The Federal Budget

This is a chart from a Wall Street Journal article posted today.  It is based on numbers from the Office of Management and Budget and shows government spending as a percentage of America's gross domestic product.  Today the Republicans will be introducing a budget that cust spending by $4 trillion dollars in order to curb the growth of government. 

The article points out:

"Though Rep. Ryan based the Medicare portion of his budget on a previous plan created in collaboration with a Democrat, Alice Rivlin, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and long-time budget expert, the current plan isn't likely to get much Democratic support. Instead, it will set up a broad debate over spending and the role of government heading into the 2012 general election."

That is a very telling comment.  The Medicare plan is based on a previous plan created in collaboration with a Democrat and the Democrats will probably not support it.  Unfortunately this is another example of putting party politics ahead of the good of the country. 

The article concludes:

"Ms. Rivlin said in an interview Sunday she would have preferred a plan that phased in more quickly and left a traditional Medicare program as a default option for seniors. But overall she supported Mr. Ryan's idea. "What Democrats have to realize is we have to do something," Ms. Rivlin said. "Current policy on Medicare is not sustainable. You can worry about how you structure a premium support program, but I think it's a good way to think about the future of Medicare.""

We cannot continue to spend at the rate we are currently spending.  I hope we avoid a government shutdown, but I don't think we can continue on the path we are going.  It was interesting that the Democrat talking points were revealed last week.  Expect to hear the word "extreme" thrown around a lot, and expect to see very little movement on the Democrat side--the Democrats believe they will gain if the government shuts down.