The Ryan Budget lays out the House Republicans' reckless agenda for the country:
Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) has proposed to cut the top tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, providing a massive tax cut for the very wealthiest Americans, while hitting middle- and lower-income American families with a substanial tax increase. The plan – unanimously opposed by Democrats – would cut taxes for the average millionaire by $265,000 and almost certainly lead to dramatically scaling back tax provisions that benefit middle-income Americans, including the mortgage interest deduction and the tax exclusion for employer-provided health care.
Ways & Means Resources:
Other Resources:
Tax Policy Center Analysis of House Republican Budget Plan
Joint Committee on Taxation Distributional Analysis of Selected Tax Provisions
Rep. Ryan's proposal to end the Medicare guarantee was put forward in his Roadmap for America in 2011 and included in the last two budgets supported by almost every House Republican. The proposal has varied slightly from year to year, but at its centerpiece is an attempt to end Medicare as we know it by turning Medicare beneficiaries over to private insurers with no guarantee of a defined benefit package and dramatically increasing seniors' health care costs.
Ways & Means Resources:
Fact Sheet -- Ryan Medicare Plan
BY THE NUMBERS: House Republican Plan to End Medicare Guarantee
Other Resources:
CBO Confirms: GOP Budget Dismantles Medicare, Dramatically Increases Costs for Seniors
CBO Analysis of 2011 GOP Budget: Seniors Health Costs to Double by 2022
Ryan Plan to Privatize Social Security
Rep. Ryan first proposed privatizing Social Security and cutting guaranteed benefits in 2005. According to Social Security’s Chief Actuary, his most recent Social Security privatization bill would reduce the balance of the Social Security Trust Fund by $4.9 trillion, cut benefits for a typical middle income worker (when the plan is fully implemented) by 39 percent (about $6,000 a year in today’s dollars), make the Social Security retirement age automatically go up every year, and increase the national debt for the next 50 years. Moreover, as Budget Committee Chairman, Rep. Ryan included in his annual budget resolution, which was adopted by House Republicans, a new fast-track process for making benefit cuts or other changes in Social Security.
Resources:
Social Security Chief Actuary Analysis of Ryan Plan
Social Security Chief Actuary Analysis of Benefit Cuts in Ryan Plan
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Ryan Plan Makes Deep Cuts in Social Security
Ways & Means Committee Democrats