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2011年4月14日星期四

GOP rips the Obama deficit reduction plan

反序列化操作“Translate”的响应消息的正文时出现错误。读取 XML 数据时,超出最大字符串内容长度配额 (8192)。通过更改在创建 XML 读取器时所使用的 XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas 对象的 MaxStringContentLength 属性,可增加此配额。 第 2 行,位置为 8494。
反序列化操作“Translate”的响应消息的正文时出现错误。读取 XML 数据时,超出最大字符串内容长度配额 (8192)。通过更改在创建 XML 读取器时所使用的 XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas 对象的 MaxStringContentLength 属性,可增加此配额。 第 1 行,位置为 9239。
Ryan: Obama 'poisoning wells' with planNEW: Republicans slam President Obama's tax proposal"Doing nothing on the deficit is just not an option," Obama saysThe president aims to cut the federal debt by $4 trillion over the next 12 yearsObama says his plan will help to sharply limit Medicare cost increases

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama unveiled his long-awaited deficit reduction plan Wednesday, calling for a mix of spending reductions and tax hikes that the White House claims would cut federal deficits by $4 trillion over the next 12 years without gutting popular programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Obama's plan includes a repeal of the Bush-era tax cuts on families making more than $250,000 annually -- something sought by Democrats but strongly opposed by Republicans. The president also called for the creation of a "debt fail-safe" trigger that would impose automatic across-the-board spending cuts and tax changes in coming years if annual deficits are on track to exceed 2.8% of the nation's gross domestic product.

The president claimed that by building on or adjusting the health care reform bill passed last year, $480 billion would be saved by 2023, followed by an additional $1 trillion in the following decade. For example, he proposed tightly constraining the growth in Medicare costs starting in 2018.

"Doing nothing on the deficit is just not an option," Obama said in the speech at George Washington University, adding that "our debt has grown so large that we could do real damage to the economy if we don't begin a process now to get our fiscal house in order."

Pull in at least $250k? Obama wants more

Obama's approach seeks to carve out a political middle ground between conservatives -- who are pushing for deficit reduction based solely on spending cuts and expected economic growth -- and liberals, who are generally resisting entitlement reform and seeking higher corporate and personal taxes.

He called for political leaders to put aside orthodox party ideology and work together for the good of the country, saying "we can solve this problem" while noting that "any serious plan to tackle our deficit will require us to put everything on the table, and take on excess spending wherever it exists in the budget."

At the same time, Obama blasted the House Republican 2012 budget proposal unveiled last week, saying it would "lead to a fundamentally different America than the one we've known throughout most of our history."

"These are the kind of cuts that tell us we can't afford the America that I believe in and that I think you believe in," Obama said of the plan by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, who sat in the audience Wednesday. "I believe it paints a vision of our future that's deeply pessimistic."

Possible presidential rivals in 2012 react

The administration's package stands in sharp contrast to Ryan's blueprint, which calls for cutting the debt by $4.4 trillion over the next decade while radically overhauling Medicare and Medicaid and dropping the top personal and corporate tax rate to 25%.

GOP leaders, who were briefed by Obama at the White House before the speech, harshly criticized the president's call for higher taxes on wealthier Americans.

"Any plan that starts with job-destroying tax hikes is a non-starter," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "Republicans are fighting for meaningful spending cuts and fighting against any tax increases on American small businesses."

Where they'll butt heads on tax reductions

Ryan said he was "very disappointed" in the president. "What we heard today was a political broadside from our campaigner-in-chief," he said. "Rather than building bridges, he's poisoning wells."

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said the president's tax proposal set "a new standard for class warfare," while possible GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich said Obama "continues to operate with a left-wing worldview that will hurt seniors, kill jobs, raise gas prices, and increase our crushing debt."

Under the Obama plan, Pentagon spending would fall by roughly $400 billion by 2023, while federal pensions, agricultural subsidies and other domestic programs would also face the budget ax, according to the White House.

Time: Will budget cuts kill the recovery?

In total, nonsecurity discretionary spending -- Washington jargon for the 12 percent of the federal budget aside from defense spending, debt payments and the big entitlements such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security -- would be cut by a total of $770 billion over the next 12 years.

The $770 billion figure is in line with recommendations put forward by Obama's bipartisan debt reduction commission last December, according to the White House.

