This is not as surprising as one would think. In the Ryan budget, his Medicare proposal, which would provide vouchers so that recipients can purchase their own insurance, does not cover current users of the system. The Democrats can use all the scare tactics they wish, but as far as senior citizens are concerned, the Ryan budget proposals offer no change to how they receive the benefit.
Josh Kraushaar of the National Journal:
A new Gallup/USA Today poll contains a counterintuitive finding: the age group most receptive to House Budget Chair Paul Ryan’s plan to deal with the budget – seniors.
The poll finds 48 percent of seniors (those 65 and over) support Ryan’s plan over President Obama’s plan, while 42 percent back the president.
That’s the highest total among the age groups tested – a 47 percent plurality between the ages of 50 and 64 backed Ryan, and a 45 percent plurality of those between 30-49 backed Ryan. But young voters overwhelmingly sided with Obama by a 23-point margin, 53 to 30 percent.
Overall, 44 percent back Obama’s plan, while 43 percent support Ryan.
Republicans hold a double-digit lead over Democrats in public perception of which party would do a better job dealing with the federal budget, according to the survey. 48 percent prefer Republicans, while 36 percent prefer Democrats in Congress.
Apparently, younger voters haven’t caught on to the fact that Medicare is going bust and their taxes are going to be raised significantly to pay for it in its present form. A little hard truth from Romney/Ryan aimed at the younger generation would narrow that gap significantly. If they want any kind of subsidized health care when they hit old age, it would behoove us to reform the system now. The longer we wait, the more painful it will become.
This is what makes Ryan a prophet. Ten years from now, if we do nothing, Medicare costs will increase from $560 billion in 2010 to $1 trillion by 2022. By that time, his plan to reform Medicare will look like a walk in the park. What is considered “radical” today will be a necessity in a decade.
I would love to share this on Facebook so my liberal friends can get a glimpse of this. Right off the bat, Team Obama launched a list, shared on some friend’s homepage, either lying about Ryan’s plan or talking about his objectives as if they’re wrong. I want to punch the Obama campaign in the teeth with this news.
More seniors take government seriously.
Most yutes think it’s all American Idol and who you want to Friend, some sort of monetized reciprocal social relationship or silly game.
Apparently older people have lived long enough to grasp basic math.
Nope! We went to school when you could not pass to another
grade unless you mastered age appropriate math skills.
Way to not mention the poll in question is from 16 months ago.
That’s when it was in the news, “sigh”. If they did the poll now, “shrug” would probably the most common answer.
The young and stupid love to live in mom’s basement. Their minds are blank. The grey matter they used to have was thoroughly washed in the years they spent in school.
The young are without the hard experiences of the real world and are easily misled. It is no accident that radicals in every generation start their movements among the young. It is testimony to their wisdom that the Founders imposed age requirements for federal office holders. Pity they didn’t think about the voters.
Songdog, oh the young are catching up on the hard experiences of the real world. Obama is making sure of that.
“Republicans hold a double-digit lead over Democrats in public perception of which party would do a better job dealing with the federal budget, according to the survey. 48 percent prefer Republicans, while 36 percent prefer Democrats in Congress.”
In other words, 36 percent prefer the government to have no budget.
They should! Here’s the truth. An outline of Paul Ryan’s Budget proposal; (a bit long, but worth the read):
What Congress is currently proposing:
Decide upon spending on less than 1/5th of US’s Federal budget for the next 6 months.
a.Cutting $33 billion dollars (or 2% off 2012’s deficit)
b.Cutting $61 billion dollars (or 4% off 2012’s deficit)
Net result of 2010’s election was: 1) Not how much to spend but, 2) how much to cut.
Obama’s third year in office results:
1)Major spending increases that did not improve economy, nor increases in jobs.
2)The poor’s safety net is fast shredding apart.
3)Government Health and Retirement Programs are growing at ever accelerating speeds.
4)Obamacare defunded Medicare by a $716 billion dollars in order to pay for other, separate programs.
Obama’s current budget proposal (2012):
1)Doubles debt held by the public by December 2012, tripling it by 2021.
2)Adds $1.5 trillion dollars in new taxes.
3)Government spending continues at current 2012 rates of 22%.
4)Enlarges the size of government.
5)Government Health and Retirement Accounts remain untouched, as is.
Paul Ryan’s – Path to prosperity Proposal
1.Cuts $6.2 trillion dollars in spending from President’s Budget, over the next 10 years (roughly $620 billion/year)
2.Reduces the debt as a percentage of the economy.
3.Creates a mechanism whereby WE can pay-off our national debt.
4.This plan, for the first time in recent memory, brings Federal spending to BELOW 20% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
5.Reduces deficits by $4.4 trillion dollars.
Heritage Center for Data Analysis
1.Analyzed all aspects of this budget plan, concluding it will potentially have a net effect of creating 1 million new private-sector jobs in a years time.
2.Brings unemployment down to 4% by 2015.
3.Adds 2.5 million private-sector jobs by 2022.
4.Spurs economic growth with $1.5 trillion dollars in additional new Real GDP over the next 10 years.
5.Net result: a. $1.1 trillion dollars in higher wages and b. Average increase of $1,000 dollars per American family’s income EACH year.
Path to Prosperity in action
I. Reducing Spending
- Planned reductions in ALL domestic government agencies to below 2008 levels, freezing this for the next five years.
