The Obama pitch: Don’t ask us for a plan, just reject the GOP’s plan
With Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate, the entire presidential campaign will — or should — boil down to this exchange between Ryan and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during a House hearing on President Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget back in February (text of transcript courtesy of Real Clear Politics):
Ryan: Here’s the point. Leaders are supposed to fix problems. We have a $99.4 trillion unfunded liability. Our government is making promises to Americans that it has no way of accounting for them. And so you’re saying yeah, we’re stabilizing it but we’re not fixing it in the long run. That means we’re just going to keep lying to people. We’re going to keep all these empty promises going.
And so what we’re saying is, in order to avert a debt crisis — you’re the Treasury Secretary — if we can’t make good on our bonds in the future, who is going to invest in our country? We do not want to have a debt crisis. And so it comes down to confidence and trajectory. Do we have confidence that we’re getting our fiscal situation under control, that we’re preventing the debt from getting at these catastrophic levels?
If we go back to the preceding chart, number 13, you’re showing that you have no plan to get this debt under control. You’re saying we’ll stabilize it but then it’s just going to shoot back up. So my argument is, that’s Europe. That is bringing us toward a European debt crisis because we’re showing the world, the credit market’s future seniors — people who are organizing their lives around the promises that are being made to them today — that we don’t have a plan to make good on this.
Geithner: Mr. Chairman, as I said, maybe we’re not disagreeing in a sense. I made it absolutely clear that what our budget does is get our deficit down to a sustainable path over the budget window.
Ryan: And then they take back off.
Geithner: Why do they take off again? Why do they do that?
Ryan: Because we have 10,000 people retiring everyday and health-care costs going up.
Geithner: That’s right. We have millions of Americans retiring everyday, and that will drive substantial further rise in the growth of health-care costs. We’re not coming before you to say we have a definitive solution to our long-term problem. What we do know is we don’t like yours.
Read that last part again: “We’re not coming before you to day we have a definitive solution to our long-term problem. What we do know is we don’t like yours.”
In other words, we prefer Nero-esque fiddling to your plan.
In other words, we’d rather stick to promises that can’t be kept than level with the American people and treat them like adults.
When Geithner admits the Obama administration has no “definitive solution,” what he really means is the Obama administration has no solution, no proposal, no plan, at least nothing it wants to talk about publicly, for keeping our fiscal condition from spiraling completely out of control. That’s no exaggeration: Check out the chart to which Ryan referred, which comes from the Obama administration’s own FY13 budget:
Our future under Barack Obama
See, the most Barack Obama is willing to do — in his fourth, count ‘em, fourth budget proposal — is to “stabilize” our debt at the highest level, as a share of the economy, since the end of World War II. In fact, according to his budget, that’s the most Americans can expect for the two presidential terms that would follow his hypothetical second term.
After that, he ostensibly would be willing to let us zoom into the abyss on auto-pilot than propose any sort of meaningful reform to the programs that put us on this path. That’s chiefly Medicare — although, as an Associated Press report notes, we face a shortfall of Social Security funding totaling $134 trillion during the next 75 years, i.e. the period of time that covers the retirement of “just about everyone working today.” To shore that up, AP reports, the federal government would need to “invest $8.6 trillion today, and have it pay returns of 2.9 percent above inflation for the next 75 years, to produce enough money to cover the shortfall.”
We will soon find out if the Obama team has prepared substantive proposals for these issues or was simply betting/hoping Romney wouldn’t have the guts to thrust Ryan — and thus the entitlements question — into this campaign.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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489 comments Add your comment
Michael H. Smith
August 13th, 2012
4:03 pm
2016: Obama’s America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUjAcK7KHvA&feature=player_embedded
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
August 13th, 2012
4:06 pm
While Catholicism emphasizes caring for the poor, Ryan’s proposed budget would cut many of the programs that do so. As The New York Times reported, Ryan’s plan would trim “$3.3 trillion from low-income programs over 10 years,” dropping Medicaid coverage for 14-28 million people and eliminating 17 percent of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program),” which covers food stamps.
salon.com
Kyle Wingfield
August 13th, 2012
4:06 pm
MHS: I saw the movie yesterday. I’ll share some thoughts about it soon.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
August 13th, 2012
4:09 pm
How old is Paul Quayle?…I mean Paul Ryan?
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
4:09 pm
@Chris Sanchez
August 13th, 2012
3:49 pm
Kyle: Obama has no intention of leveling with the American people. His problem is much simpler than the GOP problem: he honestly believes that he can raise taxes on the so-called “rich” and continue to spend unprecedented amounts of money on welfare programs. He simply fails to understand the true scope of the problem.
