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
Logical Song
August 13th, 2012
6:27 pm
Dusty
Let me extend an apology for my paraphrasing. Please see below for the correction.
Dusty
August 8th, 2012
6:38 pm
“…………insinuating the worst, insulting Romney (and you Kyle) in every possible way. Logic responds to them in a much finer state that is given to him and he does it with facts. ”
Have a great night
bwhahahahahahahaha
saywhat?
August 13th, 2012
6:27 pm
The Obama pitch: Don’t ask us for a plan, just reject the GOP’s plan
____________________________________________________________________
The Romney/Ryan pitch: Don’t look at what our plan actually does, just accept it blindly because its a plan.
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
6:28 pm
@Lil’ Barry Bailout – Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:01 pm
Don’t fear facts getalife.
Obozo is lying, and you lap it up.
___________________________________________________________
It takes a liar to know a liar.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:30 pm
saywhat: it was under [Our President Bush's] watch that the nation’s economic house was demolished
———————-
4-6% unemployment for most of his eight years, 7% during the recession
$300 billion surpluses
More jobs when he left office than when he entered
Our President Bush fixed the Dodd-Frank housing mess, passed TARP, and the recession ended June 2009.
How did Obozo blow it so badly?
Dusty
August 13th, 2012
6:32 pm
Dear Mark V
I was just leaving…Well, for one thing, how many times can I say that I am terribly pleased over the Romney selection of Ryan and his sensible plan.. I like a sound fiscal conservative.
As to Geithner, did he ever get his taxes paid? I doubt that Kyle “invented” a new meaning to Geithner’s words. Sound’s like Kyle’s honest opinion to me. You forget that we don’t all think alike. We don’t and it is not a lie to think differently.
But I’m glad you dropped by. Always good to fuss with you. I must run!
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:32 pm
The Artful Dodger: It takes a liar to know a liar.
—————–
That was sort of my point. Obozo is a liar, and getalife (and you) lap it up like a five-dollar hooker.
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
6:33 pm
Under the Ryan Budget THE RICH WILL ONLY PAY
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
That means Robme WILL ONLY PAY 0.2%.
NO WONDER HE PICKED PAUL RYAN.
hmmmmmmmmm
mike
August 13th, 2012
6:33 pm
The thing I’m looking forward to most of all over everything else is coming on this blog on November 7, 2012, the day after the election. I just can’t wait to hear all of cries of fraud and election rigging even though President Barack Obama is going to win by one of the largest margins ever recorded. Finally all of you will realize that your crazy tax plans and scheming will have been for naught. I can’t wait.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
August 13th, 2012
6:35 pm
getalife
August 13th, 2012
3:21 pm
I report,
Frum is on your team.
Hey, did anyone else notice that there are a bunch of libs out there that want to be known as a Conservative but there are no Conservatives that want to be known as a lib?
md
August 13th, 2012
6:36 pm
This is where the real fun begins…….Ryan has taken the lead to put a plan out there, and everybody on the other side hates it for one reason or another, but he is at least admitting that the problem exists.
On the other side, there is no plan, no admittance that we even have much of a problem, and certainly no urgency.
The fun begins during the debates when Obama starts hammering Romney on the “plan”…….when the tables are turned and Obama is asked for his long term vision, he says what? “We’re not coming before you to say we have a definitive solution to our long-term problem”?
Dusty
August 13th, 2012
6:36 pm
Logical song,
That statement you quoted was in connection to another blogger named LOGIC. Now he had good sense but is no longer with us. I miss him.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:37 pm
saywhat?: Don’t look at what our plan actually does, just accept it blindly because its a plan.
————————–
Don’t blame others for your own laziness. Americans, and some Democrats, have looked at President Romney’s plan and understand that in part it includes a small reduction in marginal tax rates and elimination of some deductions, and is revenue-neutral. In other words, it’s merely tax simplification with the added benefit of eliminating market distorting tax provisions.
We’re not all as ignorant as you.
Tell us about Obozo’s plan.
the red herring
August 13th, 2012
6:37 pm
Ryan has a plan–Obama does not–thus Obama is the one throwing granny over the cliff and is also the one whose Unaffordable Health Care act is going to 700+ billion from medicare—now that’s real mediscare from the left—just they and their media will not talk about that. Tiberius is 100% correct—i’ll go for $3 to $4 in cuts and agree to a $1 tax increase—if and only if the cuts come first and we see them for 2 to 3 years before hiking taxes (maybe taxes will not need to be hiked?) That’s a more sensible way to do it. Ryan’s plan protects everyone over 55 y.o. —they keep what they have now –medicare and all. Then changes are made gradually in order to keep the country solvent. Under Obama we are going broke. His deficit increases have outpaced nearly all other presidents combined. Now we need 4 more years of that?? I think not.