Obama's plan contained no specific proposal for Social Security, the government-run pension plan that will run out of money in coming decades. The president does not believe that the program "is in crisis (or) is a driver of our near-term deficit problems," a White House statement noted.

GOP senators propose raising Social Security age

But Social Security does face "long-term challenges that are better addressed sooner than later," the statement added, and Obama expressed a willingness to consider changes to help the program maintain its solvency down the road.

Obama said Vice President Joe Biden would begin meeting with legislators from both parties in early May with the aim of forging agreement on a deficit reduction plan by the end of June. According to the White House, the meetings would include eight Congress members and eight senators -- equally split between the two parties.

Did Biden take a snooze during speech?

The president, however, strongly opposed the proposed Medicare and Medicaid overhaul outlined in Ryan's 2012 GOP budget proposal.

Under Ryan's plan, the government would stop directly paying Medicare bills for senior citizens in 2022. Instead, recipients would choose a plan from a list of private health insurance providers, which the federal government would subsidize. Individuals currently 55 or older would not be affected by the changes.

Medicaid, which provides health care for the disabled and the poor, would be transformed into a series of block grants to the states. Republicans believe state governments would spend the money more efficiently and would benefit from increased flexibility, while Democrats warn that such a move would shred the health care security provided to the most vulnerable Americans in recent generations.

"I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs," Obama said. "I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves. We will reform these programs, but we will not abandon the fundamental commitment this country has kept for generations."

Zelizer: Can Obama resist the GOP?

The Republican "vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America," the president asserted. "It ends Medicare as we know it."

At the same time, Obama said that Democrats also must recognize the need for significant change in America's fiscal structure and practices.

"To those in my own party, I say that if we truly believe in a progressive vision of our society, we have the obligation to prove that we can afford our commitments," the president said. "If we believe that government can make a difference in people's lives, we have the obligation to prove that it works -- by making government smarter, leaner and more effective."

As Obama and the Republicans spar over long-term deficit reduction plans, they also need to tackle the budget for the remainder of the current fiscal year, which ends September 30.

What's driving the debt debate?

The House is scheduled to vote Thursday on a deal reached late last week that would cut spending for the year by $38.5 billion.

The package cuts funding for a wide range of domestic programs and services, including high-speed rail, emergency first responders and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Under the terms of the deal, roughly $20 billion would be taken from discretionary programs while nearly $18 billion would come from what are known as "changes in mandatory programs," or CHIMPS, which involve programs funded for multiyear blocks that don't require annual spending approval by Congress.

Republicans generally opposed CHIMP cuts because they affect only one year, with funding returning to the preauthorized level in the following year.

Democrats and Republicans also have to contend with an impending vote to raise the nation's debt ceiling. Congress needs to raise the limit before the federal government reaches its legal borrowing limit of $14.29 trillion later this spring or risk a default that could result in a crashing dollar and spiraling interest rates, among other things.

CNNMoney: Debt ceiling is next big deadline

Republicans have repeatedly stressed that any vote to raise the cap has to be tied to another round of spending cuts or fiscal reforms.

The administration, in contrast, has called for a "clean" vote on the cap, which would raise the limit without adding any conditions. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has warned that trying to force the issue is tantamount to playing a game of "chicken" with the economy.

While meeting with reporters after his meeting with Obama, however, Boehner indicated that the president might be open to a compromise on that vote.

CNN's Dana Bash, Dan Lothian, and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report


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2011年4月10日星期日

Obama to plan deficit this week

反序列化操作“Translate”的响应消息的正文时出现错误。读取 XML 数据时,超出最大字符串内容长度配额 (8192)。通过更改在创建 XML 读取器时所使用的 XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas 对象的 MaxStringContentLength 属性,可增加此配额。 第 2 行,位置为 8804。
反序列化操作“Translate”的响应消息的正文时出现错误。读取 XML 数据时,超出最大字符串内容长度配额 (8192)。通过更改在创建 XML 读取器时所使用的 XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas 对象的 MaxStringContentLength 属性,可增加此配额。 第 1 行,位置为 9260。
President Obama is expected to lay out his deficit-reduction plan Wednesday, his adviser tells CNN. President Obama is expected to lay out his deficit-reduction plan Wednesday, his adviser tells CNN.NEW: Republican leaders say raising the debt ceiling will require concessionsNEW: Democrats warn that a debt ceiling defeat would risk economic declineThe president's plan will address Medicare and Medicaid costs, raise revenue, Plouffe saysObama will unveil his plan on Wednesday

Washington (CNN) -- Fresh off last-minute budget negotiations that averted a partial government shutdown, President Barack Obama this week will lay out his plan for long-term deficit reduction demanded by conservatives.

