Ryan's Plan Does Exactly What It Says It Does

As we are knee-deep in the middle of our current operating budget debate, we are already getting a preview of what next year is going to look like.

The proposed budget for next year from Republicans is a plan largely authored by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Ryan's Plan has a lot of problems, some with reality, and some with very real items like ending Medicare and Medicaid.

The plan calls for Medicare to be replaced with a system of vouchers. This means the government will give senior citizens vouchers in which they can purchase health insurance from private companies. The vouchers will be held to the rate of inflation, which is a very cruel trick on the elderly.

So why the rate of inflation and not the actual rate of the growth in health care costs?

Well, if you make the vouchers keep pace with the actual growth rate of health care costs, all the savings Ryan claims in his plan is wiped out.  Here's what he's doing. He dismantles Medicare.  Replaces it with vouchers that won't, by any stretch of the imagination, keep up with the rising costs of health care since health care costs triple the rate of inflation.  Logically, when the vouchers are only covering a portion of the costs, seniors will have to make up for it out of pocket.  CBO has already backed this up and very clearly stated the plan will raise costs for seniors.

Simply said, Ryan's Plan abolishes Medicare, which is right now one of the most popular government social programs ever created.  Why don't he just come right out and say he wants to do away with Medicare and make old people pay more for health care?  Cause you don't get elected doing that.