TPMDC Douglas Holtz-Eakin: April 2011
Douglas Holtz-Eakin
Holtz-Eakin: GOP Medicare Plan 'A Significant And Serious Proposal'
Douglas Holtz-Eakin
In addition to noting that Congress must raise the debt limit, and quickly, Doug Holtz-Eakin also vouched for the House GOP Budget, and in particular its prescription to privatize and cut the cost of Medicare.
In a brief interview Tuesday, Holtz-Eakin -- who headed the Congressional Budget Office during the Bush administration, and was John McCain's chief economic adviser during the 2008 presidential campaign -- called the plan "a significant and serious proposal."
"The most important thing about what's in the House plan is in fact we finally have a budget limit," he said. "For Medicare you say here's the budget, go be efficient. For Medicaid you cap the taxpayers exposure and you give it to the states with a lot of flexibility and say go be efficient and those may not be perfect proposals, but we do in fact ultimately force our decision-making into a budget."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Budget, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Health Care, Medicaid, Medicare, Republicans
Douglas Holtz-Eakin
Holtz-Eakin: Congress Has To Raise The Debt Limit, Sooner Rather Than Later
Former McCain campaign adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The former director of the Congressional Budget Office, and chief economic policy adviser to John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign, says Congress has to raise the debt limit, and soon.
"I think that ultimately Congress has to raise the debt limit," Doug Holtz-Eakin told me after moderating an event on Capitol Hill. "We have to be good stewards of the nation's credit rating [and] doing it sooner is better than later."
In an escalation of legislative brinksmanship over raising the debt limit, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told Politico Monday that he might not hold a vote on it at all, if he can't get buy-in from Democrats on serious spending cuts.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: CBO, Debt, Debt Ceiling, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, John Boehner, John McCain, Spending
Paul Ryan
Conservative Economists Criticize 'Off The Deep End' Republican Budget
Now that Republicans and Democrats have supposedly figured out how to fund the government through September, Congress' attention will turn to other issues, including the GOP's 10 year vision for the country: Paul Ryan's budget proposal, which includes Medicare privatization, severe cuts to Medicaid, and further tax breaks for the wealthy.
While the government teetered on the brink of a shutdown last week over short term funding, economists across the ideological spectrum weighed in on the GOP's long-term plan with negative reviews. The biggest shock came from high-profile economists with GOP leanings, who also criticized it on the merits.
"It doesn't address in any serious or courageous way the issue of the near and medium-term deficit," David Stockman told me in a Thursday phone interview. "I think the biggest problem is revenues. It is simply unrealistic to say that raising revenue isn't part of the solution. It's a measure of how far off the deep end Republicans have gone with this religious catechism about taxes."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Budget, Defense Spending, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Health Care, John Boehner, Medicaid, Medicare, Paul Ryan, Tax Cuts, Taxes
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