White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe appeared on four Sunday talk shows to announce Obama's intentions and deliver the administration message that further deals like the one reached last Friday night with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, will be necessary as Congress and the administration face more major budget decisions in coming months.

CNN's Candy Crowley reported that White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told her Obama's deficit plan would come out Wednesday, and Plouffe told CNN's "State of the Union" that the president will "be clear about the types of deficit reduction we need in terms of dollar amounts over what period of years."

Obama's timing responds to a Republican budget plan for next fiscal year released last week by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, that would overhaul the Medicare and Medicaid government health care programs for senior citizens and the elderly while reforming the tax code to lower rates and eliminate loopholes.

Battle continues for Paul Ryan | Zakaria's take Video

Plouffe, however, declared on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the Ryan plan had no chance of becoming law. He told CNN that Obama's plan also would address rising costs of Medicare and Medicaid, and in addition cut defense spending and raise revenue by ending tax breaks for the wealthy.

"He does believe that to grow economically, to be a strong country, we can't sustain this fiscal situation," Plouffe said on CNN. Acknowledging some dissent among the president's liberal base, Plouffe said "there are some that don't agree with that, but he believes strongly that we do have to engage in serious deficit reduction."

To Republicans, the Obama stance is an about-face from his own 2012 budget proposal released in February that called for no significant reforms to entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid that contribute the most to growing deficits.

"I'm glad to see some sort of retreat" from the original proposal "to do nothing," Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama told the CBS program "Face the Nation."

Last week, Obama and congressional leaders negotiated an agreement to cut $38.5 billion in non-military discretionary spending for the rest of the current fiscal year, which ends on September 30.

The deal came about an hour before funding authorization for the government was scheduled to expire, which would have partially shut down government operations.

Obama signs short-term funding extension

Both sides sought to claim victory in the tense negotiations that escalated through the week, attracting non-stop news coverage on the scope and impact of having major government programs shut down with military paychecks halted, national parks closed and some IRS tax processing delayed.

House Republicans, driven by demands of the conservative Tea Party movement that helped them regain control of the chamber in last November's elections, sought $61 billion in discretionary spending cuts below current levels. The final figure of $38.5 billion satisfied GOP leaders, but not the Tea Party movement, with one group referring to the house speaker as John "White Flag of Surrender" Boehner.

"The ramifications of this debacle will be felt for a long time, not only in the government but within the Tea Party and will be felt the next time the GOP comes calling for our help," said an email from Tea Party Nation.

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, a Tea Party favorite, offered some qualified praise for Boehner on the budget agreement expected to win congressional approval this week.

"I think speaker John Boehner got a good deal," Pence said. "It is not probably not good enough for me to support it, but I think he had a good deal. And it is a good start in the direction of fiscal discipline."

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois told CNN that Reid and Obama succeeded in protecting top spending priorities, including early childhood education and Pell Grants for college students, from getting cut.

"At the end of the day we won the battle, but we join with Republicans in cutting spending," Durbin said.

Another prominent Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, told the CBS program "Face the Nation" that about half of the cuts in last week's deal involved mandatory spending programs known in appropriations parlance as "Changes in Mandatory Programs," or CHIMPS.

Schumer: Details of cuts coming Monday

Spending for such programs, such as Pell Grants and some kinds of highway and agriculture funding, gets authorized by Congress for multiple years at a time and therefore doesn't require new authorization each year.

Republicans argued that reducing the spending in mandatory programs for one year doesn't prevent the amount from returning to its original level the following year, and therefore doesn't reduce the overall size and cost of government.

Full details of the spending cuts in last week's agreement will be released Monday, Schumer said.

Now the administration and Congress face further budget battles, including the need to increase the U.S. debt limit as soon as next month and drafting a federal budget for fiscal year 2012, which begins October 1.

