With the Michigan more-or-less open primary coming in about a week [you have to select a party ballot, but you don't have to be a member of the party], it would be good to look at the issues as seen by the candidates. Mitt Romney slipping somewhat in the GOP field, but is still near the top. Here are his positions on the financial issues... from the Mitt Romney website [abbreviated... see website for expanded version].
CUT SPENDING
Set Honest Goals: Cap Spending At 20 Percent Of GDP
Take Immediate Action: Return Non-Security Discretionary Spending To Below 2008 Levels
Follow A Clear Roadmap: Build A Simpler, Smaller, Smarter Government
1. The Federal Government Should Stop Doing Things The American People Can’t Afford, Including:
- Repeal Obamacare — Savings: $95 Billion.
- Privatize Amtrak — Savings: $1.6 Billion.
- Reduce Subsidies For The National Endowments For The Arts And Humanities, The Corporation For Public Broadcasting, And The Legal Services Corporation — Savings: $600 Million.
- Eliminate Title X Family Planning Funding — Savings: $300 Million.
- Reduce Foreign Aid — Savings: $100 Million.
2. Empower States To Innovate — Savings: $100 billion [block grants; Medicaid]
3. Improve Efficiency And Effectiveness. Where the federal government should act, it must do a better job. For instance:
- Reduce Waste And Fraud — Savings: $60 Billion.
- Align Federal Employee Compensation With The Private Sector — Savings: $47 Billion.
- Repeal The Davis-Bacon Act — Savings: $11 Billion.
- Reduce The Federal Workforce By 10 Percent Via Attrition — Savings: $4 Billion.
- Consolidate agencies and streamline processes to cut costs and improve results in everything from energy permitting to worker retraining to trade negotiation.
PRESERVE ENTITLEMENTS
Social Security: No one at or near the retirement age will see any changes and tax hikes cannot be on the table. Instead, Social Security can be placed on a sustainable trajectory with commonsense reforms:
- Gradually raise the retirement age to reflect increases in longevity
Medicare: Medicare should not change for anyone in the program or soon to be in it. Nor should tax hikes be part of the solution. Reforms must honor commitments to our current seniors while giving the next generation an improved program that offers the freedom to choose what their coverage under Medicare should look like:
- Slow the growth in benefits for higher-income retirees
While not identical, Rick Santorum shares many similar ideas with Mitt Romney. It will be up to the voters to decide which one is more believable and more in line with their thinking... and it may not be just about fiscal matters.
- Give future seniors a choice between traditional Medicare and many other healthcare plans offering at least the same benefits
- Help seniors pay for the option they choose, with a level of support that ensures all can obtain the coverage they need; provide those with lower incomes with more generous assistance
- Allow beneficiaries to keep the savings from less expensive options or choose to pay more for costlier plans
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