The Ryan Budget Plan

WILLIAM HARTUNG, whartung at ciponline.org, www.ciponline.org
William Hartung is a fellow at the Center for International Policy. He said today: "Over the next decade, Paul Ryan's budget plan would throw hundred of billions of dollars at the Pentagon beyond what the department is even asking for. While posing as a budget cutter who makes the 'tough choices,' Ryan favors wealthy donors and overpaid Pentagon contractors at the expense of everyone else."

MIRIAM PEMBERTON, Miriam at IPS-dc.org, www.ips-dc.org
Miriam Pemberton is a research fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and co-author of the annual Unified Security Budget report. She said today: "What do you do when your 'shrink government' mantra conflicts with your party's 'grow the Pentagon' convictions? If you're Paul Ryan, you turn around and embrace the contradiction: advocate increased military spending, more tax cuts for the rich, and more cuts for Medicare, foreign aid, infrastructure repair, and everything else."

ELLEN SHAFFER, ershaffer at gmail.com, healthjustice.centerforpolicyanalysis.org
Ellen Shaffer is co-director at the Center for Policy Analysis. Today she said: "Make no mistake about it: Paul Ryan's new plan to end Medicare is basically the same old plan to end Medicare, exposing seniors to enormous financial instability at a time in life when our incomes and our health are already risky. It would slash federal financial contributions to Medicare from 6.5% of GDP to 4.5% of GDP, and make up the difference out of our individual pockets. Instead of improving the guaranteed coverage we now enjoy at age 65, Ryan would roll back eligibility to age 67, and then set us loose with limited dollars to negotiate individually with insurance companies. This isn't 'patient-centered' anything, it's a direct attack on seniors, a financial austerity program dressed up with a fantasy of creating a free market in health care."