Republican Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin’s 1st District has an interesting web site titled The Roadmap Plan. There was a very appealing article in Newsweek about Mr. Ryan and he has appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC sounding like a very reasonable person. If ever there was a likely candidate for Republican president it is Congressman Ryan. The problem is he proposes changes to America that every wealthy person will love. After you have read The Roadmap Plan you can read my rebuttal below.
-Health Care
An interesting proposal but there is limited effort to control the actual cost of care. That was President Obama’s number one priority and it was forgotten shortly after his push for health care reform. Anthem Blue Cross raising rates as much as 39% in CA is a very loud message. What is the solution to this issue?
-Medicare
I believe this program was established for those who could not afford private insurance. If this revised program will leave people penniless when there is a major medical issue, it does not answer the needs of the elderly. This is a matter of public policy. Does society tell the elderly when you run out of money you will die because we do not want to pay your bills?
-Social Security
If the government will “guarantee that individuals will not lose a dollar they contribute to their accounts, even after inflation” that will not satisfy the payment rates currently provided to a retiree who lives 20 past his retirement date.
Where will the money come from to support current pay out rates?
-Tax Reforms
There is at least one aspect of this complicated program that I do understand. “Eliminating taxes on interest, capital gains, and dividends” will be a great benefit to the wealthy. People with earnings of million of dollars per year in pay will invest their money but won’t pay taxes on the investment income. How nice for the millionaires of the country. They will pay no taxes if their income is in the form of stock options and other non salary payments.
The frightening thing is that many Americans might buy Congressman Ryan’s ideas as the best roadmap for America.
Coast Contact 