House Republican Budget Writer Hates Old and Poor People

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Paul Ryan vows to target Medicare and Medicaid

The top House budget writer vowed this week to craft a blueprint for the nation’s fiscal future that proposes significant reforms to Medicare and Medicaid — but not necessarily to Social Security — as he criticized President Barack Obama for choosing not to address entitlement spending in his fiscal 2012 budget.

“Where he has failed on these critical issues, especially the health care entitlements, we plan to step in the breach and provide that kind of leadership by showing the country how we would do things different,” Rep. Paul Ryan, a 41-year-old Wisconsin Republican, said in an interview Tuesday for the POLITICO video series “The Economic Outlook.”

Ryan said House Republicans will not just play at the edges of the major health care programs for the elderly, poor and disabled, for which the White House projected a combined cost of $754 billion.

Asked whether he was talking about “minor tinkering,” Ryan said, “No, I think it’s important that you do comprehensive health care entitlement reform, other kinds of entitlement reform.”

“Put it this way: The president didn’t lead. He didn’t put anything out there. He actually is accelerating the debt crisis. So, if we do not do anything, then where does this even get begun?” Ryan said. “If there’s zero leadership in Washington, then nothing gets done. We think there ought to be some leadership, and I guess we’re going to have to be the ones that provide it.”

Administration officials believe Ryan’s aggressive strategy plays directly into their hands, as they hope Republicans will overreach and alienate the public with efforts to rewire popular safety-net programs.

“We’re going to be trying to draw them out and say, ‘You guys need to have a plan,’” a senior administration official told POLITICO on Monday when the president’s budget was released.

“All these political pundits say we’re walking right into this trap, and they’re going to demagogue us and all of this stuff,” Ryan said. “Talk to the 87 freshmen who had our entitlement reforms that I personally put out. ... There are 87 freshmen who are here in office, who won their elections. ... We’re going to confront these challenges, and I, personally, believe the country is ready for this. I think the people are ahead of the political class.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49352.html#ixzz1EHCwMeJF

[^_^ 5,021]

Funny how focused they are on entitlement reform and not on reining in the massively unnecessary defense budget.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Funny how focused they are on entitlement reform and not on reining in the massively unnecessary defense budget.

Nothing says bacon like a military contract. Even the anti-war commies on the left fall over themselves when it comes to defense spending.

[^_^ 5,021]

Nothing says bacon like a military contract. Even the anti-war commies on the left fall over themselves when it comes to defense spending.

Which is exactly why I do not believe anyone is serious about the debt.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Strange how no one seems to suggest anymore about rolling the Federal budget back to a decade ago would pretty much solve the budget crisis and probably no one would see a drop in services.