Overview for entitlements

Toomey's Budget: Too Good to Be True

Sen. Toomey's budget proposal promises a budget surplus achieved painlessly through a combination of tax cuts and spending increases. It's not going to happen. I am mightily impressed by Sen. Toomey’s budget proposal. It promises to achieve a budget surplus and, most importantly, it does that …

Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Thursday May 12, 2011

As Debt Talks Begin: Dems Hold Upper Hand

Republicans in Congress set to resume debt ceiling talks Thursday should go into them with a clear sense that they have a weak negotiating position. Republicans in Congress set to resume debt ceiling talks Thursday should go into them with a clear sense that they have a weak negotiating position. …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Thursday May 5, 2011

A Health Care Race the U.S. Shouldn't Win

A new study claims that U.S. health spending is rising faster than in other countries. But will it spur Washington to finally start curbing costs? A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation comparing U.S. healthcare costs with the rest of the world is providing ammunition to both sides in the …

Written by Stanley Goldfarb on Saturday April 30, 2011

GOP Freshmen Take Heat For Ryan's Medicare Plan

During the two week recess in their home districts, Republican freshmen are getting challenged by constituents for their votes on Medicare. During the two week recess in their home districts, Republican freshmen are getting challenged by constituents on their votes which would drastically change …

Written by Tim Mak on Monday April 25, 2011

Did U.S. Overreact to Debt Outlook Shift?

There's a lot of buzz about Standard and Poor's shift in outlook on U.S. debt. But a change in outlook isn't the same as a downgrade and, by itself, does little or nothing. There's a lot of buzz in Washington about Standard and Poor's shift in outlook on the United States' debt. I'm not sure if …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday April 19, 2011

Obama's Do Nothing Deficit Plan

Obama's deficit plan is atrocious. In short, he doesn’t want to cut entitlements (so there’s no long-term solution) but he does want to raise your taxes. The deficit plan presented by Obama is atrocious. In short, he doesn’t want to cut entitlements (so there’s no real long-term solution) and he …

Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Thursday April 14, 2011

Obama Doubles Down on Price Controls

President Obama has outlined a set of proposals for reducing the cost of Medicare. But more price controls and panels won't get the job done. President Obama has outlined a set of proposals for reducing the cost of Medicare. The White House assumes that empowering an independent panel to simply …

Written by Stanley Goldfarb on Thursday April 14, 2011

How Means Testing Social Security Could Backfire

Means-testing the elderly for entitlements is gaining popularity on the right. But when it comes to Social Security, it could reward bad economic choices. Yuval Levin's provocative essay on going "Beyond the Welfare State" offers the following prescription for a conservative re-thinking of …

Written by Fred Bauer on Wednesday April 13, 2011

Ryan's Budget Gives Obama What He Wants

The Republican plan to cut taxes and slash government health care spending gives the president prime opportunities for political victory. “Whatever you do, don’t serve to his backhand.” “Don’t be nervous. I have the new Ryan serve. It’s bold!” “Trust me on this. Don’t serve to his backhand.” …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday April 13, 2011

Obama: I'll Cut $4 Trillion

In the President's speech on how he would reduce the deficit, he spent most of his time attacking the GOP budget. Full speech transcript here . 2:43pm: This didn't feel like a policy speech, even though it was sprinkled with policy ideas. The main focus and the meat of the speech came from …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Wednesday April 13, 2011

Less Welfare Doesn't Equal Less Government

The new kind of welfare state proposed by Yuval Levin, with programs aimed only at the poor, will create their own set of new problems. This is part four. Click here to read the entire series . Interestingly, it was neoconservative thinkers like Irving Kristol, James Q. Wilson, Daniel …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday April 13, 2011

Ryan Budget: Compassionate Conservatism Goes Kaput

Yuval Levin endorses the Ryan idea of radical reductions in government social insurance. Is this plan the right next step for conservatism? This is part one. Click here to read the entire series . Don't miss Yuval Levin's piece in the current National Affairs , " Beyond the Welfare …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 12, 2011

The Big Budget Cut the GOP Forgot

Republicans deserve a pat on the back for tackling the easiest-to-cut part of the federal budget. But one area where they could make serious cuts was overlooked. When it comes to the first and easiest-to-cut part of the federal budget, Republicans deserve at least a small pat on the back. They …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Saturday April 9, 2011

Why the Dems Should Take Ryan Seriously

Democrats may not like the Ryan budget, but they should be careful not to write off the chance to begin a serious dialogue about our nation's fiscal health. E.J. Dionne, one of the smartest and (justifiably) most respected commentators of our time, has labeled Rep. Paul Ryan’s 2012 federal …

Written by Les Francis on Friday April 8, 2011

A Budget That Can't Budge

The Ryan Plan won't become law. So what's it for? What is the much-discussed Paul Ryan plan ? You probably know the plan’s main elements: A huge cut in Medicaid, a big cut in the value of future Medicare coverage for those under age 55, substantial cuts in discretionary domestic spending, …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday April 6, 2011

Ryan: 'It's Not A Budget, It's A Cause'

Tuesday morning, Rep. Paul Ryan unveiled his 2012 fiscal year budget proposal, calling for close to $6 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years. 12:57pm: The last question to Ryan: do you regret your vote on TARP? Ryan: No. I hate TARP, but …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Tuesday April 5, 2011

How the GOP Could Win by Cutting Defense

When they meet at the White House Tuesday the GOP may need to concede on defense spending to win cuts in entitlements. But is the trade-off worth it? When they meet at the White House Tuesday , Some Democrats will ask for military spending cuts as part of any budget deal while some Republicans …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday April 5, 2011

GOP's 2012 Budget: Dead on Arrival?

Anti-deficit stalwart, Rep. Paul Ryan, has pledged to start the markup of the FY2012 budget in early April. The plan should pass the House, but will Senate Dems back it? Apparently old-fashioned snail mail has made a comeback in the United States Senate. Two sets of letters roiled the fiscal …

Written by Steve Bell on Monday March 21, 2011

Easy Budget Cuts the GOP Forgot

Eventually, Congress will need to spend serious political capital to make tough budget cuts. But for now, there are plenty of easy cuts the House has overlooked. As Congress cuts the federal budget, attention has focused on truly easy cuts—programs that are clearly outdated or needless but …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Friday March 18, 2011

Cut Medicare for the Richer, Not the Younger

Paul Ryan's budget ideas make a lot of sense. But there's one problem: why load more burdens on those under 40? Paul Ryan's advance previews of his budget ideas make a lot of sense. But they are missing one important piece. Here's the Wisconsin Congressman, head of the House Budget …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday March 16, 2011