08-12-2012, 12:03 PM
I think the timing of the Ryan's VP selection is intereting in itself. It's much earlier out than usual.
Imo, Romney needed something to offset some of the negative coverage surrounding the cry for him to release more of his tax returns and some of the blunders in his speeches in Europe and Israel. He was losing ground last week, according to polls.
It was a smart strategic move overall, imo. Focus has indeed been shifted, for now. Ryan will likely be embraced by fiscal conservatives and will greatly help Romney to pound on Obama regarding the necessity for economic reform and budget cuts, rather than relying primarily on tax increases. He is also young and more charismatic than Romney; that may help improve the GOP ticket's "personal likability factor" which I think is something that Obama capitalizes upon. While that shouldn't make a difference in deciding for whom to vote, it sure does for a lot of people. All JMO.
These are the 3 main entitlement reforms that Ryan has been staunchly advocating based on what I've been reading this year:
1. Medicaid funding would be transferred from the Fed to the States manage.
2. Workers now under the age of 55, would be given the option of a private program instead of the traditional Medicare program and receive money to offset the premium they have to pay (when they become "seniors", of course).
3. The retirement age for Social Security would gradually be raised to 70.
I think turning Medicaid over to the states is a plan that could attract some undediced independent and Libertarian voters. I do wonder if raising the SS retirement age could put off some voters who are currently in their lates 50s and 60s. Will be interested in reading the analysis of predicted pluses and minuses associated with the Ryan announcement.
I'm still undecided, but the Ryan announcement just pushed me slightly to the right, assuming Romney embraces Ryan's proposals to-date without demanding much adjustment. I'm a supporter of Ryan's entitlement reform, as it stands now. I've seen him interviewed a few times this year; it blows me away every time he quantifies that the US goes about $10 Trillion further in debt each year because the government can't deliver on its unfunded promises. Mind boggling, imo.
Imo, Romney needed something to offset some of the negative coverage surrounding the cry for him to release more of his tax returns and some of the blunders in his speeches in Europe and Israel. He was losing ground last week, according to polls.
It was a smart strategic move overall, imo. Focus has indeed been shifted, for now. Ryan will likely be embraced by fiscal conservatives and will greatly help Romney to pound on Obama regarding the necessity for economic reform and budget cuts, rather than relying primarily on tax increases. He is also young and more charismatic than Romney; that may help improve the GOP ticket's "personal likability factor" which I think is something that Obama capitalizes upon. While that shouldn't make a difference in deciding for whom to vote, it sure does for a lot of people. All JMO.
These are the 3 main entitlement reforms that Ryan has been staunchly advocating based on what I've been reading this year:
1. Medicaid funding would be transferred from the Fed to the States manage.
2. Workers now under the age of 55, would be given the option of a private program instead of the traditional Medicare program and receive money to offset the premium they have to pay (when they become "seniors", of course).
3. The retirement age for Social Security would gradually be raised to 70.
I think turning Medicaid over to the states is a plan that could attract some undediced independent and Libertarian voters. I do wonder if raising the SS retirement age could put off some voters who are currently in their lates 50s and 60s. Will be interested in reading the analysis of predicted pluses and minuses associated with the Ryan announcement.
I'm still undecided, but the Ryan announcement just pushed me slightly to the right, assuming Romney embraces Ryan's proposals to-date without demanding much adjustment. I'm a supporter of Ryan's entitlement reform, as it stands now. I've seen him interviewed a few times this year; it blows me away every time he quantifies that the US goes about $10 Trillion further in debt each year because the government can't deliver on its unfunded promises. Mind boggling, imo.