|
The Institute for Policy Innovation is applauding Rep. Paul
Ryan (R-Wis.) for introducing his “Roadmap for America’s Future Act of 2008” in
the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
In fact, the IPI’s director of Entitlement and Budget
Policy, Peter Ferrara, said the legislation proposes historic reforms that are
bigger than those of FDR’s New Deal.
H.R. 6110 is intended to reform health care (Medicare and
Medicaid), Social Security, and the tax code for individuals and businesses.
“The biggest problem facing America
is the overwhelming entitlement crisis,” Ferrara
said. He believes that Ryan’s bill, if it becomes law, will completely
eliminate the long-term entitlement crisis—without tax increases.
The bill provides a federal guarantee that workers with
personal accounts would get at least as much for the accounts and continuing
Social Security benefits as promised by Social Security under current law.
“These accounts are the key to the success of the reform
package,” Ferrara
said.
For Medicaid, the bill proposes limits on federal spending
growth and allows states to choose either a federal block grant to fund the
state’s Medicaid program, or income-related vouchers for individuals to
purchase private health insurance. For Medicare, the program’s payroll tax
revenues would fund vouchers for seniors that can be used to purchase private
health insurance and health savings accounts too.
“Such enormous reductions in the long-term federal spending
and taxes would produce enormous gains in long-term economic growth,” Ferrara concluded.
|
