Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security.
MORNING MESSAGE: Romney-Ryan Guns For Medicaid
OurFuture.org's Terrance Heath: "…Paul Ryan's plan to gut Medicaid, chop it into little pieces, and bury bits of the remains in each state. His plans for Medicare — embraced by the GOP, and endorsed by Mitt Romney — look mild by comparison; like the difference between a manicure and an amputation … why put forth a budget that hacks away at Medicaid if it doesn't lower health care costs, passes the costs on to families, and leaves some of the most vulnerable out in the cold? Like Paul Ryan says, it isn't a budget, it's a cause."
Romney-Ryan Plan Slashes Health Care For Poor
Ryan's proposed Medicaid cuts are "dramatic" says W. Post: "Ryan has proposed scaling back the nation’s four-decade-old insurance program for the poor and disabled — bringing down the cost by $810 billion over 10 years … States would get more flexibility, with the expectation that they would be able to use the money more efficiently and creatively. But experts say the cutbacks are so dramatic that it would be impossible for states to innovate their way out of massive cuts…"
Obama's $716B in Medicare savings don't cut benefits. W. Post's Sarah Kliff: "The majority of [Obama's] cuts … come from reductions in how much Medicare reimburses hospitals and private health insurance companies … there’s one area these cuts don’t touch: Medicare benefits."
The Romney-Ryan plan keeps the $716B in Medicare savings … and cuts health care for the poor. W. Post's Ezra Klein: "Here’s what everyone agrees on: Ryan and Obama include the same cuts to the Medicare program itself … What Romney/Ryan are saying is that they then take the money saved from their cuts to Medicare and put it toward deficit reduction while Obama takes that money and spends it on health care for poor people."
Romney campaign makes Medicare the issue. Bloomberg: "A new campaign spot asserts that, because of Obama, 'The money you paid for your guaranteed health care is going to a massive new government program that’s not for you.' … Still, Democrats are convinced that voters in battleground states, particularly seniors in Florida, are concerned enough about Ryan’s original plan … that the issue is a political loser for the Republican ticket."
But will Romney-Ryan be pilloried for using "MediScare" tactics? HuffPost: "The party has long bemoaned Democrats for using scare tactics when it comes to any substantive discussion on Medicare reform … With Romney now engaged in this very act, the question is: Will any of those 'Mediscare' complaints be directed his way?"
Wind Power Wedge Issue In Midwest
Huge increase in wind power under Obama. W. Post's Brad Plumer: "Last year, wind turbines represented one-third of all new generation capacity built in the country, behind only natural gas. At this point, wind provides 3 percent of the country’s electricity. In a few states, such as South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, wind provides more than 10 percent of all electricity. Those stats come from a new report from the Department of Energy … Costs are tumbling. But, the report concludes, the industry is at risk of shrinking dramatically in 2013 as key tax credits disappear … President Obama wants to extend some of them. Mitt Romney and other congressional Republicans prefer to let them expire."
In Iowa, Obama slams Romney-Ryan for opposing wind power tax credits. Politico: "'Unlike my opponent, I want to stop giving $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies each year to big oil companies that have rarely been more profitable, and keep investing in homegrown energy sources like wind that have never been more promising. That’s the choice in this election. That’s why I’m running for president of the United States.' Romney, Obama will note, has 'said new sources of energy like these are "imaginary." His running mate calls them a "fad."'"
DREAMers Can Stay As Of Today
DREAM executive order implemented today. The Hill: "The administration defended the change in policy on Tuesday as it outlined some of the details about the application process to reporters, saying that they have set up a fraud detection unit with stiff penalties, established mandatory fees so the program will fund itself, and are planning to deport applicants with felony records … Some Republicans have claimed that by circumventing Congress, the administration has violated the Constitution. And Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a staunch Tea Party supporter, has promised to sue the administration over the changes."
"This has been huge" in the Latino community said Telemundo's Jose Diaz Balart on MSNBC's Hardball.
Ryan isn't going to help Romney with Latinos. Politico: "That’s an alarming prospect to GOP strategists who have seen their party driven to near extinction in states like California, where strident anti-immigration voices have turned the Latino vote away from Republicans, maybe for good."
Breakfast Sides
America's low tax rate doesn't pay off with faster growth, says NYT's Eduardo Porter: "Since 1965, tax revenue raised by governments in the developed world have risen to 34 percent of their gross domestic product from 25 percent, on average. The big exception has been the United States. In 1965, taxes collected by federal, state and municipal governments amounted to 24.7 percent of the nation’s output. In 2010, they amounted to 24.8 percent. Excluding Chile and Mexico, the United States raises less tax revenue, as a share of the economy, than every other industrial country. No wonder we can’t afford to keep more children alive … [Personal income] has grown a little faster in the United States than in the European Union and Canada, but slower than in higher tax countries like Japan, Norway and Sweden."
Ryan backed by Wall Street companies and insurance companies. W. Post: "Rep. Paul Ryan has become one of the top fundraisers in Congress in recent years, drawing on a growing national profile to amass more than $8 million for this year’s election … Executives and employees of major financial and insurance companies are Ryan’s biggest and most reliable sources of money … His largest source of money is Wisconsin-based Northwest Mutual, a life insurance company whose employees and PAC have given Ryan $121,000 over his career. The second-largest source is Koch Industries…"