Ryan fired the opening salvo with his 2012 budget proposal that he said would cut $6.2 trillion in federal spending over the next decade while radically overhauling Medicare and Medicaid, and reforming the tax code by dropping the top rate for individuals and businesses while eliminating loopholes.

Plouffe criticized the Ryan plan Sunday as an unbalanced approach that put the burden of fixing the nation's fiscal problems on the elderly and the poor.

Under the GOP plan, he said, "the average millionaire in this country would get a $200,000 tax cut," while the average senior citizen in the future will face a $6,000 increase in health care costs.

Plouffe repeated the call by Obama and congressional Democrats for eliminating tax breaks for people earning more than $250,000 a year, saying "we've got to do it in a balanced way" because resolving the problem "can't be all on the backs of seniors and the middle class."

Opinion: Extremists hurt budget process

Asked on "Meet the Press" about the chances that Ryan's plan would pass, Plouffe said; "It may pass the House. It's not going to become the law."

On the same program, Ryan said his goal was to ensure that the issue of reducing the nation's long-term deficit and national debt gets addressed.

"It really doesn't matter to me" if his plan becomes the approach adopted by Congress and signed into law by Obama, Ryan said. "What matters to me is that we try to fix the problem."

Facing such tough decisions, Ryan said, both parties tend to ratchet up the partisan rhetoric and "demagoguery" so that "nothing gets done," instead of facing the problem head-on.

Ryan and other Republicans also warned that their support for raising the debt ceiling will require further significant steps toward deficit reduction. Congress must reach an agreement before the United States reaches its legal borrowing limit of $14.29 trillion, which is expected to happen in the second half of May.

In a speech Saturday in Connecticut, Boehner said Democrats will have to make concessions to get Republican support for a higher debt ceiling, and Ryan and Sessions issued a similar demand on Sunday.

"The president is going to have to meet with the Speaker in the House and make some concessions and I think eventually we'll raise that debt limit, but not without concessions," Sessions told CBS.

That drew a sharp response on the same program from Schumer, who said a threat to defeat the debt ceiling expansion "should be taken off the table now."

"It is highly irresponsible," Schumer said. "It shows a lack of knowledge of how the government works."

Will spending cuts hurt economy? Video

Plouffe told CNN that failing to raise the deficit limit would amount to a federal default on some borrowing, triggering widespread economic repercussions.

"We shouldn't play political chicken with the economy of this country," Plouffe said. When asked on "Fox News Sunday" about a vote that Obama, then a U.S. senator, made against raising the debt ceiling, Plouffe responded that the president now "believes that vote was a mistake."

CNN's Gabriella Schwarz and Joshua Levs contributed to this story.


View the original article here

2011年4月6日星期三

Notice: Gamble of the GOP to reduce deficit

tzleft.haskins_ron.jpgPlan of the REP. Paul Ryan budget could be a turning point, Ron Haskins saysHe says the Americans are not willing to pay for the size of the existsHaskins Government: to solve the problem of runaway debt, spending cuts, income increases neededHe application if both parties will reduce an agreement, or continue for future generations with debt loadEditor's Note: Ron Haskins, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has been Advisor on issues of welfare to the Congress in the development of the 1996 welfare reform legislation and Senior Adviser to the President for social policy in the administration of George w.. Bush.

Washington (cnn) - the draft budget presented Tuesday by the Republican Chairman of the Committee on House budget, Paul Ryan, is potentially a turning point for the Federal Government and American culture.

The most fundamental principle of Republican governing philosophy is that small government is best because individual initiative, personal responsibility and if based on the work, family and the community are the essence of the American vision. But since the founders our Constitution consistent with this vision, the Government has exploded.

To take one example, also recently that in 1962 the Federal Government spends only $ 29 billion on programs for poor Americans and low income; in 2010, the Federal Government spent $ 789 billion on these and similar programs, a tenfold increase. This example could be multiplied, especially with reference to retirement programs, health programs, education programs and federal regulations.

The Liberals consider the wave of spending and the expansion of the authority of the Government as a triumph; Conservatives and libertarians held both as excessive. Worse still, they think that programs to give too many people that they should work for themselves, thereby reducing individual initiatives and down-sizing the American vision.