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
6:38 pm
@Lil’ Barry Bailout – Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:32 pm
The Artful Dodger: It takes a liar to know a liar.
—————–
That was sort of my point. Obozo is a liar, and getalife (and you) lap it up like a five-dollar hooker.
_____________________________________________________
Looks like you are lapping up the con job being perpetrated by
MYTH ROBME AND THE WONDER BOY RYAN.
Oh, under the Ryan plan the rich will only pay 0.2% in taxes.
THAT LEAVES YOU OUT.
You have been bamboozled.
heeheeheeheeheehee
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:38 pm
mike, did you finally find the part of the trustee’s plan that stated the Medicare trust fund goes broke in 2024?
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:39 pm
under the Ryan plan the rich will only pay 0.2% in taxes
————————
Isn’t mental retardation sad?
Logical Song
August 13th, 2012
6:40 pm
Dusty
Do not be confused with someone who has similar political views as having good sense. Sort of like pandering to Kyle, Bookman or any other blog host. That makes no sense.
But you have an awesome evening.
Be safe if you are driving. Raining where I am at
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:41 pm
Dusty, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the Braves game isn’t rained out tonight!
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
6:42 pm
@Lil’ Barry Bailout – Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:32 pm
Why are you defending Myth Robme and The Wonder Boy Ryan they
don’t have a hoot about you CAUSE YOU AIN’T RICH.
They are looking out for THEIR OWN.
YOU ARE NOT IN THEIR CLASS.
“If you are not RICH DON’T BLAME THEM BLAME YOURSELF.”
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:43 pm
It’s not their job to look after me–that’s my job.
Pretty much sums up the difference between Republicans and Democrats.
Makers vs. Takers
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
6:49 pm
@Lil’ Barry Bailout – Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:39 pm
under the Ryan plan the rich will only pay 0.2% in taxes
————————
Isn’t mental retardation sad?
________________________________________________
“YOUR name-calling technique TRIES TO link a person, or idea,
to a negative symbol (MENTAL RETARDATION).
When you use this technique YOU hope that the audience will reject
the person or the idea on the basis of YOUR negative symbol
(MENTAL RETARDATION) instead of looking at the FACTS.
WE GOT YOUR NUMBER LIL BARRY.
STICKS AND STONES…..heeheeheeheeheeheehee
Beverly Fraud
August 13th, 2012
6:50 pm
Let’s see, according to Kyle, we have a choice between someone asking for a handout (with no discernible plan to get a job) and a guy who pulls a gun on you and says “Gimme your wallet!” (Hey, it’s a PLAN!)
mike
August 13th, 2012
6:51 pm
I did find this Barry:
“The projected 75-year actuarial deficit in the HI Trust Fund is 1.35 percent of taxable payroll, up from 0.79 percent projected in last year’s report. The HI fund again fails the test of short-range financial adequacy, as projected assets are already below one year’s projected expenditures and are expected to continue declining. The fund also continues to fail the long-range test of close actuarial balance. The Trustees project that the HI Trust Fund will pay out more in hospital benefits and other expenditures than it receives in income in all future years, as it has since 2008. The projected date of HI Trust Fund exhaustion is 2024, the same date projected in last year’s report, at which time dedicated revenues would be sufficient to pay 87 percent of HI costs. The Trustees project that the share of HI expenditures that can be financed with HI dedicated revenues will decline slowly to 67 percent in 2045, and then rise slowly until it reaches 69 percent in 2086. The HI 75-year actuarial imbalance amounts to 36 percent of tax receipts or 26 percent of program cost.”
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/index.html
It would appear to any thinking person that Medicare can be saved with a .0135 (1.35%) increase in the payroll deduction for Medicare. That would be a whopping $6.75 per $1,000.00 of payroll for the employee and the employer.
Like I always say, it’s better to throw out the whole program that to have a tax increase.
Beverly Fraud
August 13th, 2012
6:51 pm
Of course, Kyle probably wouldn’t describe it that way. But maybe he CAN explain how a plan that allows Romney to pay less than 1% is “good for the middle class.”
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
6:53 pm
@Lil’ Barry Bailout – Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:43 pm
It’s not their job to look after me–that’s my job.
