2013 or 1966?

The GOP’s Back to the Future Budget

Last week, the GOP once again proposed a plan to cap overall federal spending as percentage of the economy at a ridiculous and unsustainably low level.  This is really just a backdoor way to gut programs like Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid without saying so at the outset.

How low do Republicans want to set spending? As low as it was way back in 1966. In 1966, President Johnson was arguing we needed to stay in Vietnam. There were still countries called Upper Volta and Rhodesia. The Beach Boys released Pet Sounds. Ronald Reagan was elected Governor of California. Medicare and Medicaid had only existed for one year.

In other words, it was a very different time and our country had very different needs. Here’s a closer look at just how different things are why the GOP’s back to the future isn’t suited for 21st century America.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

New NRA ad envisions war between defenseless middle class and drug lords with high-capacity magazines.

What today’s meteors tell us about the budget.

The NRA plans a blizzard of lawsuits to lock in pro-gun decisions while Republicans control the courts.

Transvaginal probes are back.

Facebook paid no corporate income taxes last year, despite making more than $1 BILLION in profits.

The two biggest lies in the NRA’s top lobbyist’s response to the State of the Union.

Sen. McCain says he’s opposing Chuck Hagel because Hagel was mean to President Bush.

Raising the minimum wage: a no-lose issue for Democrats.

Rubio and the zombies.

 

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.

Authors

Advocacy Team