Here's the Democratic plan to save America from fiscal ruin. Unlike Paul Ryan's plan, it adds up, doesn't make insane assumptions about < 3% unemployment, and would be good public policy to boot:
1. Institute a carbon tax. Would raise a ton of money and help fight climate change, while making American energy policy more rational (since it prices an externality) and making American clean energy companies more viable.
2. Allow the government to negotiate prescription drug prices. RX prices are one of the costliest parts of Medicare/Medicaid, and the only reason the government can't negotiate for better prices is because drug companies have expensive lobbyists.
3. End the Bush tax cuts. This would cut the projected future deficit in half at once, and return us to the fiscal insanity of the last decade in which we balanced the budget and created a ton of jobs, while shifting a small portion of the burden for paying for government back to the people who can afford to pay for it.
4. Cut defense spending dramatically. We don't need to spend more than every other country on earth combined, and yet we (almost) do. That's absurd, insane, wasteful and encourages all kinds of abuse, fraud and waste in the defense industry.
So, media: you now have a Democratic plan that is at least as "serious" and "bold" as the Ryan plan, but that actually addresses a variety of other long-term challenges we face, and on top of which probably saves more money while not impoverishing seniors. Feel free to report on it.
