The $700 Billion Smoke Screen

jaredbernsteinblog.com — In posts about the Ryan pick, I’ve argued that if we in the commentariat and the media get this right, the American electorate could have a salutary debate on the role of government.  But, I stressed, that’s a big “if.” We particularly need an eagle-eyed media to cut through the inaccurate and misleading stances that show up with increasing frequency around this time. A classic, for example, is the one I talked about with Rachel Maddow last night: the claim that President Obama is “destroying Medicare” by reducing its growth rate to the tune of $700 billion in the Affordable Care Act. Rep Ryan has precisely the same cut in his budget. The difference is what they do with the savings.

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