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Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.)
It's clearly not fair that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) unveiled his far-right budget proposal this week to great fanfare, but Senate Democrats unveil a rival plan and it gets almost no attention at all. After all, GOP officials have been screaming bloody murder for months, demanding that Dems present a budget, and then when they do, it goes almost entirely overlooked.
Sure, one could make the argument that Senate Democrats got unlucky, unveiling their plan on the same day a new pope was chosen, but it's probably safe to say the rival budget wouldn't have been front-page news whether the Vatican smoke was black or white.
And why is that? It's probably less a matter of party and ideology, and more a matter of policy scope. The Ryan budget, as Matt Yglesias noted, is "almost frighteningly ambitious," aiming for "sweeping social transformation." The House Republican plan wants nothing less than to undo much of American society, taking a sledgehammer to pillars of modern public life such as Medicare. It is the exact opposite of classical conservatism -- what Ryan has in mind is literally radical and a sharp departure from contemporary American norms.
The Senate Democratic budget, meanwhile, is ... modest. It has no intention of trying to transform modern American life, and seeks fiscal responsibility through gradual tweaks and reforms. It's a middle-of-the-road budget, setting a target of $1.85 trillion in debt reduction, divided perfectly between new revenue and new spending cuts. It eyes changes to social-insurance programs like Medicare, but goes out of its way to avoid touching benefits.
As we talked about the other day, the Senate Dems have put together the sort of moderate, mainstream approach that one might expect from a responsible governing party. It accepts compromises, requires unobtrusive concessions from both parties, focuses on pressing needs (scrapping sequestration cuts and boosting infrastructure), all while striving for balanced policymaking.
Ryan envisions a redistribution of wealth unlike anything Americans have seen in generations -- in effect, he and his caucus hope to wage a class war on behalf of the rich while shredding the social safety net. The far-right Wisconsin congressman is less a budget committee chief and more a social engineer who's spent too much time with Ayn Rand novels under his pillow.
The Senate Democratic budget looks at the nation through a very different prism -- the deficit is already shrinking, the recovery is already taking hold, so there's just no need for dramatic changes to how American society functions.
Is it any wonder it generated less attention?
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Are either of these budgets linked online anywhere?
Democratic budget posted here: http://budget.senate.gov/democratic/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=c951a802-7600-4111-97c9-20bccc9c69d8
Here's the Senate Plan - http://budget.senate.gov/democratic/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=c951a802-7600-4111-97c9-20bccc9c69d8
Here's the House Plan - http://budget.house.gov/uploadedfiles/fy14budget.pdf
what a HUGE irony that the house plan has a section titled "Safety Net Strengthened"
Not to mention, the owners of the "free press" ("The press is free to he who owns one") like the Republican plan and don't like the Democratic plan. And the whores they hire masquerading as reporters know to get down on their knees if they're going to get paid.
Democrat Budget - Responsible
Ryan Right wing nut job republican budget - screw the poor and the elderly.
WTF??? The way American society functions is the GOP status quo set up by Reagan- where 20% of America gets 84% of the wealth, and their share continues to increase despite the Meltdown. Where as Stiglitz stated on Rachel's show last week- that 97% of increased growth are flowing to the top 5%. That's how American society functions.
The way American society functions is that for the 99% there are fewer and fewer jobs, paying lower and lower salaries.
The way American society functions is that we pay $100 billion dollar bills for extreme storm damage and crop failures and do not recognize that this is a subsidy for fossil fuel companies who are profiting from the thing that is causing those crop failures and extreme storms. The way American society functions is that these companies pocket record profits and perpetuate the cycle by convincing us that what we need is more CO2 / Oil production.
The way American society functions is that too big to fail banks get even larger and none of those responsible for the multi trillion dollar financial fraud have gone to jail or even been tried in court.
This is the way American society functions. We don't need dramatic changes? WTF.
Certainly, we don't need the GOP's dramatic changes to American society.
But we need dramatic changes.
Sensible, pragmatic democratic party changes that address these challenges to our country's economic survival.
And in order to achieve them, it is time to realize we need to sweep the GOP from the field in order to govern and make some progress fixing these problems before we capsize.
it is very simple. The media does no challenge the GOP talking points.
Maybe because the "media" lost their objectivity and passion for really informing Americans once the corporate Oligarchy took them over.....
I wonder what T Boone Pickens is going to do with the newspapers he is buying up. Maybe tell a little of the other side of the story for us. It sure would be nice to read a paper with actual news in it instead of propaganda. Do we actually get a "liberal media" too.
but....but....isn't the media LEFT wing biased???? Isn't that what the right wing keeps screaming???
Facts are left wing biased... shame on facts.
