Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Where Ryan’s and Obama's budgets (mostly) agree

Ezra Klein says Wonkbook: Where Ryan’s and Obama's budgets (mostly) agree. He says neither changes Social Security and both cap Medicare growth at GDP+0.5%.

"Today, the difference in the two party's visions is really in their plans for everything else: Ryan's budget increases defense spending, cuts taxes on the rich, and pays for all that -- and for his deficit reduction -- with deep cuts to programs for the poor and to the basic services the federal government carries out. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that 62 percent of Ryan's cuts are to programs for the poor. (Graph.)

Obama's budget, meanwhile, features large tax increases on the rich, some cuts to the defense budget, some cuts to government services, and relatively few cuts to programs for the poor. Consequently, his budget has somewhat less deficit reduction than Ryan does over the next 10 years.

Obama said much of this in his speech. He accurately explained where Ryan's cuts fall. He admitted that he intends to raise taxes on wealthier Americans. He clearly believes the voters will prefer his approach. And Ryan didn't contest any of it. He didn't say his budget doesn't focus its cuts on programs for the poor, or non-defense discretionary spending. His statement, which you can read in full here, lamented Obama's 'empty promises' and efforts to 'divide Americans.' But it didn't argue that the president got Ryan's numbers wrong. And that's because he didn't: The numbers are there for everyone to see. The same goes for Obama's budget, which Republicans have often blasted for raising taxes on the rich and doing too little on the deficit."

No comments: