GOP $4 Trillion Budget Cut Plan: DOA

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

GOP $4 Trillion Budget Cut Plan: DOA
(posted with permission from: http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2011/04/gop-4-trillion-budget-cuts-doa.html)

Why is it dead on arrival? Because it is based on phasing out Medicare and Medicaid, thus placing the burden on the backs of the elderly and the poor. And even if that was done, our debts are now so big that all of that money would not solve what we are facing.

Worse yet, the plan doesn't address the elephant in the room, massive military spending. Without dramatically slashing those costs, nothing will work. The GOP plan also doesn't address higher taxes, something we must all pay for the spending sins we've already committed and continue to commit.

Just to pay the government's current debt now costs us $200 billion a year in interest charges and that number is growing quickly. It will explode in size when interest rates rise to normal levels.

The good news is we can fix this staggering financial mess if we do it now but it will be painful. It can't be back end loaded over 10 years. And you must get involved by speaking up. Without you, politicians won't have the backbone and no serious plans will arrive until our nation is soaring in debt and in runaway inflation.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. "Just to pay the government's current debt now costs us $200 billion a year."

It's closer to $300B. Much closer.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

2. Thank you for the correction...

..imagine dividing that 300B among 50 states...good times and full employment!

[JDPriestly]

3. Just let the seniors die miserably. What a great solution!

How Christian of them.

[toddwv]

6. Actually, it's ALOT more than $300b

The treasury said that we paid nearly $414,000,000,000 just in interest last year.

Just in case anyone wants to blame it on the Democrats, we paid $405,872,109,315.83 just in interest in 2006.

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/ir/ir_expense.htm

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. It's the most under-reported figure in America.

It's banker food.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

4. " the elephant in the room, massive military spending."

That's for sure.

[kentuck]

5. More trickle down bullshit.

We've had 30 years of it. It doesn't work. Get off it!

[starroute]

7. Ryan's Medicare proposal is too bizarre to even take seriously

I mean, even aside from the being evil part, it makes no sense at all.

It would only apply to people who are 55 or younger, so it would have no effect at all for the next 10 years.

And it proposes to give everyone vouchers equal to the average Medicare spending per individual -- which has to be more than the average spending per newly-enrolled 65 year old. So for some unknown number of years, it would be paying out more than current Medicare does.

This means Ryan is proposing a system which first does nothing and then makes the deficit worse -- and then finally some time around 2025 or 2035 reaches its objective of reducing Medicare spending by screwing over the elderly.

This is worse than simply evil. It's flat-out stupid for the sake of being evil.

[roguevalley]

8. here is the scary part. Rachel said that he gave them this issue

ona platter. If Obama does his usual lets all just get along and discuss this, Medicare is dead. We shall see if he shoves this down their throat like a dem would.