Poster Boys For Soylent Green



Can't wait for someone to propose eating the poor and infirm so we can all then agree the Ryan plan is reasonable.



Is the Fiscal Commission’s plan perfect? Not even close. But it’s a lot more reasonable, and a lot less ideological, than Ryan’s budget. And I think Ryan’s budget is going to persuade a lot of Democrats to give it a second look.



With respect to the current budget debate, Republicans initially called for $33 billion in cuts, and then upped the number. Democrats eventually met them “halfway” by… offering $33 billion in cuts. Republicans said no, wanting more, and now Democrats are positioning themselves as the serious people by offering an imitation of the Republican budget. You can see exactly the same dynamic at work here. The Ryan deficit reduction plan goes beyond the Bowles-Simpson cat food commission plan. So you can absolutely see the Democrats counter-offer with… Bowles-Simspon.

appointed by the president

While we are encouraged that Chairman Ryan has come forward with a serious plan, we are concerned that it falls short of the balanced, comprehensive approach needed to achieve the broad bipartisan agreement necessary to enact a responsible plan. The plan largely exempts defense spending from reductions and would not apply any of the savings from eliminating or reducing tax expenditures as part of tax reform to deficit reduction. As a result, the Chairman's plan relies on much larger reductions in domestic discretionary spending than does the Commission proposal, while also calling for savings in some safety net programs - cuts which would place a disproportionately adverse effect on certain disadvantaged populations.



Nevertheless, by putting forward a credible plan, Paul Ryan has made a very constructive contribution to move the debate forward and has put many ideas on the table that deserve serious consideration. As the process moves forward, we expect additional constructive proposals and ideas to be put forward by various Members of the House and Senate which we hope will lead to a balanced deficit reduction package that can receive broad bipartisan support. In particular, we are encouraged by discussions going on in the Senate on legislation based on the framework put forward by the Commission."

much

“I continue to believe the Fiscal Commission plan provides the best way forward. It includes enough deficit reduction – nearly $4 trillion over the next ten years – to make a meaningful change in the nation’s long-term fiscal trajectory. It takes a balanced approach, with savings coming roughly equally from nondefense discretionary spending, defense discretionary spending, mandatory spending, and revenue. And it represents a truly bipartisan approach, with Democrats and Republicans making concessions to reach an agreement. It may be as close as we can get to a middle-ground, consensus solution to the nation’s long-term budget crisis.”

