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You Can Run, But You Can't Hide: Hoyer Ties GOP To Medicare-Cutting Ryan Plan
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
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Leading House Republicans have been at pains to distance themselves from legislation sponsored by their top budget guy, Paul Ryan, that would partially privatize Social Security and turn Medicare in to a voucher program. But speaking at an event at the Brookings Institution this afternoon, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer insisted that if the GOP is interested in eliminating deficits, they're stuck with the Ryan plan.
"As much as his party's leadership tries to distance itself from his plan, Paul Ryan's program, or something very much like it, is the logical outcome of the other party's rhetoric of cutting taxes and deficits at the same time," Hoyer said.
Hoyer commended Ryan for putting together a serious, though politically unpalatable plan, and suggested that other members of Congress--particularly Republicans--are trying to have it both ways by demagoguing fiscal responsibility without putting their names to a proposal.
The Ryan plan, Hoyer said, "doesn't raise a single tax, but as a consequence it significantly changes Medicare."
(The Ryan plan would, in fact, result in tax increases for the middle class.)
Hoyer went on, "That strikes me--in terms of cutting Medicare very deeply to accomplish the objective without any thought of additional revenues from any source, strikes me--as I think it would strike most Americans, as very much the wrong solution."
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Lizskin
March 1, 2010 4:10 PM
Finally the Dems are forcing the GOP to own the consequences of their policy recommendations. This isn't hard to do -- since Grover Norquist declared his intention of drowning government in a bathtub, the GOP have been able to pretend that starving the government of revenue isn't going to put most Americans other than the haves and have-mores in a world of hurt. The anti-regulators have never been forced to acknowledge why regulations were instituted in the first place, nor have the anti-taxers had to discuss clearly what they believe the purpose and scope of government should be.
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bluesplashy
March 1, 2010 5:45 PM
Good, now is MSM going to pick this up - hell no!
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afisher
March 1, 2010 6:31 PM
Okay, I admit it I am a wonk...but you really need to read his plan and see the impact. According to the Ryan Plan, those healthcare premiums you now pay with pre-tax dollars - GONE and yet you still have to accrue over the 7.5% of AGI in order to qualify for a Healthcare TAX CREDIT....in other words, you get screwd coming and going.
The "subsidy" for healthcare premiums is maxed out at $5.7K for a family of four, so for an uninsured individual, how does that really help them afford insurance?
The Privatization of Social Security is even worse. Yes, it takes money out of the system, but even more...it does that permanently and TAX FREE. If you put more than $25K into his program, you can withdraw it lump sum (again no tax) and ofcourse, if you die, it can be passed on to heirs (TAX FREE of course).
So in a look before you leap, read the plan, do the math and if you are the "mine is mine" and screw everyone else, then this is the GOP wetdream plan for you!
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hollywood
March 1, 2010 6:45 PM
Handsome young Paul Ryan .... the new face of fascism in America. Every plan they propose works out great if you are rich and shoves you off a cliff if you are poor. It just never occurs to them that not everyone can be rich! Money is like a drug to them and they just never quit thinking up ways to get more. They have complete moral blindness as to who they must kill off to get their money fix. Like the 45,000 dying every year for lack of health insurance, those people just do not matter at all. How do they propose to cover these people? They do not even care enough to pretend to have a plan.
All followers of Jesus as well ..... this Jesus must have been a really rich greedy asshole!
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714Day
March 1, 2010 9:24 PM
I am hardly a big Steny Hoyer fan but he deserves props on this push to reveal the GOP nonsense for what it is. (And still he screws the pooch a little by claiming it wouldn't raise taxes for anyone.)
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