Republican Congress Promises Budget With More Big Government: Must Fix Medicare

The last time the Republicans tried to fix Medicare, they created another $16 trillion in unfunded liabilities. Medicare Part D was born.

Now, the Republicans prepare to take government spending off the table for the 2012 election as they promise a budget full of more big government spending, specifically Paul Ryan's call to fix Medicare. Noting the past, the Republican's have not done well fixing Medicare in the past. Fixing an entitlement with more big government spending will remove this issue from debate in 2012, just like Republicans are doing with Obamacare and a number of other issues.

Republicans are going to work off the budget the House GOP passed last year to come up with its proposals for the next fiscal year budget, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said Sunday, adding that the GOP is "not backing off of any of our ideas, any of our solutions."

Ryan, R-Wis., speaking on "Fox News Sunday," said the budget isn't written yet, and won't be ready until March, when bean counters have the "base line," or current budget figures used as the template for budgeting.

"I and my members of the Budget Committee will write this budget in March and then we're going to bring it to the floor. We think we owe the country actual solutions based upon our founding principles to get this country on the right track," Ryan said.

The Medicare reform put forth by Republicans proposes a voucher system called "premium support" that would give seniors money to go buy private health insurance. Democrats railed against it last year, saying the average cost would mean seniors are paying $6,000 more per year for health care.

Ryan said the plan doesn't affect anyone currently 55 or older, but Americans are going to have to come to grips with the fact that Medicare will be broke in a decade.

"The Congressional Budget Office also says Medicare is going bankrupt in 2021. The trustees at Medicare say that there's $37 trillion unfunded liability. If you take a look at our reforms, which don't change any Medicare benefits for a person 55 or above, and says for people 54 and below, when they'll retire, they'll have a list of guaranteed coverage options over by Medicare just like we do it in Congress and federal employees have, and we're not going to subsidize the wealthy as much as everybody else. And we're going to subsidize the poor even more. That saves Medicare. That fixes Medicare," he said.


Mr. Ryan, government healthcare like Medicare isn't a founding principle, you dolt! Just another bandage to cover the bleeding.