Terrible budget proposals seem to be everywhere

Editor,

The House budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, recently unveiled by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), would cut programs that are essential to the country’s most vulnerable citizens, as well as the middle class.

The proposal would also lower taxes for the rich and big corporations, whose tax rates are at their lowest since the Great Depression. While the rising federal debt has to be addressed, it’s simply wrong to do so now while the country continues to climb out of the recession.

It’s also wrong to cut taxes for the rich and big corporations making record profits while also cutting programs like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that serve the most vulnerable among us.

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Ryan’s budget proposal would remove exchange subsides and repeal the Affordable Care Act, (commonly referred to as “Obamacare”), an act that extends health insurance to the millions of Americans who go without it.

Analysis by the CBO shows that Ryan’s budget proposal cuts spending on Medicaid, CHIP and exchange subsides in half over the next 10 years.

This severe cut would cause federal spending on these programs to fall by 76 percent by 2050. Additionally, the CBO said it is difficult to forecast how states would respond to Ryan’s proposal for Medicaid, which would determine how many people the program would cover.

Meanwhile, the number of uninsured would be “much higher” without the subsidies in the ACA.

Medicaid covers about 336,436 New Mexicans, according to the October 2011 report by the state Human Services Department.
It is estimated that there are still about 50,000 New Mexico children who are eligible but are not enrolled in Medicaid. When children’s health care needs are well covered, chronic and preventable problems are reduced, which helps children achieve their full potential.

Ryan’s budget proposal does not take into consideration the impact of CHIP cuts on these children.

That is why we need to reject it and seek a balanced approach that addresses American’s economic future while providing preventive services to children in ensuring their healthy future.

Accepting Ryan’s budget proposal would likely undo many of the advancements already made under the ACA.

Kwaku Sraha
UNM student