GOP budget plan cuts Medicare, tax rates

On various occasions in the past, Republicans actually tried to govern in accordance with their philosophy of small government, often at considerable political risk. Radical changes in the 1995 federal budget and veto by President Clinton giving rise to cases of Government adopted by Republicans in Congress was an example. A successful example was the Act of reform of social welfare of 1996 which led to an unprecedented increase of works and decline of dependence on social assistance and poverty among single mothers.

Now, Ryan proposal brings the nation to another seminal moment. Here is a case in which need to meet the Republican philosophy. The American people seem unwilling to pay for the sum of Government they receive.

The American people seem unwilling to pay for the sum of Government they receive.
-Ron Haskins

Polls show that Americans realize more and more that the Government cannot continue to live on borrowed money, but they are difficult to realize that the involvement of their new understanding is that relying on debt can be reduced only by shrinking Governmentincrease taxes, the growth of the economy to generate additional revenue or a combination of these three.

The Government approach to small Ryan calls on two of these instruments for the reduction of the debt. It would be reduced spending by 5.8 trillion over the next decade, which reduced the deficit of 4.4 billion during the same period. It would also be to reform the code of taxes by removing tax breaks and lower the rates for businesses and individuals.

Most economists agree that a tax code with tax breaks and lower rates would be more fair and to improve the efficiency, thus helping the growth of the economy and may produce additional revenue. But Ryan would not raise taxes because to do so would be contrary to the Republican goal of smaller government.

The most radical and politically dangerous proposals Ryan are fundamentally change Medicare, a program that provides health benefits to more than 46 million elderly Americans. There is agreement generalized that unless we can "bend the curve" of federal spending on health care, it will eventually consume an unsustainable share of federal income. Ryan proposal will address this central problem by providing a contribution for the elderly and by requiring to purchase health insurance on their own, probably in exchanges that will be established under President Obama affordable care Act.

In all likelihood, the Federal Government would pay a fixed amount to the insurance premium of each individual, with a grant for the sickest and poorest people. But government grants will not be enough to pay the premium all now and in the future, therefore, the economies of health in the approach of Ryan and the increase in costs imposed on the elderly.

Democrats are already attacking Ryan proposal on health insurance and many other proposals in his Bill. The language of the attacks is already hard and promises to get tougher. Well that Ryan and the direction of the Republican House are certain to get - and deserve - congratulations for having the courage to put serious and risky proposals on the table to reduce unsustainable deficits of the nation, they are also tested by the onslaught of attacks.

Two of the most important questions now are whether if the American public, especially the tea party and independents, will rally to provide adequate support to support the Republicans in the runway at high risk, they are blazing, and if the President will part company with most Democrats Hill and use of the Republican plan as an opportunity for reviving the proposal balanced its deficit of the commission and to engage in serious negotiations.

If so, the ultimate question: both parties can agree on a compromise budget spending, raises revenues and tames the Federal deficit? Republicans are likely to support a deal that does not significantly reduce the size of the Government. Democrats are likely to support an agreement that does not include income increases.

Without such an agreement, the nation will continue to teeter on a precipice created by illusion and supported by indifference to future generations.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ron Haskins.

View the original article here

Notice: Gamble of the GOP to reduce deficit

tzleft.haskins_ron.jpgPlan of the REP. Paul Ryan budget could be a turning point, Ron Haskins saysHe says the Americans are not willing to pay for the size of the existsHaskins Government: to solve the problem of runaway debt, spending cuts, income increases neededHe application if both parties will reduce an agreement, or continue for future generations with debt loadEditor's Note: Ron Haskins, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has been Advisor on issues of welfare to the Congress in the development of the 1996 welfare reform legislation and Senior Adviser to the President for social policy in the administration of George w.. Bush.

Washington (cnn) - the draft budget presented Tuesday by the Republican Chairman of the Committee on House budget, Paul Ryan, is potentially a turning point for the Federal Government and American culture.

The most fundamental principle of Republican governing philosophy is that small government is best because individual initiative, personal responsibility and if based on the work, family and the community are the essence of the American vision. But since the founders our Constitution consistent with this vision, the Government has exploded.

To take one example, also recently that in 1962 the Federal Government spends only $ 29 billion on programs for poor Americans and low income; in 2010, the Federal Government spent $ 789 billion on these and similar programs, a tenfold increase. This example could be multiplied, especially with reference to retirement programs, health programs, education programs and federal regulations.

