This is no April Fool’s joke: Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin today lays out the House Republican’s election-year budget that purports to come into balance by 2024, largely through steep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps and repeal of President Obama’s health care law. Other domestic programs would also be shredded – such as research in clean energy. All told, Ryan’s 2024 domestic spending would be 28 percent below the average of the George W. Bush administration. At the same time, it increases military spending through 2024 by $483 billion over the spending caps established in the 2011 Budget Control Act. Individual taxes would have just two rates, 25 percent and 10 percent. The joke is this really isn’t meant to be a budget. Although it will be formally adopted by Ryan’s budget committee on Wednesday, it’s real purpose is to be a 2014 Republican campaign manifesto while also advancing Ryan’s own ambitions toward a 2016 presidential run.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 16:03:37 +0000