_______________________________________________________________________
“leveling with the American people?”
Myth Robme and The Boy Wonder Ryan TELLS the poor and
elderly, “You’re On Your Own.”
Myth Robme and The Boy Wonder Ryan TELLS the RICH,
‘WE GOT YOUR BACK.”
CHRIS YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN.
Logical Song
August 13th, 2012
4:09 pm
Kyle
When you comment on 2016, if possible, please make sure you mention what in the movie is factual and substantiated vs opinion and conjecture on the part of those who produced and directed the movie.
It might be a great movie that I check out. Without knowing much about it, I can assure you there is much hyperbole to go along with the “facts”.
Michael H. Smith
August 13th, 2012
4:10 pm
Kyle Wingfield,
Please do. I hope to see this movie tonight.
Michael H. Smith
August 13th, 2012
4:12 pm
Logical Song
Factual according to who… YOU?!
I never trust logic or the facts to socialist liberals.
Michael H. Smith
August 13th, 2012
4:14 pm
Later… got to get a move on if I’m going to catch the show.
Jefferson
August 13th, 2012
4:16 pm
The problems with medicare are not the funders, they are owed it, they paid for it . The gov’t is Overcharged by the crooks. Fix the crooks, not the customers.
joe
August 13th, 2012
4:18 pm
Dem campaign plan: Deflect, Deny & Lie. Obama has zero economic record to run on, so he must resort to distortion. Saw an ad over the weekend where his #2 goal for relection was cutting the deficit. I spit my beer out laughing so hard after seeing that one!
SlickRick
August 13th, 2012
4:22 pm
Cliff notes of Kyle’s forthcoming piece on 2016: The Movie:
“Brilliant piece of moviemaking by a well-respected conservative. Mr. D’Souza convincingly and chillingly shows how Obama is a Marxist socialist rabble rouser radical mulsim anti-American America-hating muslim loving muslim who was secretly installed by powerful muslims to destory America from within. Two big toes up.”
Jefferson
August 13th, 2012
4:22 pm
Joe, the country is in better economic shape today than it was in 2008, no matter what.
SlickRick
August 13th, 2012
4:24 pm
joe – funny, “zero economic record.” You must’ve missed the end of the recession, a doubling the stock market, and more net job creation in 3.5 years than Bush had in 8.
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
4:25 pm
Mary Mother of God must be weeping BECAUSE Paul Ryan, a so called “Catholic”
has NO COMPASSION FOR THE POOR.
THE POPE SAID, “The care of man, his transcendent dignity and his inalienable rights” are issues that
should concern Christians.”
a dad
August 13th, 2012
4:26 pm
After reading the vitriol spewed on this blog, is it any wonder why we’re in the shape we are as a country? Both parties are about as divergent in rhetoric and goals as I’ve seen them in 50+ years, and most (not all) of the bloggers here simply insult one another. How about someone offering a solution (not sure about Ryan’s plan, but at least he’s got one to look at). Would one liberal please educate me as to Obama’s plan to get the economy going again, and not just regurgiated talking points. I want details. Huh? What’s that? There isn’t a detailed plan (you know, one with facts and figures and such)? Imagine that. Cons, got to admit, the GOP is getting pretty extremist lately. Big problems require real solutions, and right now, neither side is really appealing to me. BTW, I’m over 55 so Ryan’s tweaks to Medicare won’t affect me, but I look beyond what just affects me because I’m worried about the future of OUR country.
saywhat?
August 13th, 2012
4:27 pm
Where are all the wingnut complaints about Ryan’s lack of “executive experience”? Does Prom King count?
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
4:28 pm
@joe
August 13th, 2012
4:18 pm
Dem campaign plan: Deflect, Deny & Lie. Obama has zero economic record to run on, so he must resort to distortion. Saw an ad over the weekend where his #2 goal for relection was cutting the deficit. I spit my beer out laughing so hard after seeing that one!
____________________________________________
Joe PUT DOWN THE BEER.
You are becoming delusional.
PUT DOWN THE BEER.
Logical Song
August 13th, 2012
4:29 pm
MHS
Did I say me? No you did
Just because you are gullible enough to believe anything from a right leaning source make it factual, that is your problem. Not mine.
just saying
SlickRick
August 13th, 2012
4:29 pm
a dad – Sounds like you need to vote for the Obama/Biden ticket and on down the Democratic line.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
August 13th, 2012
4:30 pm
Lack of executive experience didn’t seem to bother you in the last election with obama.
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
4:31 pm
@saywhat?
