Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Republicans will unveil their 2012 budget proposal this week. Authored by Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, it is entitled "The Path to Prosperity." The plan calls for aims to cut federal by $5.8 trillion over the next 10 years by, among other things -- ending Medicare and replacing it with a "premium support system" that would provide $15,000 in premium coverage and more coverage to the poor, huge cuts to Medicaid, tax cuts to the richest Americans and corporations (from a top rate of 35% to 25%) and cuts to Social Security. The plan will not be passed, of course, as the Democratically held Senate and President Obama would never accept it, but it does but out a new blueprint for the 2012 Presidential debate. Many will critique it for cutting social programs for the elderly and poor, for increasing fiscal risk for millions of Americans, for hurting the poorest Americans and for giving even more money to the bloating wealth of the wealthy. Even some Republicans, including the "Gang of Six" critique it for not doing enough to increase revenue or address cuts in military spending (the biggest part of the budget). But there is certainly good news, if one considers the proposal from a pragmatic perspective:

- Cutting Medicare and Medicaid (as the new plan does not account for estimated increases in medical costs) should reduce life expectancy over time -- reducing the number of people requiring not only federal assistance for healthcare but also social security
- Cutting Medicaid in particular should worsen the health  of the poor, and they will thus hopefully die off sooner, improving the gene pool over time
- Among those who do survive, the plan should be a boon to the privatized prison industry, as a new rash of "clients" should emerge
- Increased tax cuts for corporations should improve profitability and lead to larger bonuses for top executives, who can use their leadership skills and influence to help Wall Street come up with another major money making strategy like CDOs
- Increased tax breaks for the rich will be good news for sellers of private jets, those renting and selling property in the Hamptons, sellers of Crystal, Gucci, Cartier and other "luxury goods" who have suffered under the strain of the financial crisis and the cuts to bonuses (oh wait -- well at least those bonuses should increase even more under the new plan).
- If we continue along this path, we can do away with the pesky, outdated notion of democracy altogether and adapt a political system more amenable to the needs of our most worthy denizens -- say a plutocracy along the lines of post-communist Russia

One may critique the humanity of the plan, but the numbers certainly add up if we are more rational in our analysis.