Article from the Cato Institute

Written by Chris Edwards

Original Article

"As Congress continues to battle over this year's budget, House Budget chairman Paul Ryan released a blueprint today to guide Republican fiscal policies for years to come. Ryan's budget proposes spending cuts, tax reforms, and the restructuring of entitlement programs.

His plan will dominate budget discussions for the rest of the year, and it will help frame the fiscal debate for the 2012 presidential campaign. That's why liberal pundits are already attacking it with gusto. In the Washington Post, E. J. Dionne called Ryan's plan "radical," "irresponsible," and "extreme." But serious fiscal experts know that the real extreme plan is President Obama's "do nothing" budget, which would result in disastrous levels of debt and crushing tax burdens on families in coming years.

As a first step toward budget sanity, Ryan proposes further cuts to discretionary spending beyond those currently being debated. However, his main focus is on transforming the so-called entitlements. He would transition Medicare from the current Soviet-style system to one based on consumer choice. Instead of a system based on payments to health-care providers, new retirees would receive a "premium support" payment to buy a private insurance plan of their own choosing...."

Click here to read the full article