[MP-Ryan]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/republicans-embrace-rep-ryans-government-budget-plan-for-2012/2011/04/05/AFla6ulC_story.html

Ryan’s budget, titled “The Path to Prosperity,” would spend about $40 trillion over the next decade — $6.2 trillion less than the budget President Obama proposed in February. The bulk of the savings would come from federal health-care programs, starting with a repeal of Obama’s ambitious new initiative to expand coverage for the uninsured.

Starting in 2022, Ryan also would end Medicare as an open-ended entitlement for new retirees and begin slowly raising the age of eligibility from 65 to 67. Instead of getting government-paid benefits, new retirees could choose a private policy on a newly established Medicare exchange. The government would pay “premium support” worth about $8,000 directly to the selected insurance provider, with the wealthiest retirees receiving about a third of that amount.

In an analysis of the budget plan issued Tuesday, the non­partisan Congressional Budget Office said that “most beneficiaries who receive premium support payments would pay more for their health care than if they participated in traditional Medicare,” with 65-year-olds covering an average of twice as much of their total health-care costs.

Medicaid would come in for even sharper cuts, exceeding $700 billion over the next decade. The GOP plan would end the financing partnership between the federal government and the states, replacing it with block grants that give states less money but free them to manage the program as they wish. Federal distributions would be reduced by more than a third by the end of the decade.

Ryan would not touch Social Security, the single largest federal program, which provides income support to nearly 60 million seniors and disabled workers. But his plan praises a proposal by Obama’s fiscal commission to raise the retirement age to reflect longer life spans and slow the growth in benefits for higher-income workers.

And the kicker:

Ryan also proposes to overhaul the tax code, lowering the top rate for individuals and corporations from 35 percent to 25 percent [emphasis added], while eliminating an array of loopholes and deductions that his budget does not identify. GOP aides said they would leave the details to the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, which is crafting a tax reform plan. But that effort is not intended to help reduce the deficit.

In a country where 20% of the population controls ~84% of the wealth, the Republicans want to cut taxes for the top earners and slash social programs that a far larger proportion of the population is reliant upon...

...and the middle-class votes for these idiots.  Unbelievable.

[Nuclear1]

Because the Democrats are socialists who want to destroy America.

Republicans had Ronald Reagan who destroyed the evil communists.  We can't let the evil communists who we defeated take power in the United States.

And I promise, it has nothing to do with the fact that the President's skin is...uhm...darker.

[Nuke]

torture-murder the rich!
and to be fair torture-murder the poor too
and the middle class

[Drogoth]

The fear of taxation and government programs is something that is so deeply ingrained into the American consciousness now that things like this have become unavoidable.

Also America is built upon the idea of "work hard get rich" so the poor won't vote for a tax increase on the rich often times, because they one day want to be rich, and want to keep as much of the money as possible once they get there.

[Mikes]

Also America is built upon the idea of "work hard get rich" so the poor won't vote for a tax increase on the rich often times, because they one day want to be rich, and want to keep as much of the money as possible once they get there.

...  keep the profit and let as little as possible trickle down while the economy is good... and socialize the losses when the economy  turns bad... 

Yet a huge amount of people are perfectly happy being exploited because they firmly believe in their eventual rise to riches and power and still want to be able to screw everyone else over when they get there.

The American Dream is quickly becoming the American Delusion.

[Unknown Target]

In a country where 20% of the population controls ~84% of the wealth, the Republicans want to cut taxes for the top earners and slash social programs that a far larger proportion of the population is reliant upon...

...and the middle-class votes for these idiots.  Unbelievable.

*1% controls 95% of the wealth IIRC.

EDIT: I didn't recall correctly. See below.

[General Battuta]

In a country where 20% of the population controls ~84% of the wealth, the Republicans want to cut taxes for the top earners and slash social programs that a far larger proportion of the population is reliant upon...

...and the middle-class votes for these idiots.  Unbelievable.