All sectors of society need to take a hit. I suggest the following: 1) Eliminate 501(c)(3) from automatic exemptions = $71 Billion in Revenue a year; 2) Tax churches since they are money making enterprises at the same corporate rate as every other corporation in America and require them to prove their money is going to charity and tax their real estate holdings = TRILLIONS IN REVENUE; 3) Raise the tax cap on Social Security and Medicare taxes to $5 million a year = Eliminates that pesky problem; 4) Eliminate Corporate Welfare = at least $500 Billion in new Revenue; Tax credit default swaps at 5% per transaction = BILLIONS MORE IN REVENUE; 5) If a company wants to incorporate as American, require it to have 85% of its workforce IN AMERICA or pay a heavy tax.
I'd vote for you! That would be a decent plan, which is probably why you are not in office lol They do not seem to want decent, they want to crush everything for anyone who is not already rich!
501(c)3 do not get automatic exemptions. That is a separate filing.
Well, maybe if Patty Murray started doing P90X...
The reason news media is'nt picking up on the democrats budget? Controversy. While the Ryan (Captain Courageous) so called budget creates controversy the Dems sensible budget does not.
Paul Ryan = Rob from the poor and give to the wealthy.
Will the Dem budget follow reconciliation rules? If not, there's no way the Senate EVER passes a budget.
POTUS, should no compromise or cave on anything anymore.
Sorry, but the POTUS does not vote on a budget. If a bill has enough support, even a veto won't work. Congress holds the purse strings and the POTUS' has only influence and persuasion.
Actually, he does technically have to sign the budget into law...which means he does have a vote via veto on the budget. The fact that it can be overridden is of no consequence.
You can find the Democratic Budget Plan here:
http://www.scribd.com/embeds/130231212/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-1kj09xos7oelewttqnn7
Kookie: Go to this page and you can read the summary or the full document via the links: http://budget.senate.gov/democratic/index.cfm/senatebudget
Thanks, Tigerlily78! I'll try to get through all 114 pages, but the summary is very helpful!
What's really bizarre is that the Congressional Progressive Caucus's budget--basically the liberals' answer to Paul Ryan's budget--gets even LESS attention than the Dems' Budget.
GOP: "What happened to the White House tours?" Dems: "Need to protect secret service jobs." GOP: "We want our tours!" Dems: "What about tuition assistance and low income hous-" GOP: "TOURS!!!" Media: "What happened to the White House tours?"
House GOP: "Produce a budget." Senate Dems: "Here." Media: <cricket sounds>
Keep fighting the good fight Beltway Media, you're awesome!
You're right, satcomsid. It's like what Benen said in his last post about D.C. being wired for republicans: if they talk about the dems' budget then they won't be able to parrot the republicans' charge that the dems have no plan.
The reason illustrates the myth that we have a liberal media. We don't..... we have a right wing media. We also have a media that with few exceptions aren't worth their paychecks. They see their job now as an extension of the entertainment divisions of their networks. Ryan's budget is sexy and bold -- but heartless and stupid to the rest of mainstream America. It is how they sold Dubya..... Gore was boring and wonky but here we have the cutup the guy who is quick with a quip and grins a lot. The fratboy. Now we'll focus on THAT and not Mr. Boring. And that is how they packaged and sold Bush. I go back in history not to relitigate his tenure but to point out that that is more what the interest is by the media. Fox is the propaganda, CNN is flailing about trying to position itself as an alternative to Fox -- for those who like your batcrap that is less batcrap, and MSNBC the wonky channel who has Ph.D.s like Maddow and wonky Ezra Klein actually breaking down the complex into something you can understand. It's not sexy or exciting (except to wonks) but it IS informative.
"And that is how they packaged and sold Bush. "
And he STILL LOST both elections!
Actually, he only technically lost the first one. He beat Kerry fair and square.
Then again, we shouldn't have had to deal with him in the FIRST place...and let's be honest, he won against Kerry cause he used the "you can't change commanders in the middle of a war" schtick.
But he did actually technically win the popular vote once, in 2004. Incidentally, its one of 2 times in the last 7 elections they have won the popular vote. Bush 41, and Bush 43 in 2004. Otherwise its been Clinton, Clinton, Gore, and Obama twice.
Ryans budget is just slash slash slash, and redistributing the money from the poor to middle class to the rich. How ridicules. There will not be a compromise until the 2014 elections are over.
What - you want attention?
Is there a link to the rest of this story? I would be interested in reading it.
ljdecker,
I'm trying to get the Onion to go with it, but apparently even they have standards - oh well...
The GOP is so far out of the mainstream ,doesn't Ryan realize the country just voted against his policies.His answer to health care to save money is to limit care and turn medicare into a voucher system that puts more of a financial burden on seniors.Lets not forget even bigger tax cuts to the wealthy as we move to a oligarchy government....this guy is just a idiot
See, this is where the Dems went wrong. They should have put their own radical stuff in their budget (like free beer for everybody) so they can trade that off with the GOP radical stuff (OK, we'll give up the free beer if you give up killing Medicare). Then you negotiate to a modest budget. You do not start off in the middle!
You don't get budgets, you get CR's. Thats why Dems were smart enough not to shoot for the Moon just to appease the base. We are smarter than that...
