Who's Plan is Better in the Ongoing Budget Crisis?

   Democrats are accusing Republicans of trying to abandon the elderly and less fortunate under their newly proposed budget while Republicans are saying Democrats do not want to change anything and just keep increasing the debt ceiling.  President Obama outlined his plan that would reduce the deficit by $4 Trillion over the next 12 years.  Under his proposal, funding would not be cut for medicare and other welfare programs, but instead he would eliminate tax cuts for the richest of Americans.  The Republican plan, on the other hand, seeks to reduce the deficit by $4.4 Trillion over the next 10 years.  It of course details plans for reforming and trimming the fat of many social programs. 

   As for this year's budget, Republican leaders in the House believe the proposed cuts in the budget are insufficient to start the process of cutting back federal spending.  It would produce only $350 million in savings this year and would need to work exactly as outlined to fully feel the relief of $312 billion over the next decade proposed by its creators.  Unlike President Obama, Republican leaders such as Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the chair of the House Budget Committee, also want to fundamentally reconfigure Medicare over the next few years to control the outrageous amount of spending the program requires at this point and the increases in funding it will require as currently operated in the future.