House Budget Chair Paul Ryan unveiled a plan today that should make every American cringe. It would turn Medicare into vouchers whose benefits are funneled into the pockets of private insurers. It would make Medicaid and Food Stamps into block grants that allow states (like Idaho) to ignore poor people altogether. It would drastically cut funding for schools, roads, and much else Americans need. And many of the plan’s savings would go to wealthy Americans who’d pay even lower taxes than they do today.

The President needs to remind us that as members of the same society we have obligations to one another — that the wealthiest among us must pay their fair share of taxes, that any of us who loses our jobs or homes or gets terribly sick can count on the rest of us, and that we have collective obligations to our elderly, our children, and the rest of the planet.

This is why we have government. And anyone who wants to shut it down or cut it down because they say we can’t afford it any longer is plain wrong. We are the richest nation in the world, richer than we’ve ever been. We can afford to remain a society whose members are in it together.

Ho, hum. Same ol’ B.S. over and over and over and ……..

I believe Senator Crapo is pretty conservative, philosophically. However, he’s a case study in what happens as our elected officials transition from “citizen legislator” to “career politician.” Seniority means everything in DC, and one gets reelected by catering to the deep-pockets special interests.

If they were limited to 12 years of “public service,” our Republic would be much healthier. (Too bad; the Founding Fathers got so many things right, but they missed this one.) Same thing at the state level. The voters passed term limits twice and those “representatives” pulled rank on us. Unbelievable arrogance!

Rod is a shining example of the “entitlement mentality” that has become pervasive over the past few generations. Our only hope is if we have a few ADULTS in DC who realize the importance of a budget. I’m with Cyclops and Zippo. (Remember that guy who said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”? What a nutcase, huh? Must’ve been a tea-party radical.)

Zippo & Cyclops sound like they don’t want the guy who sells them their beer at Jacksons or the woman who makes their pizza at Flying Pie to even have a basic, minimal retirement system like Social Security OR Medicare for health care when they get old. I don’t get that kind of mean-spirited hatred.

EDITOR NOTE– In an attempt to tone down the personal stuff. All of you guys make good points, but come to different conclusions based on the same sets of facts. That’s what the GUARDIAN is all about. Cyclops obviously has a weird sense of humor–like the time I had to put him in time out for offending the baboons by comparing them to politicians! We can all agree more money is being spent than earned and government at all levels is the worst offender. One man’s economic stimulus is another’s catering to business.

RSEB, Thank you for your service,

The Dems and Republicans both have placed the entitlements under the bus. I find it disgusting considering promises made. Even more disgusting considering the wasteful spending which continues on other less important things. It’s easier to short people than the corporation that gives money and free jet trips I guess?

Dem talking points? Try a variety of sources, as the old media dogs have drifted severely to the left since the 70s. You may wish to go to a local TEA party meeting, you may find some comfortable old concepts and perhaps some old friends too. It’s not the bunch of crazies the Obama-speak says it is.

Inflation is here according to Wal-Mart, and I trust them a bunch more than the Fed. Inflation is traditionally how broke nations escape debt overload. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

The Republicans are offering us a choice between living in a dog-eat-dog world where it’s every man for himself and to hell with the sick and disabled, and if you don’t inherit a lot of dough, you can work for pennies all your life and die when you can’t walk to work anymore – or living in a civilized society.

Off topic, but I just love this: We don’t need more gun control, we need more control over crazy people.

They won’t be happy until we have two classes of people in this country. Rich and everyone else. I maintain that the progressive tax system I grew up with in the 50’s and 60’s has become a program of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer with the Bush era tax cuts. There was no reason for this other than greed. Now we are in a budgetary mess. I also agree governement employment has now surpassed the numbers of people in manufacturing jobs in this country. The marginal tax rate of 35% on the rich is problematic when you look back on the 91% rate that was in effect in the 1950’s. The rich also insulate themselves from taxes via stock options and the 15% capital gains tax rate.

I think my kids will be the last of a generation that had the advantage of a stay at home mother. We have people working 40 hour weeks and not even able to make the rent on a roof over their heads. Cheap labor, cheap land and lousy paying jobs are killing this country. When we finally strip all the dignity from the working people of this country hang on. It is going to be ugly. Think it can’t happen, look back at the labor strife of the 1930’s. Take a look at the uprisings in the Middle East. When unemployment hits 25-30
% I look for all hell to break loose in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Both sides in Washington (as well as many of the posters responding to this post) are playing the part of Chicken Little in an effort to get their way on social issues or to protect their own self interests.

The basic structure of the country’s political structure works–no civil war since the 1860s–increasing levels of education since forever–a growing economy since for ever (you got to have economic up and down cycles to have progress)–increasing more levels of civil rights since the civil war and especially since the 1960s(despite a large segment of the population who,out of fear, want to take them away for every body else but themselves)–social security and medicare (which have made much of our high standard of living possible) have become a solid standard of who we are as a people and allowed the countries children to go to college, be mobile and contribute to the economy–the list of what is working in the country could go on and on.

Yes, the government needs adjustments–the country has always needed adjustments. The biggest adjustment might be to stop corporations from buying our political system, from using scare tactics to divide us–from buying us! In the end are we any different than our political leaders?

Our political structure has worked well and it gives everyone the chance to have a say–(right Guardian)unfortunately, corporations get to say a lot more than the rest of us because speech in this country cost a lot of money.

Still corporations feel they need to buy and con the population and buy politicians to protect their interests and get their way. The most often used tactic is to play on the fear factor genetically programed in to all of us. Even more unfortunately, it works. The sky is not falling! We do not need to go back to the 1930s (which were not the good old days)as we almost did a couple of years ago. We need to stop social engineering with the budget and get real.

As far as I can, with my limited grasp of macroeconomics, tell the Simpson Bowles Commission had the best approach.

http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/TheMomentofTruth12_1_2010.pdf

Re: Crapo calling for upping taxes to support bulding more nukes–why? because the giant insurance industries consider them too risky and therefore won’t insure them.
From Crapo’s page:
“A similar bill passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last session but Senate leadership did not bring it up for a vote by the full Senate.”

GOOD!The Senate majority are still smart and resistant.