Mitt Romney’s vice presidential announcement over the weekend led to a rush of analysis comparing their policies on health care, fiscal policy, budgets and taxes. Bloomberg Government analysts take a look at some of these policies:
Evolution of Ryan Budgets Steers Fiscal Complexity
Health-care policy analyst Christopher Flavelle takes a look back at Ryan’s budget proposals including his ideas for reducing federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid, his earlier proposals to change Social Security, his scant attention to defense spending and the projected reductions from non-defense discretionary funding – a category that encompasses much of the vast range of what Washington does, from cancer research to education funding to air traffic control.
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Health Care Reveals Daylight Between Ryan, Romney
Health-care policy analyst Christopher Flavelle looks at the differences the two running mates have on health-care policy. Flavelle highlights what needs to be resolved including the $500 billion reduction in Medicare spending and how to handle Medicare in the long run. Romney has publicy said his own Medicare plan will “differ” from Ryan’s and Ryan has been a strong advocate for Medicare vouchers or “premium support payments.” They also must settle an arguement over the tax treatment of employer-sponsored health insurance.
Ryan’s conservative credentials in health care are, by contrast, embossed in gold. After winning the support of his party, through years of persistence, it’s hard to imagine Ryan not attempting to win over Mitt Romney on the details. It’s even harder to imagine him not succeeding.
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Ryan Pick Begins Mega-Debate Over Fiscal Policy
Director of research Robert Litan and economic analyst Christopher Payne examine the big choices of this election for both candidates. One set of choices involves the amount and pace of long-term deficit reduction, which Congress must decide by the end of this year for at least a 10-year period or trigger a 10-year, $1.2 trillion “sequestration” of funds for discretionary programs.
Litan and Payne take a look at how the debates are forming around the rising costs of the three big entitlement programs, which are exempted by the sequester — social security, Medicare and Medicaid.
They also discuss the choices the candidates are facing with regards to the use of fiscal policy to bolster the economy in the short term.
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Ryan Tax Blueprint Adds Details to Romney’s Goals
Budget and congressional analyst Cameron Leuthy takes a close look at Paul Ryan’s clearly articulated tax philsophy and the significant overlap between Ryan and Mitt Romney’s views on taxes.
The Romney camp made it clear that as president, he would put his own budget together, although Romney previously endorsed the Ryan plan when it was unveiled last spring. The running mates views on taxes are almost indistinguishable, and while opponents of the Romney-Ryan team will find few differences to exploit, they now have more details to debate.
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For more on Ryan’s lastest tax proposals, see Bloomberg Government’s Fact Sheet.