Guest
opinion Chicago Tribune...
The budget debate we
all deserve
By Paul Ryan
May 16, 2011
Despite Washington coming to grips with the fact that the debt threat
is real, policymakers still are not having the debate Americans deserve.
The talk is too often restricted to “shared sacrifice.” This sets up a
debate where we are really just arguing over whom to hurt and how best
to manage the decline of our nation. It is a framework that accepts
permanently higher taxes and bureaucratically determined access to
health care as givens.
A better name for this approach is “shared scarcity.” It represents a
deeply pessimistic vision for the future of this country — one that
would lead us to a diminished future.
The House-passed budget — “The Path to Prosperity” — offers an
alternative vision. It is rooted in the recognition that spending
discipline and economic growth are the keys to balancing the federal
budget.
In a recent speech he gave in response to the House budget, President
Barack Obama outlined his approach to addressing our fiscal imbalance.
It begins with trillions of dollars in higher taxes and relies on a
plan to control costs in Medicare: A board of 15 unelected bureaucrats
would be given more power to deeply ration Medicare spending in ways
that would disrupt the lives of those in retirement, leading to waiting
lists and denied care for today’s seniors.
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