At a Tea Party event in central Florida, Connie Mack agreed with an event attendee who suggested we eliminate the corporate income tax and eventually phase out Medicare and Social Security. Wonder how this will play with Florida voters?
This isn’t Mack’s first flirtation with the elimination of Medicare:
2012 Ryan Budget
Mack Said He Would Have Voted Against Ryan Budget Because It Took Too Long To Balance The Budget. According to the Miami Herald, “Monday night, [Mack] said he believed that there are a lot of positive aspects of Ryan’s plan including entitlement reform but ‘the only problem I have is that the budget still doesn’t balance for 28 years.’ In interviews with reporters after his speech,Mack said if he had been present for the vote he probably would have voted against Ryan’s budget plan because of how long it takes to balance the budget.” [Naked Politics Blog, Miami Herald,4/23/12]
Mack Skipped Vote On The Ryan Budget For Fundraiser In Florida. According to the Tampa Bay Times, “Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers, missed today’s vote on the Ryan budget plan, campaign manifesto for the GOP. Mack was doing some campaigning of his own, with events in South Florida for his U.S. Senate bid. His spokesman, David James, tells the Buzz that Mackcertainly supports the Ryan budget, as well as his own debt reduction plan, but had other obligations. Those obligations have made Mack miss votes all week, in fact, adding to a pile of absences as he kicks the Senate campaign into gear. It’s certain to be used against him by Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. In 2006, Rep. Jim Davis got hammered for missed votes while running for governor against Charlie Crist.” [The Buzz, Tampa Bay Times, 3/29/12]
Mack Called Ryan Budget “A Joke” Because It Didn’t Balance The Budget For Years. According to the Miami Herald, “’I was here in Florida campaigning,” Mack said Saturday, according to an undisputed quote reported by the conservative Florida Political Press. ‘You know that budget was a joke, doesn’t balance the budget for years.’” [Miami Herald, 4/5/12]
2011 Ryan Budget
Mack Voted For Paul Ryan Plan To Overhaul Medicare. On April 15, 2011, Mack voted for the GOP-created budget for fiscal year 2012 authored by Paul Ryan (R-WI). The GOP budget included proposals to convert the federal share of Medicaid to a block grant to states. It also called for converting Medicare for persons currently younger than 55 into a “premium support system” through which the government would pay private insurance companies directly for each enrollee. The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reported that “The Ryan budget plan would cut federal spending on Medicaid, which provides health care for the poor, and begin distributing money by block grant to states. The plan would do away with Medicare’s direct payment for health care for seniors, replacing it with a voucher system in which recipients choose private insurers. The Congressional Budget Office found that part of the plan, which would take effect in 2022, could nearly double out-of-pocket costs for seniors.” In an April 7th, 2011 editorial, the Newark Star-Ledger warned that Paul Ryan’s plan would “end Medicare as we know it.” [Roll Call 277, S 34, 04/15/2011; Congressional Quarterly Today, Senate GOP Stands Behind Budget, 5/25/11; Ft Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 4/16/2011; Editorial, Star-Ledger, 4/7/11]
Mack Said Ryan Plan “Needs To Go Further.” According to Congressional Documents And Publications, Mack said, “‘The Ryan proposal also lays out a blueprint to save Medicare, save Social Security, reform the job-stifling tax code, repair the welfare safety net, cut wasteful spending, and get the debt under control over the coming decades, but needs to go further to bring our national debt to a zero balance more quickly.” [Congressional Documents And Publications, 4/5/11]
Published: Jul 12, 2012