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- iHaveNet.com: Economy
by Clarence Page
What would America look like if the
Ryan's plan unfortunately pushes the pain toward those who can least afford it -- or, to put it another way, those who are least likely to vote Republican.
Ryan must be a good student of President Ronald Reagan's feel-good approach to economic issues.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal Washington think tank, found Ryan's budget plan would get about two-thirds of its more than $4 trillion in budget cuts over 10 years "from programs that serve people of limited means." Those programs include
Yet, in even more of a reverse Robin Hood move, the budget plan offers new tax breaks to corporations and higher-income taxpayers. Although income taxes would be stripped of numerous current deductions, top rates for individuals and businesses would be cut to 25 percent from 35 percent under the Ryan proposal.
Ryan also proposes repealing key elements of the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform law, even though that gift to Wall Streeters has curiously little to do with budget balancing.
And what new taxes does the Ryan budget call for to cover these revenue losses? Surely you jest. New revenue sources are conspicuous in their absence from this budget. Like Reagan, he expects tax cuts to bring enough new growth and revenue to cover costs. Yet, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, among other analysts, has called that economic scenario too rosy for belief.
Ryan-omics reduces the costs of
And remember:
The biggest challenge is
Ryan apparently takes seriously the polls that show many Americans saying, "I want the same insurance that Congress has." But will they prefer it to what seniors have now? I think not.
Will people protest now? President Bush was surprised to find seniors roundly rejecting his more modest
In short, there's a lot to argue about in Ryan's deficit-reducing budget, so much that sensible centrists, as well as liberals, probably won't let it pass in its current form. Democrats will be tempted to watch Republicans sink in a backlash of angry seniors and others who are upset by the drastic unfairness of Ryan's plans. But for the good of the nation's fiscal health, Democrats need to come back with some deficit-reduction ideas of their own.
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Reaganomics? Meet 'Ryan-omics'