The Liberals consider the wave of spending and the expansion of the authority of the Government as a triumph; Conservatives and libertarians held both as excessive. Worse still, they think that programs to give too many people that they should work for themselves, thereby reducing individual initiatives and down-sizing the American vision.

GOP budget plan cuts Medicare, tax rates

On various occasions in the past, Republicans actually tried to govern in accordance with their philosophy of small government, often at considerable political risk. Radical changes in the 1995 federal budget and veto by President Clinton giving rise to cases of Government adopted by Republicans in Congress was an example. A successful example was the Act of reform of social welfare of 1996 which led to an unprecedented increase of works and decline of dependence on social assistance and poverty among single mothers.

Now, Ryan proposal brings the nation to another seminal moment. Here is a case in which need to meet the Republican philosophy. The American people seem unwilling to pay for the sum of Government they receive.

The American people seem unwilling to pay for the sum of Government they receive.
-Ron Haskins

Polls show that Americans realize more and more that the Government cannot continue to live on borrowed money, but they are difficult to realize that the involvement of their new understanding is that relying on debt can be reduced only by shrinking Governmentincrease taxes, the growth of the economy to generate additional revenue or a combination of these three.

The Government approach to small Ryan calls on two of these instruments for the reduction of the debt. It would be reduced spending by 5.8 trillion over the next decade, which reduced the deficit of 4.4 billion during the same period. It would also be to reform the code of taxes by removing tax breaks and lower the rates for businesses and individuals.

Most economists agree that a tax code with tax breaks and lower rates would be more fair and to improve the efficiency, thus helping the growth of the economy and may produce additional revenue. But Ryan would not raise taxes because to do so would be contrary to the Republican goal of smaller government.

The most radical and politically dangerous proposals Ryan are fundamentally change Medicare, a program that provides health benefits to more than 46 million elderly Americans. There is agreement generalized that unless we can "bend the curve" of federal spending on health care, it will eventually consume an unsustainable share of federal income. Ryan proposal will address this central problem by providing a contribution for the elderly and by requiring to purchase health insurance on their own, probably in exchanges that will be established under President Obama affordable care Act.

In all likelihood, the Federal Government would pay a fixed amount to the insurance premium of each individual, with a grant for the sickest and poorest people. But government grants will not be enough to pay the premium all now and in the future, therefore, the economies of health in the approach of Ryan and the increase in costs imposed on the elderly.

Democrats are already attacking Ryan proposal on health insurance and many other proposals in his Bill. The language of the attacks is already hard and promises to get tougher. Well that Ryan and the direction of the Republican House are certain to get - and deserve - congratulations for having the courage to put serious and risky proposals on the table to reduce unsustainable deficits of the nation, they are also tested by the onslaught of attacks.

Two of the most important questions now are whether if the American public, especially the tea party and independents, will rally to provide adequate support to support the Republicans in the runway at high risk, they are blazing, and if the President will part company with most Democrats Hill and use of the Republican plan as an opportunity for reviving the proposal balanced its deficit of the commission and to engage in serious negotiations.

If so, the ultimate question: both parties can agree on a compromise budget spending, raises revenues and tames the Federal deficit? Republicans are likely to support a deal that does not significantly reduce the size of the Government. Democrats are likely to support an agreement that does not include income increases.

Without such an agreement, the nation will continue to teeter on a precipice created by illusion and supported by indifference to future generations.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ron Haskins.

View the original article here

Notice: Gamble of the GOP to reduce deficit

tzleft.haskins_ron.jpgPlan of the REP. Paul Ryan budget could be a turning point, Ron Haskins saysHe says the Americans are not willing to pay for the size of the existsHaskins Government: to solve the problem of runaway debt, spending cuts, income increases neededHe application if both parties will reduce an agreement, or continue for future generations with debt loadEditor's Note: Ron Haskins, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has been Advisor on issues of welfare to the Congress in the development of the 1996 welfare reform legislation and Senior Adviser to the President for social policy in the administration of George w.. Bush.

Washington (cnn) - the draft budget presented Tuesday by the Republican Chairman of the Committee on House budget, Paul Ryan, is potentially a turning point for the Federal Government and American culture.

