The Apex of Conservative Budgetary Batshit

Congressional Republicans have proposed their collective legislative wet dream of long-term fiscal policy:

A Republican plan for the 2012 budget would cut more than $4 trillion over the next decade, more than even the president's debt commission proposed, with spending caps as well as changes in the Medicare and Medicaid health programs, its principal author said Sunday.

[...]

Ryan said Obama's call for freezing nondefense discretionary spending actually locks in spending at high levels. Under the forthcoming GOP plan, Ryan said spending would return to 2008 levels and thus cut an additional $400 billion over 10 years.

Here are the highlights from their plan:

A "premium support system" for Medicare. In the future, older people would choose plans in the marketplace and the government would subsidize those plans. Ryan said that would differ from the voucher system he has proposed in the past. Those 55 and older would remain under the present Medicare system.

Translation: A market solution that will allow the Invisible Hand to magically dictate enormously higher prices just as the government announces it will be shifting costs to the consumer and moving away from the current Medicare system of direct payments from the Treasury.

A statutory cap on actual discretionary spending as a percentage of the economy. While Ryan did not specify the amount during the interview, he said it would be at a lower level than proposed by Obama and would return the government to its "historic size."

Otherwise known as a statutory imposition of the conservative ideology that will make the federal government fiscally ungovernable and unable to respond to economic cycles. This is very similar to Republican-imposed two-thirds vote requirements for raising taxes in state legislatures, which has had disastrous consequences for the state of California. As the economy shrinks, government spending would be lawfully required to shrink accordingly, which is antithetical to classical economic theory of managing a contracting economy.

Pro-growth tax changes, including lower tax rates and broadening the tax base. Ryan said overhauling taxes would boost the economy. The plan will not propose tax increases.

Or for those of us that didn't live under power lines or grow up eating paint chips as a kid, that's massive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy which magically raises more revenue by virtue of ensuring that those with the most money pay the very least.

Ryan didn't mention how the budget plan would address Social Security.

Their plan is so regressive and controversial that they're not ready to comment just yet.

Republicans are very serious about the budget and the deficit - so serious that they have exempted cuts to defense spending, raising revenues, and wants to ensure that the government is bound by their ideology and thus limit its options for dealing with future crises. This is all very obvious and dull, but it should be concerning given the shit show that the budget negotiations have been up until this point. The Republicans demand that we cut $60 billion, the Democrats counter that maybe they could live with $55 billion. Ok, fine, you're right: $58 billion. What? No? Okay god...you drive a hard bargain: $65 billion. 

The Republicans have moved the goalposts so far to the right in this instance that it's just somewhat terrifying to me to see what the Democratic "counteroffer" will be.