I just read a fast-moving mystery novel, Pryme Knumber, by Matthew J Flynn. It was a great read, and none other than Paul Ryan (R-WI) appears briefly. Very appropriately, he appears first standing with a lobbyist. Presciently, Flynn says that, because he does not appear as someone who would "torch a lingerie factory," and for that reason only, he was considered a "future leader" by Republicans who might "do something."
We know what that "something" is -- killing Medicare. And, that is not fiction.
Like all Republicans, Paul Ryan really hates Medicare, not just for the political reasons of his fellow travelers (it makes the elderly more likely to vote Democratic), but also because it violates the philosophy espoused by the Russian Ayn Rand that Ryan somehow believes defines Americanism.
So, they are, and always have been, out to destroy it. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich thought Medicare should "wither slowly on the vine."
Romney-Ryan has a quicker plan in mind. They just do not want to tell us about it.
Ryan claims that his plan will not impact anyone 55 or over.
He is lying. Romney-Ryan will kill Medicare now.
It is not complicated. First, repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act ("PPACA," a.k.a., "ObamaCare") will cause Medicare to start paying out more money than it takes in in 2017. ObamaCare increased Medicare's longevity until 2029.
So, with Romney-Ryan, we will have to start finding more money for Medicare very, very soon.
But, here's the rub: Both Romney and Ryan have pledged to Grover Norquist that they would never, ever, ever, raise any taxes on anyone. So, raising Medicare taxes is out.
Here's another rub: they are determined to provide the wealthy with about a $4T tax cut. And, they are going to increase defense spending.
So, there is only one place left to go -- Medicare itself. By first repealing the PPCA, Romney-Ryan will force themselves to... end Medicare for all seniors, including those currently being covered.
OK, we are going hear more lies about $700B cut from Medicare because of ObamaCare. That $700B is savings in payments to hospitals and other providers (other than physicians) negotiated as part of the health care deal plus elimination of over-payments under a program called "Medicare Advantage" that did not work.
No one's benefits were reduced or eliminated. No money went from Medicare to ObamaCare. Otherwise, how could ObamaCare extend the solvency of Medicare?
The PPACA, "ObamaCare," not only extends the solvency of Medicare, it also closes the "doughnut" hole in the prescription drug benefit, so that eventually seniors will have their cost of prescriptions fully covered.
Romney-Ryan will rob seniors of that, too. After all, we don't want to make anyone "too dependent"... except on tax accountants and lawyers to hide taxes overseas, because that is a true reflection of our values.
So, from Romney-Ryan to the rest of you who have contributed to Medicare all these years, including those who are currently on it -- good luck, you are on your own. And, good luck finding insurance at all, since many of you will have pre-existing illnesses and the repealing ObamaCare lets insurance companies deny coverage, and set life-time limits again.
As the 17th Century British philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, reminded us, "life in the state of nature is solitary, poor nasty, brutish and short."
Welcome to Romney-Ryan world.
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Having said that, the Romney/Ryan plan would kill Medicare and I totally for ACA.
Ryan would increase costs for seniors, reduce the lifespan of Medicare, and shift the money 'saved' into tax cuts for the wealthy.
The choice here is the difference between functional government that helps the American people and a dysfunctional government that rewards the greedy and those who manipulate politics to loot the system for their own benefit.
Ryan's plan seeks to preserve Medicare from going over a cliff. If people think it is wrongly designed, that's fine, but that is th goal.
It is certainly true that Republican voters, many of whom love medicare, support it. But, not the leadership.
Anyone saying that Ryan helps Medicare or Medicare beneficiaries is spewing falsehoods.
With respect to Republicans favoring "constitutionally limited government", I don't recall seeing in the Constitution any provision that would allow a woman to be forced to carry her child to term, or to force a doctor to lie to his patients about the long-term effects of an abortion, or to impose a medically-unnecessary test she does not want and force her to pay for it, or to ban contraceptives....and, that's just for starters. Where, pray tell, are those provisions in the Constitution?
What actually happened between the revolutionary war and the Constitutional convention in 1787 was a government organized under the Articles of Confederation (the "Articles"). The Articles did, indeed, breathe the vapors of the Declaration in that it created a very, very weak central government and left most powers with the states.
But the Articles produced what we would call today a "failed state".
The Founders realized that their fear of a powerful central government arose from their experience with an absolute monarch, and that fear had resulted in a failed state.
The Constitution, therefore, created a strong central state, by design. Although many of the people were the same as the signers of the Declaration, the Founders now had the experience of a failed state. That strong central government would be kept from being too powerful by the separation of powers -- legislative, executive, and judicial -- and by the Bill of Rights.
No End to ‘End Medicare’ Claim
Democrats are still hammering an old, and since replaced, GOP proposal, claiming it would “end Medicare,” and cost seniors $6,000 more a year for their health care. The newest Republican budget, proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, keeps traditional Medicare — unlike his plan from 2011 — and the increased cost claim is no longer applicable to it.
Moreover, if--as they say they will--repeal ObamaCare, then they STILL have to find a way to pay for the increase of outflow over inflow that occurs in 2017 after the repeal (with ObamaCare in place, that date is 2027 or 2029). What are they going to do about that? Raise taxes? Shiver-me-timbers, NO!. There is never any reason to raise any taxes for anything--right? Cut elsewhere? Where--not defense, that needs to be increased. Right? Social Security? Ryan wants to privatize it, and the transition costs alone are $2 Trillion. What's left? The other programs don't amount to a hill-of-beans as a percentage of the total budget.
You write like a college journalist major.