Pretty much sums up the difference between Republicans and Democrats.
Makers vs. Takers
_________________________________________________
WILL YOU PAY 0.2% in taxes?
Beverly Fraud
August 13th, 2012
6:54 pm
“It’s not their job to look after me–that’s my job.
Pretty much sums up the difference between Republicans and Democrats.
Makers vs. Takers”
Well, Jenna Jameson is supporting Romney; maybe she just appreciates a good screw job. Professional courtesy and all that.
MarkV
August 13th, 2012
6:55 pm
Dusty @6:32 pm
Dear Dusty,
Perhaps you will come back later, so here is my answer. As I told Kyle earlier, when someone quotes somebody else and then says, “in other words,” you expect that he/she will offer the same meaning of the quote, only expresses it in different words. But there is no way you, Kyle, or anybody else can claim that “we prefer Nero-esque fiddling to your plan” (or the other Kyle’s statement) means the same as “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.” And it cannot be “Kyle’s honest opinion” either, can it? He may consider Geithner’s plan to be “Nero-esque fiddling,” but no rational person would believe that Geithner does, which Kyle’s version suggests. It is not a lie to think differently, but it is dishonest to claim that the words of somebody have a meaning, which they clearly have not. You can expect something like this from some posting here, but I expect something better from a journalist. And as I also mentioned earlier, this is not the first time.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:56 pm
mike, I have to give you credit for doing enough research to learn that you were wrong.
Kudos.
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
6:56 pm
@Beverly Fraud
August 13th, 2012
6:50 pm
Let’s see, according to Kyle, we have a choice between someone asking for a handout (with no discernible plan to get a job) and a guy who pulls a gun on you and says “Gimme your wallet!” (Hey, it’s a PLAN!)
_______________________________________________
“Gimme your wallet”
“It’s a plan”
heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:57 pm
Beverly, your implicit admission that you don’t believe it’s your job to provide for yourself and your family is pretty sad.
It’s also the reason our economy is a wreck and our deficit is $1.5 trillion a year.
You are the problem.
mike
August 13th, 2012
6:58 pm
Barry, how was I wrong?
Logical Song
August 13th, 2012
6:59 pm
MarkV
You been on here long enough. For some, you have to keep it simple.
You should know that by now
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
7:01 pm
You were wrong in denying that the Medicare trust fund was going broke.
I win.
Thomas Heyward Jr.
August 13th, 2012
7:03 pm
lol.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/118098.html
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
7:03 pm
@Lil’ Barry Bailout – Vote American
August 13th, 2012
6:57 pm
Beverly, your implicit admission that you don’t believe it’s your job to provide for yourself and your family is pretty sad.
It’s also the reason our economy is a wreck and our deficit is $1.5 trillion a year.
You are the problem.
________________________________________
ATTENTION BLOGGERS:
Lil Barry is:
THE SMARTEST
THE MOST INTELLIGENT
MR. KNOW IT ALL
MR. I AM THE ONLY ONE ON THIS BLOG WITH ANY SENSE.
MR. EVERYONE ONE ON THIS BLOG IS WRONG
MR. YOU CAN’T TELL ME NOTHING.
MR. I HATE EVERYONE BUT ME.
MR. I HIDE BEHIND MY COMPUTER AND SPEW HATE AND INSULTS.
MR. I WOULD NOT HAVE THE GUTS TO SAY IT TO YOUR FACE.
mike
August 13th, 2012
7:05 pm
Yes, Lil Barry, you win all right. I’m sure everyone here will agree with you on that one.
md
August 13th, 2012
7:06 pm
Actual cbo analysis of Ryan’s plan for those that may wish to educate themselves on the subject vs just listening to the red meat thrown out by both sides:
http://roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov/uploadedfiles/cbo01-27-ryan-roadmap-letter.pdf
md
August 13th, 2012
7:06 pm
I also understand that Ryan has since made some changes with co-sponsor Wyden (D). One can see that plan here:
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/~/media/Files/2011/WydenRyan.pdf
You folks really do owe it to yourselves to read up on the various plans vs allowing others to frame everything for you…………
Hillbilly D
August 13th, 2012
7:07 pm
Lord, just give me the strength to live to until after the first Tuesday in November.
Dave
August 13th, 2012
7:07 pm
And Romney’s plan is? He distanced himself today from Ryan. You are complaining about one of the two offending parties. You’ll have more credibility if you yell a bit more about your side’s vagueness on pretty much every issue. Obama isn’t the best thing since slice bread; but, you’ve got a bit of a track record. Romney wants everyone to guess what he might be.
