The Ryan Republican Budget, v2.0

by Karl Stark  |  March 22, 2012

They’re at it again. A year ago, House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) unveiled a budget “plan” that ended Medicare and Medicaid as we know them, while cutting taxes for millionaires and billionaires by 10 percent. The American people fully rejected the budget proposal, and members of Congress who supported the plan met a backlash when they tried selling it to constituents back home. The bill passed the House of Representatives on a party-line vote and never made it any farther.

But it looks like Chairman Ryan didn’t learn much from last year’s go-around. On Tuesday he re-released his controversial budget, which again makes devastating cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, while increasing spending on defense programs by $228 billion by 2023. But that’s not all. Beyond Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and defense spending, this year’s budget plan essentially ends the majority of remaining federal government programs by 2050. Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, called the Ryan Republican budget “Robin Hood in reverse—  on steroids.”

Be sure to read this analysis from Health Care for America Now! (HCAN): “Apocalypse Now: GOP Budget Offers Second-Rate Vision for First-Rate Country.”

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the budget next week. Urge your representative to vote NO.