Ryan’s ‘Path to Prosperity’ still a bad idea

Friday, March 22, 2013

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The House Republican budget, crafted by the chairman of the House Budget Committee, has been presented. Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan has kept the misnamed “Path to Prosperity” title for this year’s budget, and he has also kept most of his really bad ideas.

This budget is not based on any reality and lacks specifics because of that. As the Associated Press reported on March 12, “A document released Tuesday offers few specifics on the proposed cuts to domestic programs, but it generally appears to incorporate spending levels for day-to-day agency operations significantly below levels called for by controversial automatic spending cuts.” Congressman Ryan’s budget needs to spell out the cuts so we can all judge it.

It also fails as a statement of our values, since its deep cuts tear at our moral and social fabric. And finally, since there is no effort to even acknowledge the other party or compromise on any issues what-so-ever, it has zero chance of success. So, what exactly is in this budget?

Tax cuts for top bracket

There are tax cuts – for the richest among us. A Tax Policy Center analysis of the Republican budget shows that the average millionaire would reap a $408,000 tax cut under Chairman Ryan’s proposal to reduce the top individual tax rate from 39.6 percent to 25 percent.

Plan adds to deficit

Unless offset, the overall tax cuts in the Republican budget add an additional $5.7 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. Those in the top 0.1 percent of income, who make $3.3 million or more, would get a whopping $1.2 million on average – a 20 percent increase in their after-tax income.

I will not vote to give still more tax cuts to the wealthiest while asking the middle class to pay more.

Higher taxes

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “families with children that have incomes below $200,000 would have to face tax increases averaging more than $3,000 a year, if policy makers were to avoid increasing the deficit while reaching Chairman Ryan’s 25-percent top-tax-rate goal.” That is just morally wrong, and it is bad for our economy as well. We need a vibrant middle class to move this country forward.

Medicare Vouchers

There are changes to Medicare which would be devastating to senior citizens. Half of all seniors have an income of $22,500 or less per year, but the tax cuts go to the richest, and the cuts in benefits and the costs fall heavily on the old and the sick.

Under the Ryan budget, our seniors would be handed a voucher and would have to go out and purchase their own insurance. The burden would be on them to keep costs down, and costs would rise faster than the voucher payment. My parents had enough difficulty negotiating the medical system with traditional Medicare. I cannot in good conscience vote to make it even more difficult and expensive for our older and sicker citizens. The Ryan budget also would increase seniors’ costs for prescriptions, and slash Medicaid, despite the fact that 60 percent of nursing home residents need Medicaid to pay for their stay.

Education is the key to prosperity for any nation, and as Dr. Jill Biden says, the country that out-educates us will out-compete us. Young people need a good education if they are to succeed, and their families need help with the high costs of education. The Ryan budget makes very deep cuts in education, taking us backwards instead of forwards.

Transportation takes a hit under the Ryan plan. This is the moment where we can invest in infrastructure and both create jobs, and repair and rebuild. The Democrats’ budget calls for an infrastructure bank to get America moving again, while the Ryan budget slashes investments. Again, wrong direction for job creation.

For those Americans who care about the old and the sick, who care about school lunches and Meals on Wheels for shut-ins, who care about education and research and infrastructure, this budget is the wrong approach. I know that we have to reduce the debt, but I believe a slow, careful, and balanced approach is the way to go. Countries such as England that have tried austerity-only approaches have not been successful. Our economy, while still fragile, is improving. This is not the time to let ideology trump sound practice.

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter represents the New Hampshire’s 1st District. She can be reached at 1530 Longworth HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515, or by calling 202-225-5456. Also at 33 Lowell St., Manchester, NH 03101, by calling 641-9536, or visiting www.shea-porter.house.gov. She is serving on the House Armed Services Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.