Paul Ryan's unserious budget
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Tuesday released his proposed budget for the 2015 fiscal year, and it promises to save more than $5 trillion over a decade. So where do those savings come from? Largely from repealing ObamaCare.
In fairness, the proposed budget is a dream blueprint of federal spending, not an actual proposal. Democrats have no intention of acting on it, so the Path to Prosperity is essentially no more than a political document for Republicans to tout on the campaign trail this year.
Yet to project massive savings on the far-fetched idea that ObamaCare will completely disappear — as Ryan did in past budget proposals as well — is a disingenuous accounting trick. Republicans have held dozens of repeal votes, all for naught. Meanwhile, ObamaCare enrollments surged on Monday — possibly hitting the administration's target of seven million — and support for the health care law is rising. There are still questions about how successful the law will be once people actually move onto their new insurance plans, but there is simply no reason to believe ObamaCare will vanish and deliver the massive savings Ryan projects.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 highly hypocritical cartoons about the Second AmendmentCartoons Artists take on Kyle Rittenhouse, the blame game, and more
-
‘Ghost students’ are stealing millions in student aidIn the Spotlight AI has enabled the scam to spread into community colleges around the country
-
A running list of everything Donald Trump’s administration, including the president, has said about his healthIn Depth Some in the White House have claimed Trump has near-superhuman abilities
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