The most fundamental principle of Republican governing philosophy is that small government is best because individual initiative, personal responsibility and if based on the work, family and the community are the essence of the American vision. But since the founders our Constitution consistent with this vision, the Government has exploded.

To take one example, also recently that in 1962 the Federal Government spends only $ 29 billion on programs for poor Americans and low income; in 2010, the Federal Government spent $ 789 billion on these and similar programs, a tenfold increase. This example could be multiplied, especially with reference to retirement programs, health programs, education programs and federal regulations.

The Liberals consider the wave of spending and the expansion of the authority of the Government as a triumph; Conservatives and libertarians held both as excessive. Worse still, they think that programs to give too many people that they should work for themselves, thereby reducing individual initiatives and down-sizing the American vision.

GOP budget plan cuts Medicare, tax rates

On various occasions in the past, Republicans actually tried to govern in accordance with their philosophy of small government, often at considerable political risk. Radical changes in the 1995 federal budget and veto by President Clinton giving rise to cases of Government adopted by Republicans in Congress was an example. A successful example was the Act of reform of social welfare of 1996 which led to an unprecedented increase of works and decline of dependence on social assistance and poverty among single mothers.

Now, Ryan proposal brings the nation to another seminal moment. Here is a case in which need to meet the Republican philosophy. The American people seem unwilling to pay for the sum of Government they receive.

The American people seem unwilling to pay for the sum of Government they receive.
-Ron Haskins

Polls show that Americans realize more and more that the Government cannot continue to live on borrowed money, but they are difficult to realize that the involvement of their new understanding is that relying on debt can be reduced only by shrinking Governmentincrease taxes, the growth of the economy to generate additional revenue or a combination of these three.

The Government approach to small Ryan calls on two of these instruments for the reduction of the debt. It would be reduced spending by 5.8 trillion over the next decade, which reduced the deficit of 4.4 billion during the same period. It would also be to reform the code of taxes by removing tax breaks and lower the rates for businesses and individuals.

Most economists agree that a tax code with tax breaks and lower rates would be more fair and to improve the efficiency, thus helping the growth of the economy and may produce additional revenue. But Ryan would not raise taxes because to do so would be contrary to the Republican goal of smaller government.

The most radical and politically dangerous proposals Ryan are fundamentally change Medicare, a program that provides health benefits to more than 46 million elderly Americans. There is agreement generalized that unless we can "bend the curve" of federal spending on health care, it will eventually consume an unsustainable share of federal income. Ryan proposal will address this central problem by providing a contribution for the elderly and by requiring to purchase health insurance on their own, probably in exchanges that will be established under President Obama affordable care Act.

In all likelihood, the Federal Government would pay a fixed amount to the insurance premium of each individual, with a grant for the sickest and poorest people. But government grants will not be enough to pay the premium all now and in the future, therefore, the economies of health in the approach of Ryan and the increase in costs imposed on the elderly.

Democrats are already attacking Ryan proposal on health insurance and many other proposals in his Bill. The language of the attacks is already hard and promises to get tougher. Well that Ryan and the direction of the Republican House are certain to get - and deserve - congratulations for having the courage to put serious and risky proposals on the table to reduce unsustainable deficits of the nation, they are also tested by the onslaught of attacks.

Two of the most important questions now are whether if the American public, especially the tea party and independents, will rally to provide adequate support to support the Republicans in the runway at high risk, they are blazing, and if the President will part company with most Democrats Hill and use of the Republican plan as an opportunity for reviving the proposal balanced its deficit of the commission and to engage in serious negotiations.

If so, the ultimate question: both parties can agree on a compromise budget spending, raises revenues and tames the Federal deficit? Republicans are likely to support a deal that does not significantly reduce the size of the Government. Democrats are likely to support an agreement that does not include income increases.

Without such an agreement, the nation will continue to teeter on a precipice created by illusion and supported by indifference to future generations.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ron Haskins.

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Notice: Gamble of the GOP to reduce deficit

tzleft.haskins_ron.jpgPlan of the REP. Paul Ryan budget could be a turning point, Ron Haskins saysHe says the Americans are not willing to pay for the size of the existsHaskins Government: to solve the problem of runaway debt, spending cuts, income increases neededHe application if both parties will reduce an agreement, or continue for future generations with debt loadEditor's Note: Ron Haskins, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has been Advisor on issues of welfare to the Congress in the development of the 1996 welfare reform legislation and Senior Adviser to the President for social policy in the administration of George w.. Bush.

