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Politics behind Ryan plan to lower deficit

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    All-Star panel weighs in

  • Duration 8:51
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We propose to save -- strengthen Medicare.

By taking power away from government bureaucrats.

It ends of Medicare guarantee for seniors it cuts obviously benefits to seniors who need health care we propose to collapse a six different tax brackets in -- two race.

It 10% bracket in a 25% -- for individuals.

Hey -- -- -- -- -- tax break and AM and eliminate the anti and then.

Have no details on how you would pay for them our budget won't protect seniors.

And really Begin to deal with visions tremendous deficits.

That have been driven up up by this administration.

It is.

Not a plan did.

This president could support.

Well the reaction today to House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan laying out a sweeping reform the Republican budget it includes as you heard there.

Bringing down the tax brackets from six brackets to to lieutenant 25%.

Corporate tax rate at 25%.

And federal spending.

Cuts of five point three trillion dollars over the next ten years what about this the way forward politically.

And in this policy let's bring in our special expanded panel from Washington Bill Kristol editor of the weekly standard.

Mara Liasson national political correspondent of national public radio syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer and Brit Hume Fox News senior political analyst -- start with you.

-- thought of this budget and what it means political.

I think what it means politically as Republicans now have something to rally around it's simple.

In terms of tax reform to race.

It's cut spending a lot which is something that Republicans want the big piece that's missing really is.

They say they -- -- get rid of tax expenditures that's how they're gonna do this tax reform they're gonna broaden the base while they're lowering rates that they don't say what tax expenditures are gonna cuts I think that's a question that still remains to be answered.

They haven't said yet exactly what income levels -- going to each tax bracket but I do think.

It's clear.

It does.

Say that it's gonna solve the problem and it gives Republican something to run on and that's important.

Yeah I think it is what.

With a Republican nominees gonna run out and I suspect that's what the Republican president if there's one in January.

-- -- thirteenth will govern on so I think in some very important way this is now Paul Ryan's party at least when it comes to.

Budgetary matters fiscal matters death deficit Medicare reform.

Which is an awful lot of things that incidentally he also addresses defense as you know there's the sequester that's hanging over everyone would from which would impose brutal.

Cuts on the defense budget next year and he didn't have to do this is budget chairman but he also.

The -- away but to get out of the sequester take the cuts at a mandatory domestic spending programs so you get to the same deficit reduction -- that in this is next year.

Without destroying defense which is something that's awfully important to a lot of conservatives including me so I think what Paul Ryan is done is.

Really task of intellectual and political leadership.

And it will now be up to him into his colleagues and above all the Republican presidential candidate to make the case is this is a better way forward to president Obama's.

-- to that point -- two reactions one from.

Mitt Romney about this budget plan saying quote today the house Republican budget rejects the out of control spending and higher taxes -- -- present Obama in his budget last month.

By proposing prescriptions that will strengthen Medicare for generations to come.

It also highlights president Obama's failed leadership on entitlement reform Gingrich Newt Gingrich saying.

The house GOP budget is a courageous plan -- correctly understands the key to returning to a balanced budget.

Is robust economic growth spending control and bold entitlement reform.

A much different answer from Newt Gingrich for example from a year ago.

And that's true Brett and I think it's -- let's underscore what is really critical about what Paul -- proposing here at the big driver of -- deficit spending.

The big out of control program.

Is Medicare.

And he proposes to change Medicare from a program of an open ended program -- basically unlimited benefits.

Where -- only the way you compress it costs is by taking another -- of medical providers which really doesn't work it makes medical care less available.

And he imposes limits on it.

It is going to be very hard to pass that it won't pass this year.

Certainly won't -- this year it will never pass -- Democrats in control of the senate of the White House.

Paul Ryan truly believes that at some point a day of reckoning is coming Medicare will collapse on its own of its own weight.

If something isn't done to change it and he's betting that that it's time to put himself and his party.

On the side -- of avoiding what he calls the most predictable fiscal crisis that the country's ever faced.

That is the key here that is it's gonna take got so these house Republicans to go along with it looks like the presidential candidates are -- are gonna supported that's encouraging sign for.

-- -- trying to do but make no mistake about it the big item here the big tough one is Medicare because that's a big driver.

There we should point out there was no -- statement from Rick Santorum.

Ron Paul said that the budget doesn't really cut anything any spending Charles the political danger.

Here is that Democrats obviously and they already started today will pounce on this and tried to turn the discussion.

How successful can they have -- doing that we will they have doing that in this -- bar.

Well they already had a campaign on last year's Ryan the budget.

The medi scare campaign.

Which was in part to dishonest he said abolishes.

Medicare and packages.

Changed it demanded it -- change it in different ways.

They're gonna have a harder case today.

Because the new Ryan approach makes one major tweet she got Ron widen the democratic senator -- event.

To join him and they -- proposal where you do change in Medicare.

From a guarantee program of provider.

Payments meaning fee for service.

Into one where you guarantee the premium the cost of the insurance.

However.

What he added now in this budget is a provision that if you want to choose the old.

Traditional Medicare.

You can do that.

So that any Democrat who -- it abolishes.

Courage to Medicare is not speaking the truth.

They will try that they will say it.

They said it today already put it simply isn't so it's one of the options that has offered.

And that was a very important change and remember the house Republicans approve the budget last year.

Without a provision of that sort so now I think they have some kind of political protection and it will make the argument.

The dishonest argument of the Democrats of abolishing.

Medicare a lot more difficult.

-- you look at this chart and Paul Ryan use this today citing.

The OMB and CBO numbers and he says it's the two paths.

That go forward to basically this budget calls for federal spending reductions over the next ten years of five point three trillion dollars.

And he points out that the current path.

Continues to go up as a percentage of GDP to death.

Look what he's doing is trying to get the discussion the election year debate back on to the deficit it's kind of remarkable we went through this whole year where we had one commission after another.

Laying out paths to.

Bringing the deficit under control how you could do tax reform how you could raise revenues with tax reform how you could cut spending how you could do this that the other thing and an.

They all laid out more or less the same plan with slightly different weeks.

And then it dropped it just disappeared until black -- and you haven't heard these candidates talking much about it but I do think now that Ryan has come out with this.

I think this will get more talk from the Republican candidate.

The bill the senate has not pass a budget in quite some time I think it's a thousand -- in sixty days.

There's.

Probably very little hope that this budget has a chance anywhere near that sent.

Now what Republicans really need to make the case that it should be passed and they really need them -- -- about this to get back to the urgency.

Of the deficit and the debt the debt has gone up from slightly into ten trillion dollars Barack Obama became president to slightly over fifteen.

Trillion dollars it's gone up 56%.

It is totally unsustainable.

And under Barack Obama for president Obama's budget that that continues to go off -- almost that race.

And and the Republicans reduce the rate of growth of them of the -- it turns over a couple of years of his biggest percentage of GDP and starts to go down.

And and I think we'll for the Republicans sense presidential candidates are busy squabbling with -- each other and and worrying about things they're not making the case to the urgency of the kinds of Medicare reforms and other reforms to the Ryan budget.

Presents let's not forget -- of this this issue of spending and out of control -- is what drove the Tony -- election so.

I think that sentiment to -- that is still out there to be tapped.

Panel thank you.

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