*1% controls 95% of the wealth IIRC.

The very first sentence of the document he linked in the block of text you quoted says:

"Most scholars agree that wealth inequality in the United States is at historic highs, with some estimates suggesting that the top 1% of Americans hold nearly 50% of the wealth."

Given that you've made a history of agitating for citations you might make use of them!

[Unknown Target]

In a country where 20% of the population controls ~84% of the wealth, the Republicans want to cut taxes for the top earners and slash social programs that a far larger proportion of the population is reliant upon...

...and the middle-class votes for these idiots.  Unbelievable.

*1% controls 95% of the wealth IIRC.

The very first sentence of the document he linked in the block of text you quoted says:

"Most scholars agree that wealth inequality in the United States is at historic highs, with some estimates suggesting that the top 1% of Americans hold nearly 50% of the wealth."

Given that you've made a history of agitating for citations you might make use of them!

Post edited. <3

http://washingtonindependent.com/107493/americas-super-rich-continue-to-make-mind-boggling-sums

"that top one-hundredth of one percent of Americans whose median household income exceeds $27 million a year, nearly 1,000 times what the bottom 90 percent of Americans make".

Got my numbers mixed up.

[Luis Dias]

What a wonderful world

[Suongadon]

...and the middle-class votes for these idiots.  Unbelievable.

American masochism at its finest. And so damned demotivating too

But, what are you going to do? Its not like we can disenfranchise everyone making between 50k and 100k/yr by law. (actually, could we?)

[Mars]

I like that they're about to be getting taxed less than I did working at Dairy Queen at 18.

[NGTM-1R]

But, what are you going to do? Its not like we can disenfranchise everyone making between 50k and 100k/yr by law. (actually, could we?)

I'm fairly sure that would break an amendment somewhere.

[Flipside]

This is what happens when you give the monkeys the keys to the Banana warehouse...

[Unknown Target]

If the government even keeps functioning...you guys watching the possible shutdown talks? I doubt it'll shut down, we'll probably get another stopgap spending bill...but even then, that's the second one in a row now. That's not any way to run a government, much less one with as much riding on it as the US federal govt.

[Mars]

What do people see as the most likely scenario for the US in the next twenty years? Should I be, like, trying to move?

[Suongadon]

What do people see as the most likely scenario for the US in the next twenty years? Should I be, like, trying to move?

I doubt it is going to collapse, but just because it hasn't devolved into anarchy doesn't mean it'll be a good place to live. Planning to run for the hills myself. Of Paris, or possibly Scandinavia, though Persona terrifies the hell out of me.

[NGTM-1R]

What do people see as the most likely scenario for the US in the next twenty years? Should I be, like, trying to move?

Doubtful.

[Unknown Target]

Never underestimate the propensity of a system to perpetuate itself.

That being said, I'm looking for "safe" places. My current plan should anything super terrible happen is ideally to stay here at my uni.

[Drogoth]

Also America is built upon the idea of "work hard get rich" so the poor won't vote for a tax increase on the rich often times, because they one day want to be rich, and want to keep as much of the money as possible once they get there.

...  keep the profit and let as little as possible trickle down while the economy is good... and socialize the losses when the economy  turns bad... 

Yet a huge amount of people are perfectly happy being exploited because they firmly believe in their eventual rise to riches and power and still want to be able to screw everyone else over when they get there.

The American Dream is quickly becoming the American Delusion.

My point exactly

[Drogoth]

What do people see as the most likely scenario for the US in the next twenty years? Should I be, like, trying to move?

US's own government has stated that unless radical change takes place soon, the american economy will be unable to sustain itself by 2037.

Hopelessly polarized politics, failing education structure, crumbling infrastructure, 14 trillion dollar debt and climbing (their gonna have to raise the debt ceiling on may 16th or the country goes bankrupt), destroyed economy, personal credit card debt at over 60% of GDP.

Make your own decision, but I certainly won't be moving there