This plan is clearly bad news for the most vulnerable in our society, although it’s good news for the rich.
We all agree that the U.S. has to get its fiscal house in order. But we have certain values in this country. We believe in fairness. We believe in protecting those who are most in need. We believe that all of us have to contribute to the common good.
The Republican budget plan represents just the opposite of those values. Instead of providing a path to prosperity it’s going to mean a poorer quality of life for the vast majority of Americans — including those of us here in the Northern Marianas.
It’s a plan for the rich and the powerful, not the common person.
Seniors will pay more for Medicare
I am particularly troubled by what will happen to the Medicare system many of our seniors rely on.
Republicans want to replace the Medicare health insurance program with vouchers. Instead of getting all the care they need through the government insurance program, seniors would be limited to what they could buy from private insurance companies, using the voucher.
And whatever that private insurance didn’t cover, seniors would have to pay for themselves.
This change makes no sense. Medicare is one of the most effective government programs we have. The administrative costs of Medicare are lower than for private insurers. So converting to a voucher system will just put more money in the pockets of the insurance companies and reduce the health care our seniors can get.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued its own report on the Republican proposal yesterday and came to the same conclusion: “[u]nder the proposal, most elderly people would pay more for their health care than they would pay under the current Medicare system.”
CBO identified two reasons why seniors will pay more under the Republican budget. “First, private plans would cost more than traditional Medicare because of the net effect of differences in payment rates for providers, administrative costs, and utilization of health care services. Second, the government’s contribution would grow more slowly than health care costs, leaving more for beneficiaries to pay.”
Top tier taxpayers take even more breaks
At the same time the Republican Path to Prosperity will leave seniors paying more but getting less health care, the GOP wants to slash taxes for the wealthiest Americans. The plan is long on rhetoric and short on details when it comes to taxes, but it’s clear that the wealthiest Americans will be the beneficiaries of the GOP plan.
Republicans propose to make the Bush-era tax cuts that were extended last December permanent. In addition, they want to cut the top individual tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Yet, while the rich will get a new tax cut, Republicans say they are going to keep overall tax revenues the same.
You do the math: The only way to lower taxes for some people and keep revenues the same is to raise taxes for the 90 percent of Americans who don’t rate a tax break under the Republican plan.
I know that people in the Marianas may feel insulated from these changes in tax law. But we are not. Our tax system mirrors the national system. What changes in the national tax code changes in ours.
Furthermore, we have to remember that ultimately our prosperity is linked to American prosperity. If America’s middle-class is being hollowed out by the Republican policies, our country grows weaker as the years go by and the future of the Northern Mariana Islands also grows dim.
Republican budget balanced on the back of those with lowest incomes
Especially troubling for the future well-being of America are cuts to education the GOP is proposing.
I believe that education is our true path to prosperity, but the Republicans are putting up roadblocks to those who need help getting a better education.
For instance, we have about 1,000 students from the Northern Mariana Islands, receiving Pell grants to help with college expenses. But they will all see the Pell grant cut under the Republican proposal and some of them may lose their grant altogether.
Head Start, too, will take a hit: 218,000 low-income children will no longer have access to Head Start. 16,000 Head Start classrooms will be closed. 55,000 teachers and staff would lose their jobs. 170,000 working families that need Head Start for childcare would be out of luck. And the Northern Marianas won’t escape those cuts.
Not only does the Republican budget plan cut funding that helps those who are working, it also cuts training funds that help those looking for work. Job-training programs for those out of work or attaining new skills would be dramatically cut.
Lastly, health care for the poor also takes a hit under the Republican proposal.
The GOP wants to replace the current Medicaid system with block grants to the states. It’s ironic. Here we are in the Northern Mariana Islands trying desperately to get out of the block grant system for Medicaid — because it doesn’t work — and the Republicans want to use the same system everywhere in America.
GREGORIO KILILI
CAMACHO SABLAN
Member of U.S. Congress
