Obama's new adversary

What is the Ryan plan , and why is the Obama administration seemingly obsessed with it? Ryan calls his proposal, published in January, the Roadmap for America’s Future. It’s a remarkably comprehensive, daring manifesto that tackles every part of the budget on a presidential scale, from Social Security to tax policy to health-care reform.

The goal is to eliminate the deficit, and eventually all federal debt, without any crippling tax increases. Under Ryan’s plan, for example, federal spending would reach just 24% of GDP in 2035 and then fall, vs. the CBO’s projection of 34% and rising from there. Ryan would make the deficit disappear by mid-century…

But he’s not trying to gut all programs. He wants to maintain promised health-care and retirement benefits for those who require them — the sick and the poor, and not just for today’s needy but for future generations. But he would also lower future benefits for the middle class. He would index future Social Security benefits to wage growth for, say, a family earning $28,000, but limit increases to inflation for households that made over $149,000.

Ryan also wants to totally change the way the government aids most Americans. His plan would use vouchers and tax credits to allow families to buy their own Medicare plans, private health insurance, and retirement accounts. His view is that by directly handing middle-class taxpayers part of the money the government now spends on their benefits, they will demand bargains and better service. Ryan predicts that what the middle class will lose in guaranteed benefits they’ll more than recoup through robust economic growth and lower prices.