In a 43-minute speech that mixed appeals for a united sense of purpose with sharply partisan jabs, the president laid out his vision of a country strengthened bothcheap nike mens acg sandals 2011 by fewer debts and a greater diligence to solving the problems of Medicaid and Medicare. In promising to preserve those programs, he enlists his administration in the beginning of what is expected to be an epic battle with Republicans over their fate.
“We are a better country because of these commitments,’’ he said in an impassioned defense of Medicaid and Medicare against Republicans’ push for sweeping changes. “I’ll go further — we would not be a great country without those commitments.’’
Obama also sought cuts in defense spending and renewed his pitch for a simpler tax code. His call for the end of the Bush tax cuts for incomes above $250,000 for couples reignites a ferocious debate from the fall midterm elections.
That element of the speech triggered the most vociferous and immediate opposition from Republicans.cheap nike mens acg sandals 2011 “Any plan that starts with job-destroying tax hikes is a nonstarter,’’ House Speaker John Boehner, Republican of Ohio, said in a statement.
The Medicaid and Medicare over haul is key to the Republicans’ plan, which aims for deeper cuts to the deficit over a shorter time.
Their plan, put forth by US Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin last week, would transfer much of the responsibility for those programs from the federal government to state government, individuals, and insurers.
As part of an overall bid to cut almost $6 trillion in spending over 10 years, Ryan’s proposal would convert Medicaid, the health program for the poor, into a block grant paid to state governments, and in 10 years replace Medicare, the health care program for seniors, with a system to provide money to seniors to buy private insurance.
Because the GOP plan also seeks various tax cuts along with the spending plan, about $4.4 trillioncheap nike mens acg sandals 2011 would be cut from the projected deficit. The nation’s current debt is $14 trillion. Neither Republicans’ nor Obama’s plans would decrease the overall debt. Both instead address the annual spending deficit so the overall debt wouldn’t grow as quickly.
The president had asked Ryan to attend the speech at George Washington University. But at the end of the address, the chairman of the House Budget Committee left frustrated by the details of Obama’s plan and the tone of his words.
“When the president reached out to ask us to attend his speech, we were expecting an olive branch,’’ Ryan said in a statement. “Instead, his speech was excessively partisan, dramatically inaccurate, and hopelessly inadequate to address our fiscal crisis.’’
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