The L.A. Times this morning actually went with the Ryan is a bold and courageous fella this morning in an op/ed. My gag reflex was tested. Of course they failed to include the facts that Republicans don't want Medicare, so they refuse to try and make it better.
Have the Koch brothers already bought The LA Times? That editorial would seem to indicate there won't be much change. Bad news...
Many comments here about Obama will not go along with cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
For those of you who believe this, I suggest that you do a little more research.
Every time the President has talked about HIS "Grand Bargain" Social Security and Medicare are two of the first things out of his mouth.
One very easy solution to Social Security issues would be to simply remove the cap on wages subject to Social Security contributions. Could you imagine the outrage if the Republican proposed a new tax code where only the first million you made was taxed and everything above that was tax free?
why don, all the conservatives on here go take a frying jump into hell were you all belong lets make sure that not one siting Republican Govneror keeps his seat come 2014 watch we are going to get rid of every siting Republican in office they will be out on their ass,s come 2014 watch for this assskicking aging cause its comeing. we aready have school y'all dum-ass's one time but I guess we have to do it aging.
If the Democrats really wants to expose Ryan budget as flawed, they need to show the budget proposal and show it to the public section by section. As much as I prefer President Obama's approach, I am curious how Ryan budget changes Medicare to voucher system.
Why not anyone from MSNBC is not talking about this below I will never know?
by Staff Sgt. David Salanitri
Air Force Public Affairs Agency
3/12/2013 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- In the wake of sequestration, the Air Force officially suspended military tuition assistance March 11.
Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley announced the Air Force has officially suspended military TA for the remainder of fiscal 2013.
The program will continue to be evaluated to determine the way ahead in fiscal 2014.
The Defense Department's comptroller issued guidance to all of the services to "consider significant reductions in funding new tuition assistance applicants, effective immediately and for the duration of the current fiscal situation," said Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, a Pentagon spokeswoman. The Army and Marine Corps canceled their TA programs March 8.
Effective March 11, Airmen are not permitted to submit new requests for TA. Airmen currently enrolled in, or approved for future courses, are not affected and are allowed to complete those courses.
"The Air Force has reached a turning point after a decade of war and substantial growth in its operations and resources," Donley said, adding that the Air Force has had to make difficult choices to preserve readiness, to include: deep cuts to flying hour programs, cancellation of Air Force training and education programs and civilian furloughs. "This is an additional step the Air Force unfortunately had to take to operate within mandated budget limitations."
"We know how education strengthens our force," he said. "We encourage Airmen to continue their pursuit of higher education through the variety of programs that are available."
Those include the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty, (Chapter 30), Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606), Reserve Education Assistance Program (Chapter 1607), the Post 9/11 GI Bill, federal grants and federal financial aid. National Guard Airmen may also be eligible for their state's individual TA benefits.
"Believe me, this was a tough decision because our Air Force truly values education," said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody. "We're still looking at the impacts for fiscal year 14 and will do our best to have TA reinstated, although we'll likely need to review the eligibility requirements to ensure sustainability."
Airmen should contact their local education centers with questions and to get updates.
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Military Temporarily Suspends Tuition Assistance Clutch Magazine
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3 hours ago – Military Temporarily Suspends Tuition Assistance. ... The Navy has yet to announce if its suspending the program. The programs provide ...
And, of course, in typically stupid Democratic fashion, their budget STARTS where they want to end up, leaving no room for negotiation other than to go right.
Steaming starboard, that U.S.S. Plutocracy is.
Why don't you get disgusted with it all with the people who created this entire mess in the first place. The Republicans and the tea party!
I have repeatedly said that Dems are bad at messaging. Where is the Dem national organization on this? I would think that the putting out more than press releases, videos on the internet and email is not going to get the public's attention. The party has the money but they are conserving it for elections rather than working in tandem with the people in Congress to maximize and amplify the message.
The only reason the United States has achieved the level of wealth it has is because of huge public works projects like the Railroads, our highway system, Apollo, and yes... our bloated military. Cutting government spending will only serve to diminish our economy. Economic growth depends on the spending of money, not investing it. So... who do you think is better at spending money... the wealthy or the government?
Umm, just a point of accuracy here....the railroads were not, and never have been a public works project. They were built by private companies, usually by rich financiers. They personified greed and avarice and the robber baron mentality. However, you are right on the substance of your post. Cutting government spending as Ryan proposes is national suicide, as Europe is demonstrating now. If you want to create another Great Depression, then by all means, adopt Ryan's plan. If, on the other hand, you want to see this country and ALL of its citizens, not just the uber wealthy, prosper, then you need to turn away from that proposal like the fetid mass of hatred, greed and ignorance that it is.
To add: The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) is a government-owned corporation established in 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service throughout the United States. The name Amtrak comes from a combination of “American” and “track.” The members of Amtrak’s board are appointed by the President and are subject to confirmation by the Senate.