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.
Subscribe to 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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
Does ketchup belong on a hot dog and more May 12 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's cartoons feature Pope Leo XIV, Newark airport, and Donald Trump's meme coin
-
Make mine a soju and tonic: the rise of Korea's favourite spirit
The Week Recommends The rice-based drink can replace gin or vodka in traditional cocktails for a refreshing twist on the classics
-
The full moon calendar for every month
In depth When to see the lunar phenomenon every month
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment