Does the Republican Budget Plan Really end Medicare?

Word has it that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is going to run an ad stating that the Republican budget plan, known as the Ryan plan, calls for the elimination of Medicare. Here's the scoop:

Ryan's plan calls for replacing Medicare with vouchers for seniors to buy their own insurance. There are a couple of problems with this. First of all, private insurance today costs 11% more than Medicare does. So right from the beginning, seniors are going to have to kick in from their savings. Secondly, it does not account for the rise of health care costs, which are projected to increase, and to increase dramatically if Obamacare is eliminated. The Congressional Budget Office (non-partisan) estimates that by 2030, the voucher will cover only between 35 and 40% of the cost of private health insurance. So after spending your life paying payroll taxes, yuo'll receive a check for 40% of the cost of health insurance. Actually, this will only apply to those who today are under 55. So don't worry about it, right?

Unfortunately, the rest of this bill, isn't any better.

Congressman Ryan proposes reducing deficits by 4 trillion over 12 years.

To do this, Ryan starts in the usual Republican way, by giving away 2.9 trillion to corporations and the wealthy. He reduces the income tax rates for millionaires, eliminates the capital gains tax, and eliminates the tax on estates over a million dollars. There is nothing in there for you.

He's going to finance that with various budget cuts, but he doesn't say how. He only says that spending on everything aside from health and Social Security can be cut in half. I don't know about your state, but in mine teachers, policeman and firemen are being laid-off even as we speak.

Then there are pure fantasies about the wonderful effects of how cutting taxes on the wealthy leads to prosperity for all. Ryan predicts that by 2015, unemployement will be back to the peak level of the 1990s, and by 2021 it will be the best we've had in 50 years! The 8 million who lost their jobs in 2007-2008, will all have their jobs back back plus a couple million more. Never mind that, last I saw, unemployment was still rising. With everybody working, tax revenues will actually go up by almost $600 billion. (Please note that this is the same House of Representatives that fights Global Warming by voting that it doesn't exist. Cut taxes on the wealthy and dreams come true!)

Then there's Medicaid. I guess you can always save money by reducing support for the poor. Ryan's plan is to stop paying for Medicaid directly and, instead, to give block grants to the states. That means that when health care costs go up, that will no longer be his problem. Leave it to the states to decide how to gut social programs.

Two thoughts to conclude:

1) This country can afford to pay for the programs it wants. We are still one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

2) We have 14 million unemployed people. That is the real problem. Put them to work and our deficit issues will be easy to solve. In this, Ryan is right. But giving trillions of dollars to wealthy people is not going to put these people back to work.