GOP’s So-Called Balanced Budget Amendment Will Hurt the Middle Class, Cut Necessary Programs

From Michigan Democratic Party

Lansing, MI – On Friday, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will take the drastic step of trying to amend the United States Constitution with a so-called Balanced Budget Amendment. The proposed amendment is a flawed, partisan attempt to achieve something that leaders willing to compromise and make tough choices should be able to do on their own – and it mirrors a proposal from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

“The Balanced Budget Amendment being considered by the House won’t fix the deficit, but it will severely impact the middle class – and even this extreme plan doesn’t go far enough for Mitt Romney,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer. “While making it even easier for Congress to cut taxes for millionaires and corporations, the Romney plan means Social Security and Medicare will be cut, and the investments we’ve made in education and clean energy to create the jobs of the future will be wiped out. If they’re actually serious about fixing the deficit, Mitt Romney and Congressional Republicans should stop playing political games and work on a responsible plan where everyone plays by the same rules and pays their fair share.”

“The so-called Balanced Budget Amendment being pursued by Washington Republicans and candidates like Mitt Romney wouldn’t actually balance the budget, but it would lead to painful cuts for families here in Michigan,” saidMichigan State Representative Ellen Cogen Lipton. “Instead of giving our children better schools, this would cut nearly $1.7 billion from already strained school budgets in our state. It would force deep cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security at a time when seniors are already having a hard time making ends meet.”

The Balanced Budget Amendment would lead to deep cuts for families here in Michigan, causing increased hardship for parents, seniors and working families already working to recover from the economic collapse. Specifically, it would result in a cut of $7.2 billion in Social Security benefits for Michigan senior citizens, $4.4 billion in cuts to Medicare reimbursements, $2.4 billion in reduced health care benefits for children, and nearly a $1.7 billion loss in education funding for Michigan schools.

Along with the Balanced Budget Amendment, Mitt Romney’s economic proposals closely mirror other Republican plans that would lead to deep cuts in Social Security, privatize Medicare, cut Pell grants that make college affordable for families, and severely reduce education, nutrition and health programs for at-risk children.

By embracing the same extreme policies that caused the economic crisis and moving to the right of those, Romney would only give unnecessary and unaffordable corporate subsidies and tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans while leaving the middle class and seniors out to dry.

More information about the effects of Romney and the Republicans’ Balanced Budget Amendment can be found here:http://www.barackobama.com/news/balancing-the-budget-on-the-backs-of-the-middle-class1