First, I thought the Ryan plan dealt with medicare, not social security. Second, I fully understand where your friends are coming from. I don't know that the Ryan plan envisions people being totally cut off due to one year's age difference. There is a transition. I would think the subsidies would be graduated with the older people getting more for this very reason. The problem is, you have to start somewhere. People are living in denial. Medicare cannot continue indefinitely, any more than Bernie Madoff could. The choice is not the Ryan plan or keeping things as they are. The choice is doing something drastic or medicare going bankrupt. Where I fault Ryan is the same thing Newt said. You need to educate people and build consensus for something this big. Rayn foolishly opened himself up to predictable demogoguery from obama and other leftwing hacks.
I meant Medicare. On your second point besides my brother the other two men werenât friends, well one was a customer and I consider most customers friends in a way. Point was the two men and by brother are strong republicans. I agree with the rest of your post except the derogatory remarks about Obama and calling people leftwing hacks. I also think something needs to be done.
Correct. Ron Paul is not enamored of our entitlement programs but he realizes that no major changes can be made without a widespread consensus. And unlike other Republicans, he realizes that is is crazy to talk about cutting Social Security or Medicare while we are wasting hundreds of billions of dollars on unnecessary wars. Social Security is fixable with some modest tax increases and a modest increase in the retirement age. But Medicare costs are spiraling out of control. The reality is that any politician who is honest about the harsh choices that will have to be made about Medicare will be wildly unpopular with the public. The public wants 2+2 to equal 7 and won't take "no" for an answer.
Didn't Ryan's original budget claim some ridiculous unemployment low number that he just went back and changed like "WTF, it's just made-up anyway. I'll use the eraser and change it." (It came from the American Heritage Foundation I believe....) Yeah the country's fiscal health is f'ked up - but don't try and sell some bullsh!t approach as a way to fix it. It just makes you a partisan hack.
He should have stuck with it. People eat up campaign promises like that and then forget all about them when the man is in office. Not like he's going to win anyway so... bad move. He should have left it.