Washington (cnn) - the draft budget presented Tuesday by the Republican Chairman of the Committee on House budget, Paul Ryan, is potentially a turning point for the Federal Government and American culture.

The most fundamental principle of Republican governing philosophy is that small government is best because individual initiative, personal responsibility and if based on the work, family and the community are the essence of the American vision. But since the founders our Constitution consistent with this vision, the Government has exploded.

To take one example, also recently that in 1962 the Federal Government spends only $ 29 billion on programs for poor Americans and low income; in 2010, the Federal Government spent $ 789 billion on these and similar programs, a tenfold increase. This example could be multiplied, especially with reference to retirement programs, health programs, education programs and federal regulations.

The Liberals consider the wave of spending and the expansion of the authority of the Government as a triumph; Conservatives and libertarians held both as excessive. Worse still, they think that programs to give too many people that they should work for themselves, thereby reducing individual initiatives and down-sizing the American vision.

GOP budget plan cuts Medicare, tax rates

On various occasions in the past, Republicans actually tried to govern in accordance with their philosophy of small government, often at considerable political risk. Radical changes in the 1995 federal budget and veto by President Clinton giving rise to cases of Government adopted by Republicans in Congress was an example. A successful example was the Act of reform of social welfare of 1996 which led to an unprecedented increase of works and decline of dependence on social assistance and poverty among single mothers.

Now, Ryan proposal brings the nation to another seminal moment. Here is a case in which need to meet the Republican philosophy. The American people seem unwilling to pay for the sum of Government they receive.

The American people seem unwilling to pay for the sum of Government they receive.
-Ron Haskins

Polls show that Americans realize more and more that the Government cannot continue to live on borrowed money, but they are difficult to realize that the involvement of their new understanding is that relying on debt can be reduced only by shrinking Governmentincrease taxes, the growth of the economy to generate additional revenue or a combination of these three.

The Government approach to small Ryan calls on two of these instruments for the reduction of the debt. It would be reduced spending by 5.8 trillion over the next decade, which reduced the deficit of 4.4 billion during the same period. It would also be to reform the code of taxes by removing tax breaks and lower the rates for businesses and individuals.

Most economists agree that a tax code with tax breaks and lower rates would be more fair and to improve the efficiency, thus helping the growth of the economy and may produce additional revenue. But Ryan would not raise taxes because to do so would be contrary to the Republican goal of smaller government.

The most radical and politically dangerous proposals Ryan are fundamentally change Medicare, a program that provides health benefits to more than 46 million elderly Americans. There is agreement generalized that unless we can "bend the curve" of federal spending on health care, it will eventually consume an unsustainable share of federal income. Ryan proposal will address this central problem by providing a contribution for the elderly and by requiring to purchase health insurance on their own, probably in exchanges that will be established under President Obama affordable care Act.

In all likelihood, the Federal Government would pay a fixed amount to the insurance premium of each individual, with a grant for the sickest and poorest people. But government grants will not be enough to pay the premium all now and in the future, therefore, the economies of health in the approach of Ryan and the increase in costs imposed on the elderly.

Democrats are already attacking Ryan proposal on health insurance and many other proposals in his Bill. The language of the attacks is already hard and promises to get tougher. Well that Ryan and the direction of the Republican House are certain to get - and deserve - congratulations for having the courage to put serious and risky proposals on the table to reduce unsustainable deficits of the nation, they are also tested by the onslaught of attacks.

Two of the most important questions now are whether if the American public, especially the tea party and independents, will rally to provide adequate support to support the Republicans in the runway at high risk, they are blazing, and if the President will part company with most Democrats Hill and use of the Republican plan as an opportunity for reviving the proposal balanced its deficit of the commission and to engage in serious negotiations.

If so, the ultimate question: both parties can agree on a compromise budget spending, raises revenues and tames the Federal deficit? Republicans are likely to support a deal that does not significantly reduce the size of the Government. Democrats are likely to support an agreement that does not include income increases.

Without such an agreement, the nation will continue to teeter on a precipice created by illusion and supported by indifference to future generations.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ron Haskins.

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