August 13th, 2012
4:27 pm
Where are all the wingnut complaints about Ryan’s lack of “executive experience”?
Does Prom King count?
_________________________________________________________________
Prom King……heeheeheeheeheeheehee
All hail the Boy Wonder Paul Ryan.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
4:35 pm
Finn: I mean my goodness, Romney’s only had 4 years of campaigning to come up with a single lucid thought.
———
And Obozo’s only had four years to cut the deficit in half as he promised. Instead, he racked up more debt in three-plus years than Our President Bush did in eight.
Obozo is deliberately wrecking the economy. Real Americans don’t fear the facts and will vote for the team that has a plan. Obozo doesn’t.
Logical Song
August 13th, 2012
4:39 pm
MHS
I’m going to assume that you are intelligent enough to know that the majority of these type political movies / documentaries are like listening to Ed Shultz or Rush Limbaugh.
You get ounces of truth mixed in with tons of hyperbole, rhetoric, and even lies. Is that the case for the movie in question? I have no idea, that is why I said what I did to Kyle.
Maybe I overestimate your intelligence and you are in fact gullible enough to believe if something is written or said about a politician you do not like, it must automatically be true.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
4:40 pm
Effective executives solve problems, so Obozo STILL doesn’t have executive experience.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
4:41 pm
Thanks for explaining “Fahrenheit 9/11″ to us, Logical Song.
ragnar danneskjold
August 13th, 2012
4:43 pm
Like the “Nero-esque fiddling” line – good essay. As in 2008, the dems will try to beat something with nothing. But in 2012, the something is quite substantial. Obama – the Seinfeld of the campaign trail.
JDW
August 13th, 2012
4:44 pm
@Kyle…”I’m critical of the boomers because they voted for the people who spent that “trust fund” to which you refer, which is little more than a collection of IOUs from future taxpayers. ”
Fabulous point…the worst offenders were Reagan and Duhbya so why in the world should we vote for more of the same…Ryan espouses almost exactly the same rot that they did…privatize and cut taxes.
CDC
August 13th, 2012
4:45 pm
So what is the GOP’s plan Kyle? Mitch McConnell said the only thing the Republicans were working on was making sure Obama did not get reelected. So that’s their plan? Good luck with that.
Logical Song
August 13th, 2012
4:45 pm
Rags
I guess Obama on the campaign trail is like you on the ALC blogs.
But do carry on
SlickRick
August 13th, 2012
4:46 pm
Lil’ Barry Bailout – Does that crazy come with a side of bacon? cheesy grits?
ragnar danneskjold
August 13th, 2012
4:48 pm
Just looked at Drudge – I should have closed my note five minutes ago with a different line: Obama, the Fried Twinkie of the campaign trail.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/08/13/obama_in_iowa_michelle_has_told_me_i_cannot_have_a_fried_twinkie.html
Logical Song
August 13th, 2012
4:51 pm
Ragnar
Speaking of fried twinkies. Romney will be able to get his share of those along with funnel cakes when he is back wooing folks at the Iowa state fair in his 3rd bid to win the WH.
“Third time will be a charm; I promise. Romney 2016.”
a dad
August 13th, 2012
4:54 pm
SlickRick – ain’t gonna happen. I prefer a plan I can look at compared to a bunch of empty rhetoric and attacks. Case in point, our Social Security “surplus” of 2.7 trillion actually consists primarily of special T-Bonds which our beloved go’vt will have to find the cash to pay when the bonds come due. Now, were do you think they’ll find that 2.7 trill from? So, when someone politician ponies up a plan to reform SS, I pay attention and do my reading. Ditto with Ryan. Ditty with Obama.
JDW
August 13th, 2012
4:54 pm
@Tiberius…”When you read Geithner’s comment to Ryan, it really hits home that this administration is the problem when it comes to working with people across the aisle”
Yeah right…thats why Republcans sued over a Republican idea implemented by Democrats
Thats why Republicans walked from a 4 to 1 spending to revenue increase deal
Thats why Republicans drove us to the edge of default
Thats why Republicans have tripled the number of fillibusters since the last Democratic minority.
‘Cause they aren’t the problem…
SlickRick
August 13th, 2012
4:55 pm
a dad – See JDW’s 4:54.
joe
August 13th, 2012
4:55 pm
@ Jefferson/rick/dodger–take a look at Greece with 24% unemployment and 54% unemployment for those under age 25. That is what socialism looks like. Another vote for Obozo puts us on the same path. How can you do that to your children/grandchildren? You are all pathetic. Take some individual responsibility already. JFK said “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Losers.