- Proposed saving are:
1) Reforming agricultural subsidies
2) Shrink federal workforce with sensible attrition policies
3) Implement Robert Gates’ planned targeting of Pentagon inefficiencies.
II. Welfare Reform:
– Build upon 1990’s Welfare Reform by:
Medicaid program
1)Convert Federal share of Medicaid’s spending, to a block-grant system for states creating their range of options, thereby giving patients access to better physician/patient and hospital care.
Food Stamp Program
1)Reform the program by removing flawed incentive structure currently in place, rewarding states to add to its rolls.
Job Component
1)Consolidates dozens of Work Incentive Programs, Job-Training into one: a. accessible and b. accountable career scholarships.
Overall Welfare Program Improvements
1)Designed to treat Americans who need it and eliminate those who don’t.
Corporate Welfare
1)End government nanny state of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
2)Maintaining these two organizations cost taxpayers countless billions of dollars in waste and fraud.
3)Eliminate Congress’ Wall Street bailout authority created in 2009.
4)Roll back expensive handouts for noncompetitive sources of energy. Replacing this government run system of picking winners and losers to a free and open marketplace for energy development innovation and exploration.
III. Health and Retirement Security
Medicare
Protection of Health and Security by:
1)Saving Medicare by not affecting those already on the system.
2)Reform current open-ended, blank-check system threatening Medicare’s solvency with fraud and waste, in 2022.
2022 Beneficiaries of Medicare:
1)Will enroll in same kind of health-care program members of Congress are enrolled in.
2)Future Medicare Recipients will be able to choose a plan best suited to their individual needs, from a list of guaranteed coverage options.
3)Is not a voucher system.
4)Is a premium-support model.
5)This Medicare Premium-support payment model would be paid by Medicare to a plan chosen by each beneficiary, thereby subsidizing its cost.
6)Medicare will provide increased assistance for lower-income beneficiaries plus to those with greater health needs.
7)Objective is to take control out of the government’s hands, putting it in the hands of individuals by helping the poor and sick.
Social Security
1)Reforms aimed at avoiding severe cuts to future benefits.
2)Force legislators to enact common-sense reforms.
3)Build upon the Simpson-Bowles bi-partisan proposals.
IV. Budget Enforcement
This plan for prosperity is to address:
1)How much government spends.
2)How government spends.
3)Reforms Budget Process
4)Caps on spending
5)Government spends and taxes only what it needs, fulfilling its Constitutionally mandated roles.
V. Tax Reforms
Reform outdated Tax Code
1)Consolidate brackets
2)Lowering tax rates.
3)Maximum individual and corporate tax rates of 25%
4)Maintains a Revenue Neutral approach by clearing out a tangled set of deductions and loopholes, allowing some corporations not paying any income taxes at all.
This is in that little Blue Book Paul Ryan carries around with him.
“Circling-the-Wagons” White House outlaws will lie, cheat and steal American’s right to Excellence, all for their greed and power. God Bless America. Amen.
I hope that poll is correct, and that the message is getting out to Seniors, but I feel very skeptical about it after today’s TV blast of mis-information.
The poll may be different in some days from now.
If they keep drumming their lies, which they will, unless they are contradicted clearly and loudly, they’re going to succeed at rattling and scaring Seniors. So far, interviewers (on Fox) don’t seem informed enough to engage the propagandists in any effective way. Fibbie Debbie did a bang up hit job.
Yuval Levin at NRO has done a good job of describing in detail Ryan’s proposal for Medicare.
Democrats, who have been given ample air-time on TV this weekend, are either lying or mischaracterizing because they don’t know, or both. They are succeeding at being very scarey and convincing. (Republican demons, don’t forget, “hate their grandmothers and are only out for the “rich.”)
SENIORS VOTE. All efforts should be made by Romney’s team to explain to current Seniors and those over 55, that this plan does not affect them.
If it isn’t, Florida, for one, may very well be lost.
“Grasping the Medicare Distortion”
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/313757/grasping-medicare-distortion-yuval-levin
Obama campaign manager Jim Messina
SAID in a statement that Ryan’s Medicare plan would
“END MEDICARE AS WE KNOW IT
by turning it into a VOUCHER system,
shifting thousands of dollars in health care costs to seniors.”
Some Democrats even put a particular dollar figure on that
supposed cost shift —
$6,400.
That figure comes from a
(rather rough) CBO calculation regarding
a PRIOR VERSION
of the premium-support idea,
NOT the Ryan-Wyden proposal that Romney has endorsed.
….
Oh, I just heard a PAC VIDEO with the above false claims.
The RYAN-WYDEN proposal would also have
this reform BEGIN ONLY TEN YEARS FROM NOW, and affect
only new entrants into Medicare,
so that ALL CURRENT SENIORS and EVERYONE NOW OVER 55
would be left entirely UNTOUCHED for the REST of their LIVES,
….
and tomorrow’s seniors have essentially nothing to lose by it,
since they would still be
guaranteed a comprehensive benefit at only today’s out-of-pocket costs.
Essentially all of the CRITICISMS
of the Ryan-Wyden(-Romney) proposal ….
directing themselves instead
to OLDER VERSIONS of the premium-support idea — and
IGNORE
the fact that
it would leave all current seniors and near-retirees untouched.
All the leftie oundits were crowing about how the ryan selection will cost the repubs the senior vote and thus cost them florida. Apparently the poll, and this article, makes it clear our seniors are not quite as stupid as the dems think they are.