Two Visions for Role of Government

At the heart of competing budget proposals is a fight over the size and role of government.

Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan would cut government spending to less than 20 percent of the economy by 2015, sharply reduce future funding of entitlement programs, and keep taxes low.

President Obama would cut spending by much smaller amounts, put more money into areas like infrastructure and technology, and raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Although the new health care reform law is expected to reduce costs slightly, Obama has not yet proposed measures to tackle the government’s broader fiscal problems with entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

Roll over the chart below for details on the two contrasting approaches:

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