[1]Now that I have your attention . . .
Amidst the whirl and rush over the FY11 budget and Paul Ryan’s FY12-and-out proposal, the Republican Study Committee released its own fiscal plan for the country (NRO [2]– The [2] Corner [3]). The RSC is one of the pre-Tea-Party era groups on the right-side of the House Republican Caucus.
Among other things, the RSC budget . . .
- Is the only one on offer that balances the budget within ten years (in this case, by 2020). Ryan’s budget plan balances somewhere in the 2030’s; the Simpson-Bowles budget claims to be balanced by 2035 (expect that it’s not, as I’ve explained earlier [4]); the Democrats – including President Obama – have punted on this entirely
- Cuts discretionary spending and federal staffing deeper than Ryan’s plan
- Cuts the corporate tax rate to 25%
- Takes on farm subsidies and – here’s the kicker – Social Security. This is the first plan I have seen that does not have me getting a Social Security check in October 2037 (that’s a good thing; no serious plan should even think of sending me a check at 65).
Now, neither Ryan’s plan nor the RSC one has a chance in the Senate, but it will be a lot easier, I think, to sell a plan that balances the budget in nine years than, at the least, twenty.
Moreover, although it hasn’t been an issue yet, the RSC’s point man on this – New Jersey’s Scott Garrett – voted against both TARP and Medicare Part D; whereas Ryan voted for both.
So maybe the post title makes sense after all . . .
Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal [5]