House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled their budget proposal for 2012 and they are hopeful that the proposal will help the GOP emerge as the party which is willing to take sensible decisions to reduce government overspending. Budget committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) outlined the budget proposal which takes considerable political risks mainly in its proposal to remake Medicare and Medicaid, which is very important for the poor and elderly.
The plan does not talk about changes to Social Security and Ryan admitted that it is an area which was ripe for bipartisan agreement. The proposal put forward by the Republicans also does not offer any measure to increase revenue. Ryan remarked that it was tough to design a balanced budget before the 2030s. The budget proposal is largely reliant on cuts and the Republicans have stressed more on slashing $5.8 trillion in spending over the next decade.
"This is not a budget, this is a cause," Ryan said, adding, "We can all do something else with our lives. We are here to fix this country's problems. We cannot keep fearing what the other party can do to us if we try to solve this problem." The budget proposal has outlined radical measures to downsize the federal government and by doing so the GOP has taken a big step towards taking its fiscal battle with the federal government to an entirely new level. It is likely that this will become an important issue during the 2012 elections. The House Republicans are optimistic that they would be able to win the support of the Americans through their plans.
