Will the New Ryan Budget Plan Hurt the GOP in 2012? >
Ryan's Budget a Blueprint for Republicans' Electoral Defeat in 2012
Working families are tired of the Republicans' failed "trickle down" economics
March 23, 2012
About Eric Griego:
Eric Griego is a state senator in New Mexico and a Democratic candidate for Congress in New Mexico's First District.
The GOP budget plan revealed this week by Rep. Paul Ryan may be a boon for millionaires but it is a disaster for our seniors, children, and working families. It is also a blueprint for the Republicans' electoral defeat in 2012.
Why? Because most Americans would strongly disagree with the Republicans that we should take Medicare away from seniors, and tell students and parents to pay more for education while extending taxpayer giveaways to millionaires, Big Oil, and corporations that ship jobs overseas.
[See a collection of political cartoons on the budget and deficit.]
Congressional Republicans believe that their slash-and-burn budget will rally their base in an election year by claiming it would cut spending deeply. In reality, experts say the huge tax cuts would actually increase the deficit.
Republicans tout the $3 trillion in tax cuts in their budget plan but average working Americans are smarter than Ryan thinks. That is because most of the proposed tax cuts would go to millionaires and big corporations, who would see their tax rates cut by 10 percent. Working families are tired of the Republicans' failed "trickle down" economics, which has led to higher deficits, less jobs, and a shrinking middle class.
The Republican budget is particularly bad for seniors and women. It calls for ending Medicare's guaranteed earned benefits and replacing it with a privatization scheme forcing seniors to buy the best insurance they can afford with a fixed amount voucher. What if the voucher's amount is not enough to cover certain health problems? How about for women who tend to live longer than men, and thus rely more on Medicare's guaranteed benefits? Republicans say tough luck for living too long or for being on a fixed income.
[Read Ryan's Budget Plan Could Cause Problems Within Both Parties.]
The GOP budget would also hurt kids and parents by cutting more than $115 billion from Head Start, kindergarten through 12 grade, and college education. That amounts to 9.6 million students losing $1,000 in Pell Grants, 1 million students losing education loans to go to college, and nearly 2 million kids unable to qualify for Head Start. If the Republicans have any hope of winning the young adult or soccer mom vote, this budget is impossible to defend.
With their latest budget, Republicans in Congress are proving to the American people again that they are on the side of millionaires and big corporations, not children, seniors, and working families. In November, voters will decide who they think will best represent their interests.
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- Other Arguments
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Yes — Every single Republican candidate in the country will have to answer for their party's dangerous plan
GUY CECIL, Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
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#36519
Yes — The only question is how bad the pain Ryan's budget causes will be
TRAVIS WALDRON, Reporter/Blogger for ThinkProgress.org
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#45663
No — If Americans understand budgetary math, the Ryan plan won't hurt the GOP
STEPHANIE SLADE, Project Director at The Winston Group
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#54758
No — Republicans will use Ryan's budget as a referendum on Obama's tax and spend policies
RON BONJEAN, Former Chief of Staff for the Senate Republican Conference
