"Don't Scorn Paul Ryan" correctly asserts that controlling the costs of Medicare is critical. But the fact that there needs to be debate about this program does not mean that the debate should be centered where Mr. Ryan suggests. The Democrats were the ones who started this discussion in 2009 when they spoke of ways to rein in costs of care. They contended, and still believe, that the principal way to attack this issue is by study and a determination of where the waste can be cut out of the system.
For that, they were scorned and ridiculed by the Republicans who utilized the opportunity to completely misrepresent the motives and goals of the Democrats. The famous "death panels" that never were, became the rallying cry for those who tried to decimate, if not eradicate, what they derisively now refer to as "Obamacare".
Don't give Mr. Ryan credit for initiating a serious debate by merely attempting to shift the burden of spiraling costs onto the backs of the elderly. Mr. Ryan's proposal passes on these phantom savings to the most well-to-do by way of tax cuts, even though this trickle-down theory has proven ineffective time and again. Enough with the pat on the back for a good try. Mr. Nocera is right that Mr. Ryan may not deserve our scorn, but that certainly does not mean that he deserves even the most infinitesimally small amount of our praise.
2 comments:
I wonder if the GOP did not want to control costs so that Medicare would be in jeopardy, and then they could scuttle it. They want the money ! The GOP thinks of all federal money as their piggy bank.
Piggy indeed.
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