Health Care would cost an estimated $230 billion in additional deficit.

Save $1.8 trillion by reductions in mandatory spending not related to health care or social security.
The problem is the plan doesn’t say FROM WHERE and this is an area of the budget that has been historically very difficult to cut. Where could the cuts come from, these savings could come from cuts in unemployment funding, food stamps and agricultural subsidies. Even if this were possible, it would be immoral. This number is just wishful thinking.

Tax Reform REDUCING the MAXIMUM tax rate for corporations and individuals to 25%.
And how is this going to not drive us into a revenue debacle? they’re going to close unspecified “loopholes.” I TOLD you they were going to somehow reduce taxes for the rich and corporations. How about we close the “loopholes” and go back to the maximum tax rates before the Bush cuts?

Save $735 billion by converting Medicaid to block grants.
The problem with this approach is it may very well encourage, or force, states to further restrict eligibility to this program. So who gets hurt? The poor and the handicapped.

Save $389 billion by shifting Medicare to a defined-contribution voucher plan.
The AARP appears very skeptical about this both in terms of its savings and its negative impact on health care for the elderly.

So let’s be very clear about this. The Republican plan asks the elderly, the poor, the handicapped, the unemployed, farmers and those without medical coverage to shoulder the total responsibility for reducing the deficit and the federal dept while corporations and high income individuals GET A TAX REDUCTION!

What is wrong with this picture?

But let’s continue shall we?

Ryan’s plan also assumes higher growth rates than any recent projection has indicated and is claiming, based upon a Heritage Foundation projection, that unemployment would be reduced to 4% by 2015. That would be a pretty good trick since it hasn’t been that low since the Clinton administration and 5% is considered about normal. In order to get to 4%, someone would have to come up with around 7 million jobs and people currently out of the work force, would have to stay out of the work force.

So, as usual, the Heritage Foundation has its head firmly up its posterior.

This is the old nonsense about reduce corporate taxes and the taxes of the wealthy and someone that translates into new infrastructure, new jobs and the trickling down of prosperity to us less fortunate ones.

I have a better idea. Cut taxes for the working and middle classes, then we'll go buy more stuff, which will drive demand and then prosperity will bubble up.