SPECIAL COMMENTARY: A "DEAD PLAN WALKING"

Rochester, N.Y.-- It’s bad enough that House Republicans voted to destroy Medicare and replace it with an inadequate voucher scheme. But now, non-partisan analysts have revealed that this GOP budget plan actually increases the national debt by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next ten years-- and it still forces seniors to pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket and potentially cuts off health care coverage completely for millions of Americans.

However, the American people are starting to pay attention to the absurdity of the radical GOP Ryan Plan. The House GOP is telling us, "we know what's best for you," but obviously, "no they don't."  They are merely delivering the goods to the small minority of people and corporations with astronomical wealth who got them elected in the first place.  They have no regard for the welfare or common good of the American people. 

In town hall meetings being held across the country during Congress' two-week recess, citizens of all stripes are filling the ears of Republican legislators with objections to their supporting such garbage, particularly the proposed changes to Medicare that would replace direct coverage with subsidies for private insurance.  Plus, the GOP approves of billion dollar tax payer subsidies for big oil and pharma-- like they actually need more of our money.  When does the greed stop?

Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pennsylvania, quoted in a New York Times article Tuesday, tried to play down the objections, but his explanation inadvertently exposed the flaw in his party's political strategy.

"I am not sensing the general public is angered over Medicare reform," he insisted. "When I explain that people over 55 are not affected there is almost a sigh of relief."

In other words, Barletta believes his constituents will only tolerate "reform" when it does not personally affect them. Sheesh.

This offhand acknowledgement belies the obvious truth that Republicans hate to admit: Americans actually like their government health insurance, and they do not trust for-profit insurance companies to do it better. They like their "socialized medicine" so much that they're willing to give lip service to anyone who threatens to take it away.

And another thing-- Medicare belongs to all Americans, not just the population who are receiving the benefits right now. Most of us working stiffs who do not have it now are counting on its support in our old age-- if we don't die on the job first because the GOP wants to raise the retirement age.

The over-55 provision only serves to validate citizens' objections. Even if the exception pacifies seniors, by emphasizing it Republicans implicitly acknowledge that the proposed subsidy plan is not equivalent to Medicare as we know it. On top of this, they overtly recognize the fact that Americans under 55 will get screwed.

A study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that future retirees would pay much more under Ryan's plan than under traditional Medicare-- and that's exactly what the for-profit healthcare companies desire.  By 2030, for example, a typical 65-year-old would pay two-thirds of his or her health costs.

If Republicans had been honest about their message of shared sacrifice to address the national debt, all their "deficit reduction hyperbole" could of attracted some reasonable listeners. But that's not what is happening, no matter how much they try to downplay the push back. When they combine Medicare cuts with tax breaks for the rich, they have run amok and violated one of the most basic rules of democratic politics: most people vote for their own best interest. Not all do of course-- remember the book, "What's the Matter With Kansas?" When 400 rich-as-can-be families have the same wealth as 155 million other Americans, you know we are headed in the wrong direction when it comes to stabilizing a middle-class economy.

Voters will not stand for something they personally value to be taken away from them and at the same time, give benefits to rich people and multi-billion dollar health insurance companies who are wallowing in sizable profits. How can they think that this is a winning strategy for them politically or for the American people? But it begs another question-- maybe it's not about the America we know and love.

A few weeks ago, Republicans' attempts to gut federal programs like Head Start and Planned Parenthood provoked little outrage from the average American voter. That's because most Americans do not perceive themselves to benefit from the programs. Similarly, President George W. Bush's attempt to slash Medicaid while extending tax cuts for the rich did not ignite much town hall fervor, because Medicaid assists people below the poverty line. The last time we checked, poor people do not have as many paid lobbyists filling the halls of Congress or the statehouses across America as most multi-national corporations.

We here at the Voice Reporter have been accused on this site as stoking a class warfare mentality.  We will wear that badge of honor with distinction.  But when it comes to fairness of taxes and the battle for resources between the haves and have-nots, middle-class Americans might not seem completely engaged because some of them could be doing ok right now-- they just find it hard to invest in something that doesn't directly affect them.  For those of you who are not engaged, let the Ryan Plan be a warning shot-- your day of reckoning is coming if the GOP controls the Senate in 2012.

The challenge for most of us is to understand these complex issues in the simplest way possible. If we restore a vision for America that is based on the premise that material prosperity and social justice are not competing values, we might get a better handle on bringing everyone together to build a better world.

When Republicans proposed to cut Medicare while reducing taxes for the rich, they lost all credibility with the American people. This is simple to understand. Americans and the voting public get this one. Republicans will lose this fight. And so, we here at the Voice Reporter can now officially call the Republican budget proposal a "dead plan walking."

-Ove Overmyer
This post is the opinion of the author exclusively and does not reflect the views of CSEA as an organization.