Beverly Fraud
August 13th, 2012
7:10 pm
“You are the problem.”
@Lil what I am implying is I’d rather deal with a beggar than a mugger.
I never said Ryan’s plan WASN’T better; I just think he should be open and honest and start with “I acknowledge my plan requires Romney to pay 1% but I think this is good for the middle class because…
But, since we are talking about “givers and takers”, do you rate Jenna Jameson as a more productive (and thus valuable) member of society than a nurse because her profession produces more jobs (pun intended) than the nurse’s does?
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
7:10 pm
Yep, Obozo has a track record.
Had enough of it?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
August 13th, 2012
7:12 pm
Anybody who uses the term Myth Robme to describe the GOP nominee doesn’t deserve any attention.
getalife
August 13th, 2012
7:12 pm
Lets get real in the real world:
In con land aka la la land saving collapses are free with no consequences on the economy.
They think we get a booming economy after a collapse.
They erased it from the memory like it never happened.
They are talking about cutting the safety net, raising taxes two thousand per year and fight against our recovery and jobs.
In the real world, the polls show Americans want good paying jobs.
You are way out of the mainstream radicals.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
7:12 pm
Beverly: “I acknowledge my plan requires Romney to pay 1%”
———————
You might start out by dealing in facts. What you’re spouting is Trashman-quality garbage. Get a grip.
Logical Song
August 13th, 2012
7:13 pm
md
speaking about “owing” something to oneself…………… You owe to md to do you own homework
just saying
The presumptive Republican presidential candidate boasted of his newly-minted running mate’s policy collaboration with Wyden during two separate campaign events on Saturday, in a bid to underscore Ryan’s commitment to keeping Medicare alive while Democrats knock Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman, for proposing a plan in 2011 that Democrats say would “end Medicare as we know it.”
“This man said I’m going to find Democrats to work with. He found a Democrat to co-lead a piece of legislation,” Romney said of Ryan at a campaign stop in Ashland, Va.
He took it a step further at a campaign rally in Manassas, where he explicitly called out Ryan and Wyden’s Medicare collaboration.
“The president’s put out a plan on Medicare. He would cut spending $700 billion,” Romney said before a crowd of approximately 8,000 supporters. “Paul Ryan and Senator Wyden said, ‘No, we need to restore, retain and protect Medicare.’ That’s what our party will do.”
But according to Wyden, Romney’s telling of events is misleading and inaccurate.
“Governor Romney is talking nonsense,” Wyden said in an emailed statement Saturday night. “Bipartisanship requires that you not make up the facts. I did not ‘co-lead a piece of legislation.’ I wrote a policy paper on options for Medicare.”
Wyden noted he had spoken and voted against the Medicare provisions in the Ryan budget. “Governor Romney needs to learn you don’t protect seniors by makings things up, and his comments sure won’t help promote real bipartisanship,” he added.
Wyden and Ryan did collaborate on a policy paper in December, proposing that seniors be given a choice between traditional Medicare coverage and an alternative private plan. Wyden’s decision to team up with Ryan resulted in a fair amount of criticism from fellow Democrats, prompting him to defend the collaboration in a 2,380-word op-ed published on The Huffington Post.
In the opinion piece, the Oregon senator clearly stated that the Wyden-Ryan approach was “simply a policy paper intended to start a conversation about how Democrats and Republicans might work together to uphold the Medicare Guarantee” and made it clear the proposal would in no way eliminate the traditional Medicare plan.
The Artful Dodger (Myth Robme) Is A Ryan Shame
August 13th, 2012
7:13 pm
@Lil’ Barry Bailout – Vote American
August 13th, 2012
7:10 pm
Yep, Obozo has a track record.
Had enough of it?
_____________________________________________________
How can Ryan SELL his plan to PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW
WHAT A MILLION DOLLARS LOOKS LIKE?
heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
August 13th, 2012
7:14 pm
Anybody who keeps asking what Romney’s plan is doesn’t deserve any attention either. The do not want to have a serious discussion.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 13th, 2012
7:15 pm
polls show Americans want good paying jobs
—————-
OK. Thanks for that, Captain Obvious. Obozo’s been in office going on four years. He inherited an economy in recovery. What happened?
Obozo: Fail.
Riding down the road
August 13th, 2012
7:15 pm
Lil Barry
Go on Bookman’s site and show him where he is wrong with his current article
You can go post there, right?