Kyle Wingfield
August 13th, 2012
4:57 pm
Ahem, JDW @ 4:44. You forgot Clinton in your list. Where do you think his “surpluses” came from?
skydog
August 13th, 2012
4:57 pm
Lil Barry can`t have a job or much of a life with the shear number of post he puts up.
That`s a fact Barry, but I`m sure you will have a clever comeback.
Jefferson
August 13th, 2012
4:59 pm
Joe, have a bad day, since you knowitall, bud.
a dad
August 13th, 2012
5:01 pm
Let’s have a little levity. For a chuckle, go on YouTube and type in “Barack’s Big Candy Mountain.” Enjoy.
Beverly Fraud
August 13th, 2012
5:05 pm
“not as it will be distorted by the plan-less, feckless Obama.”
But Osama “bin sleeping with the fishes” Laden isn’t calling him feckless.
getalife
August 13th, 2012
5:10 pm
President Clinton’s economy was outstanding.
Lets do it again Americans,
Four more years.
I just hope he keeps his junk away from the interns.
yuzeyurbrane
August 13th, 2012
5:11 pm
Kyle I will now add you to the list of conservatives from whom I have heard the negatively loaded word “IOU’s” used to describe U.S. Treasury Bonds. That includes the gentleman from the Heritage Foundation to whom I previously referred, Cong. Tom Price and most of the Republican primary candidates for President. It is obviously on somebody’s talking points list. Yes, Kyle, all U.S. Treasury Bonds are technically IOU’s as are all promissory notes, your mortgage, your credit card, etc. I suppose the SS Trust Fund could have just stuck the $2.7 trillion surplus into a giant mattress but fortunately Congress by statute requires them to invest the surpluses and earn interest which will then eventually go to SS beneficiaries. Now some, including Ryan, W, and Wall Street would have had all or part of this money invested in the stock market. Can you imagine how much in commissions $2.7 trillion would generate? Fortunately, Congress decided this was not the prudent thing to do and required that it be invested in the world’s safest security, U.S. Treasury Bonds. I point out that US Treasuries are still much in demand by our wealthy, mutual funds, banks, stockbrokers, foreign countries and foreign individuals, so much so that we pay interest rates that are at an all time low. And this is in spite of the adolescent “rule or ruin” behavior of Ryan and his House Tea Party cohorts. Now, it is true that the invested money goes into the General Fund of the US Treasury. But it is a ridiculous stretch for you to blame me and my fellow boomers, including I presume, your parents, for enabling spenders any more than any other investor in US Treasury Bonds. The fact is that through our FICA taxes we financed a system that allowed our parents to live their final years in some modicum of dignity and, unless it stolen by Gen X to lighten their tax load, we will have paid more than 100% of the amounts needed to allow us boomers to live our later years in some modicum of dignity, too. I think we did our part. It is time for your generation to stop whining “me, me, me” and do its part, too. Kyle, your view is worse than class warfare; it is generation warfare. Are we all in this together or are we not?
getalife
August 13th, 2012
5:12 pm
No attacks and no collapses.
Is that truth in that Obama movie?
Probably nothing but lies as usual?
JDW
August 13th, 2012
5:18 pm
@Kyle…”Ahem, JDW @ 4:44. You forgot Clinton in your list. Where do you think his “surpluses” came from?”
Clinton came closer to a truly balanced budget than anyone…certainly closer than Reagan or Duhbya…in fact he almost got it to parity if you negate SS…wouldn’t you have liked for Duhbya to keep that trajectory?
Clinton is far from a worst offender Reagan and Duhbya on the other hand led the charge.
I for one would welcome a return to the Clinton days…unfortunately due mainly to Republican mismanagement my guess is we have another 4-6 years to go.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
August 13th, 2012
5:20 pm
No attacks. No collapses. No deficit reduction. No budget. No recovery. No plan. No truth. No transparency. No solutions.
Two, this Obama Guy sure hasn’t delivered on anything
JDW
August 13th, 2012
5:21 pm
“I just hope he keeps his junk away from the interns.”
Or at least picks better looking ones.
getalife
August 13th, 2012
5:21 pm
I read both sides, filter out the bs and tell the truth.
The gop wants you to pay for their collapse.
The wealthy that caused the collapse pay nothing.
The gop thinks Americans are stupid.
Americans want jobs not cuts to their safety net or raising taxes.
Where is the jobs plan?
Tax cuts and no regulation is gop ideology not a jobs plan.
That is the cold hard truth.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
August 13th, 2012
5:22 pm
Yeah, let’s return to the artificial dot com bubble days.