"A Roadmap For America's Future"
 

That's what the Republicans are calling their "shadow budget" just introduced by Paul Ryan of WI.

http://www.roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov/

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezr..._budget_p.html

Key points:

Change Medicare into a voucher system. Seniors would receive a voucher which they could use to purchase health insurance on the open market, subject to all the crap like pre-existing conditions and rescission that exist now. After months of lying about the Democrats wanting to cut Medicare benefits the Republicans have the stones to do this?

Privatize Social Security. After the recent disasters with everyone's 401 Ks ans stock portfolios, the very idea that anyone would offer this as a serious proposal beggars belief. Either these guys are all crazy or so beholden to the financial industry that they will do anything they say, regardless of the cost to the country. I'll leave it to you to choose which it is.

John

I don't like this a bit. I think Medicare is one system you can look at that actually works pretty well. Why would we do this to ourselves after spending a year looking at all the serious issues with our private insurance system?! I could maybe try to get behind it if it were done in conjunction with serious regulation and cost containment assurances. But still, why go through al that? It will end up being even more complicated than the Democrats plan.

As for privatizing Social Security- I'll admit, I thought it was a good idea when Bush proposed it. One of the few things I agreed with him on. But given what we've all been through in the last two years, I've changed my mind, and I can't believe everyone else hasn't as well. I was wrong about it. I thought it was a good way to get more money into the system and maybe save it in the long term while spending less public money. But the risk has to be quite clear to anyone at this point. Damn, I still kind of like it, but just can't bring myself to support it anymore. What do we do if it all goes bust again?

You had to know it was coming, John. They've proposed "privatizing social security" before. To damn dumb to realize the whole purpose of SS in the first place was to create a pool of money SEPARATE from the stock market, because millions of Americans had LOST their pensions with the STOCK MARKET CRASH of 1929.................."Oooohhhh, but it could earn so much more on the stock market!!!" WTF?:confused:

See, that's what they don't get with all of this;

The "free market" system CAN and HAS utterly failed in the past.
This is why we established safety nets, to keep people from
starving to death when the "free market" takes a shit.
But, they all think this will only happen to "someone else" who
deserves to starve anyways, (For whatever reason.).
They don't get that that someone----could be THEM.:rolleyes:

What in the hell do you do with these people, John?

Regards,
Dave

P.s.
Y'all on the right can go ahead and be mad at me now.
I don't really care. You've been mad at me before, and I assure you it
won't be the last time.

That is incredible.

Medicare is the best insurance in the land.

Clearly the intent is to open the door for private healthcare to market a less complete insurance to the elderly and grab extra profits.

Something is very wrong with the republican party now a days.

I went straight to this:

"The Health Care Marketplace

Changing the Tax Treatment of Health Coverage. Ownership of health insurance must be shifted away from third parties to those who are actually using it. In place of the current Federal tax law creating the market distortion – the individual income tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance – every American (except those enrolled in Medicare or a military health plan) will have the option to receive a refundable tax credit – $2,300 for individuals and $5,700 for families – to pay for health coverage. The tax credit is available solely for the purchase of health care. A family or individual may apply the credit to an employer-sponsored plan, if available, or to an alternative plan that better suits their needs. Employers continuing to offer insurance continue to claim contributions as a business expense deduction."

$5,700 for a family? I happen to have a pay stub in front of me so I checked. I have employer sponsered health insurance. I know they're paying a hunk of change into it. Even with that, I'm spending $5,212.56 a year. That's just my share- after the company pays their share. I can't imagine that $5,700 is enough.

These are the same people who said a Public Option would result in businesses no longer offering health insurance. Now they offer a plan desiged exactly to do that. And hey, if you can't afford insurance as good as you used to have, you'll probably have to change yoru doctor- the other sin they cast at the Democrats plan. Sounds a lot like the Government getting between me and my doctor.

And that's overlooking the big point that many people would still not get insurance and we'd still have all the problems we have now.

Gentlemen, they are Republicans so what the hell did you expect, something halfway intelligent?:rolleyes:

Nope - won't be them. The legislators proposing the plan have a sweet government pension all their own. That will supplement the lucre they obtain as lobbyists after they decide they've accrued enough in their congressional pension.

Regards,

D-Ray

Didn't mean the politicians, Don.
I was referring to their supporters.

Dave

You would think that instead of defending all the big drug companies they would wake up and smell the roses. All of the big companies are foreign and not truly based in the U.S. They probably have no love for us and really do not care if the destroy our economy.

Look for the retirement age for SS to go up yet again. I wouldn't have any problem at all if they want to privatise it. It's a pittance anyway, and I don't count on it one bit. Give me mine right now and let me bet it all on red twice, then it might be worth something. My life has shown me that the less I depend on the government, the better my deal gets. Too many people have learned how to "work" good intentioned gov. programs. Combine that with the state of the work ethic in this country, and you get a collapse. I think we focus too much on seperate "little" problems, like health care, retirement, etc.., when the real problems begin at home. Americans need to start raising their own children again, and stop leaving it to the day care centers.:(