MORNING MESSAGE: Does Romney's Tax Plan Get The Money From Mortgage Interest Deduction?
OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "For Romney's tax plan to work, with its promise to be 'revenue neutral,' he has to find big money somewhere to make up for the rate cuts. The mortgage interest deduction is big money, and today there is a tea leaf for us to read. Bloomberg: 'Republican Platform Won’t Protect Mortgage Tax Deduction.'"
Romney-Ryan Health Care Plan Makes No Sense
Health care experts "puzzled" by Romney's pledge to scrap $716B in savings from Medicare reform. NYT: "The 2010 health care law cut Medicare reimbursements to hospitals and insurers, not benefits for older Americans, by that amount over the coming decade. But repealing the savings, policy analysts say, would hasten the insolvency of Medicare by eight years — to 2016 … to restore them in the short term would immediately add hundreds of dollars a year to out-of-pocket Medicare expenses for beneficiaries. That would violate Mr. Romney’s vow that neither current beneficiaries nor Americans within 10 years of eligibility would be affected by his proposal to shift Medicare to a voucherlike system … Beneficiaries, through their premiums and co-payments, share the cost of Medicare with the government. If Medicare’s costs increase — for instance, by raising payments to health care providers — so, too, do beneficiaries’ contributions."
Public rejects Romney-Ryan Medicare plan. Yahoo! News: "[In the Public Policy Polling poll,] responders from almost every demographic, excluding Republicans, and those who self-identify as tea party supporters and conservatives, oppose Ryan's Medicare overhaul. Thirty-six percent of the entire sample said they support the plan, while 45 percent oppose it … the Pew survey found that 49 percent of responders opposed the proposal and 34 percent are in favor of it."
GOP planning once again to undermine health care reform. Politico: "When lawmakers return to Washington after the November elections, some House and Senate Republicans want the party to fight to repeal billions of dollars worth of new taxes that will take effect next year to help pay for the 2010 health care overhaul … Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) … said the health care levies — particularly those on investment income claimed by high earners — should be part of the year-end debate."
Romney planning release of energy plan tomorrow. The Hill: "He has vowed to approve the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, and seek a major expansion of oil-and-gas leasing on federal lands and waters — including Pacific and Atlantic Coast waters that remain off-limits under Obama. Romney backs opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, which would take Capitol Hill approval, and has called for fast-track permitting for energy projects. Elsewhere, he has attacked Environmental Protection Agency regulations, including rules that force cuts in mercury and other air toxics from coal-fired power plants, alleging it's too costly, and wants to strip EPA’s power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions."
Ryan Flip-Flops On Sequester
Ryan blames Obama for defense cuts threatened by sequester if no budget deal reached reports CNN.
But he voted for it. W. Post: "…how does the GOP vice presidential nominee reconcile his support for the debt-ceiling plan with his argument that President Obama is the one to blame for the looming defense cuts … Ryan supported the 'process' put in place by the debt deal, but not necessarily the substance, a spokesman said Tuesday …"
Obama Created Jobs. Period.
Ryan falsely says Obama "made it worse," argues Robert McElvaine: "The following graph, which I put together using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, traces the annual rate of job creation under Democratic and Republican administrations from Harry Truman to Obama — with 2009 separated out as a year in which any fair-minded person would agree that the 'difficult situation' Obama inherited was the main driving force. It dramatically illustrates just how wrong Ryan’s assertion is…"
"States Sitting On $470 Million In Unspent Transportation Funds" reports ThinkProgress: "In an effort to speed up spending 'that will create jobs and help improve transportation,' the Obama administration said it would free up those funds for other projects if they aren’t used in the 2013 fiscal year.
Obama campaign hits Romney-Ryan plan for risking road repair i VA. Politico: "The 60-second radio bit imitates a local traffic report and targets congested routes oft-cursed by northern Virginians: Interstates 395 and 66 … 'Could things get any worse?' the faux anchor asks of another broadcaster, who replies, 'Paul Ryan put forward a budget plan that slashes investments in road and infrastructure projects.' … The ad also highlights the House Budget chairman’s opposition to 'bridge repair and safety bills,' referring to votes against a bridge repair bill written in the aftermath of the 2007 I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis, the 2009 stimulus package and a 2011 appropriations bill written by Democrats."
Obama highlights differences with Romney on student loans. NYT: "Campaigning [in Nevada] and in Ohio, Mr. Obama presented himself as the lucky product of affordable education and his opponent as the enemy of it. Mr. Romney, he said, would cut student loans and grants, and do nothing to curb the tuition increases that threaten to put higher education out of reach of millions of middle-class Americans … The president said his policies, from a $10,000 tuition tax credit to a doubling of Pell grant scholarships, had helped an additional three million students afford college. Mr. Romney’s proposals, he said, would cut investments in education, leaving one million students without scholarships and reducing financial aid to nearly 10 million"
