Now That Republicans Are Out Of Power, Suddenly They Propose Spending Cuts And Tax Cuts
If they’d done this while they were in the majority they’d still be in the majority.
WASHINGTON – Republicans in the House Wednesday pressed a budget plan that would cut taxes and radically overhaul Medicare, offering a stark alternative to blueprints offered by President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies.
The plan, drafted by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, also freezes overall spending on domestic programs passed by Congress each year and repeals most of the spending in Obama’s recently passed economic stimulus bill.
Despite spending reductions, the plan projects permanent deficits exceeding $500 billion into the future, fueled largely by big tax cuts.
The GOP plan would offer a dramatically simplified tax code in which couples would have the option of a 10 percent rate on the first $100,000 of income, with a 25 percent rate thereafter, with the first $25,000 of income exempt from taxation. Single could get a $12,500 exemption and a 10 percent rate on income up to $50,000.
Taxpayers could also opt to remain in the current system.
On Medicare, workers under the age of 55 would enroll in private plans and receive premium subsidies equal to the average Medicare benefit when they retire. Benefits would not be changed for people in the program or people 55 or older.
In this time of reckless spending and massive debt inflation, I’ll admit that this comes as a breath of fresh air. But it’s also frustrating to see Republicans do this now, when really they should have been doing it four or five years ago.
Regardless, this is exactly what Republicans need to be doing right now. Get back to conservative basics, and offer something that contrasts favorably with what Democrats want to do. Democrats want more spending. More debt for future generations. More government in our lives. Republicans want less of all of that.
