House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., argues that his controversial plan to overhaul Medicare will grow the economy, but he is taking heat about the plan from the left and the right.
Ryan’s plan would transform Medicare into a subsidized system using the private market.
Ryan told the Economic Club of Chicago that the government can’t fix its fiscal problems without bringing down healthcare costs, which he contends that his Medicare plan would do by providing “less help for the wealthy and more for the poor and the sick,”
The Washington Post reported.
“The budget passed by the House last month takes credible steps to controlling healthcare costs. It aims to do two things: to put our budget on a path to balance and to put our economy on a path to prosperity. I am here today to stress the point that these goals go hand in hand. Stable government finances are essential to a growing economy, and economic growth is essential to balancing the budget,” the Post quoted Ryan as saying.
Democrats and some Republicans have attacked Ryan’s Medicare plan. Former House Speaker and GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich called it “right-wing social engineering.” Ryan is taking it in stride. Appearing on a conservative radio program, he said, “With allies like that, who needs the left?”
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.