The rhetoric spewed from the bowels of propaganda machines during presidential election seasons can sometimes seem daunting. How can one separate fact from fiction? This cycle, it seems that democrats have gone to new lows by trying to incite racial tensions in their attempt to divide America. Vice President Joe Biden described the GOP’s goals in a speech he gave in Virginia when he stated, “they gonna put y’all back in chains.” Democratic Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas proclaimed that “Mitt Romney, he’s speaking to a… segment of the population who does not like to see people other than a white man in the White House or any other elected position… I absolutely believe it is all about race and for the first time in my life I’ve been able to convince my children finally that racism is alive and well… All across this nation, and especially in Virginia.” Because the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Paul Ryan, is a born and raised native of Wisconsin, it’s important that we go beyond the petty racism of the left and actually examine policy. The large bulk of attacks levied at Paul Ryan are aimed at his controversial budget proposal that Mitt Romney has now incorporated into his platform. While serving on the House Budget Committee in 2011, Ryan proposed budget reforms that included reforming Medicare, Medicaid and the Food Stamp Program. Democrats charge that his proposal is a radical exercise in fiscal austerity that would let poor orphans starve and deny grandma and grandpa the medical services that they need. I find this completely laughable because I don’t think that Ryan’s budget goes nearly far enough.
One of the biggest problems facing America today is that only one party claims to have any interest in balancing the federal budget, and when given the opportunity, that party still manages to fail miserably. I don’t see why it is controversial in the least to demand fiscal responsibility, and the fact that leftists have no desire to submit a budget at all (even with control of all three branches of our government!) is ludicrous. For those of you thinking “but Clinton was the only one not to have a budget deficit in recent history!” I would like you to note that the republicans controlled both the House and the Senate during his presidency.
Anyway, it’s important to examine what Ryan’s budget actually does. The Bipartisan Policy Center analyzed Paul Ryan’s proposals and found that a decade out, in 2022, the federal government will still be spending more money than it is taking in. Other analyses have indicated that the Ryan budget won’t equalize the federal government’s deficit for more than 30 years. Right now the national debt sits at over 100% of GDP for only the second time in our country’s history. The first time was after World War II. If spending continues as it has for the last few years, debt by 2020 could hit 151% of GDP, putting us right in between where Greece and Italy are now. For those of you that say Ryan’s Budget is fiscally radical, I would argue that it doesn’t do nearly enough.
On the other hand, if you want to argue about which budget cuts should actually be made, I would gladly have a discussion. For example, I would propose large swaths of cuts to our military-industrial complex first before we start cutting the entitlement programs. What Paul Ryan is more specifically criticized for is his proposal to reform Medicare. I think that it’s important, therefore, to contrast Ryan’s Medicare plan with President Barack Obama’s.
Paul Ryan would take the federal Medicare program and issue funds directly to states so that care could be administered locally. Starting in 2022 the current Medicare program would end for all Americans born after 1956, and it would be replaced with a voucher system, giving consumers more choice. The eligibility age would be gradually raised from 65 years to 67 years, as the American life expectancy continues to climb higher. To me this proposal doesn’t seem very controversial.
Obama on the other hand, unbeknownst to many liberals, has already cut a huge chunk of the Medicare budget in an act of sheer hypocrisy, as he criticized John McCain for wanting to cut funding to the program in 2008. When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed, funding to the tune of 716 billion dollars over the next decade will be taken from Medicare to pay for Obama’s new health bill. Admittedly, these funds are only cuts on expected Medicare growth. Obama’s Medicare plan, according to Matthew Yglesias of Slate.com, “proposes to make Medicare more closely resemble fixed-budget single payers systems like the one they have in Canada.”
If we want to be serious about our fiscal crisis, democrats and republicans are going to have to come together to make cuts across the board. Partisan politics are all fun and games until our country goes bankrupt in the name of self-serving vanity.
Steven is a junior majoring in biochemistry and political science. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
