Romney and Ryan: The key policy differences

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns with vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan in Fishersville, Va., Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012.

/ AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

When Paul Ryan and Joe Biden face off in tonight's vice presidential debate, both candidates will be subject to a level of scrutiny they've largely been able to sidestep so far on the trail. Ryan, the author of a controversial budget plan that would overhaul the tax code and Medicare, is likely to face some pointed questions on those ideas. But Mitt Romney's campaign insists it would not defer to Ryan's pre-existing policy proposals in a Romney-Ryan administration, and the two haven't always seen eye to eye on every issue. Below, CBSNews.com presents a few of the issues on which they diverge.

Abortion

Mitt Romney's position on abortion has evolved significantly over time, but he currently opposes abortion with exceptions only for the victims of rape and incest and if the life of the mother is at risk. He has clarified, however, that he does not support exemptions for both "the health and life of the mother." Many abortion opponents, including Ryan, do not support such exception because they believe it creates a loophole, such as for a mental health exception.

Paul Ryan, meanwhile, has for years opposed all abortions except to save the life of the woman. He has not supported exemptions for rape and incest, but the Romney campaign has made clear that if elected, Ryan's views would be superseded by those of Romney on the matter.

Auto bailout

In 2008, Mitt Romney declared his opposition to the government bailout of the auto industry in a now-famous op-ed, entitled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." In that article, Romney argued that "if General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for on Tuesday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." He argued that without the bailout, auto companies would be forced to dramatically restructure in a way that would benefit the industry, while writing them "a check" would allow them to stay the "the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses."

Paul Ryan, on the other hand, supported the $14 billion measure - albeit, he says, grudgingly. In a statement made on the night he voted for the bill, Ryan cited the concerns about saving "jobs in Southern Wisconsin and the retiree commitments to workers that could be placed in jeopardy under certain bankruptcy scenarios," but urged Congress to "stop overselling what it can do." Later, he complained the bailout bill had not been implemented as he had expected, and that he was "deeply troubled" by the precedent it set for the future.

Capital gains tax cuts

In recent days, Romney has touted a plan that would eliminate taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains for middle-income taxpayers, which he defines as those making $200,000 or less.

Ryan, meanwhile. has advocated a simple two-level revenue model, which would eliminate taxes on capital gains, as among other things. According to his 2013 budget, however, the tax reform mandate goes to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Medicare

Romney supports reforming the current Medicare program to a "premium support" system, wherein the government offers a senior a predefined amount of money to spend in a health insurance exchange rather than paying directly for the benefits a senior uses. The campaign has said current seniors would not be impacted by the plan and that insurance plans would be required to offer coverage at least comparable to what Medicare currently provides. Additionally, it says, lower income seniors would receive more generous support while wealthier seniors would receive less support.

Ryan has also supported a premium support plan, which would give seniors vouchers to purchase either private insurance or traditional, government-run insurance on an exchange starting in 2023. Ryan's 2013 budget, which outlined this Medicare overhaul, caps federal spending increases on Medicare at half a percentage point higher than the growth rate of the economy, which means that theoretically, if health care costs rise faster than that, seniors would increasingly have to pay more out of pocket. Romney's Medicare platform, which is a relatively loose outline rather than a specific policy document, does not mention those caps. Moreover, Romney has said he would not include the $716 billion in cuts to Medicare featured in Ryan's budget, and that a Romney-Ryan administration would restore those caps.

Tax reform

Romney has proposed a slew of changes to the current tax system. He says he would eliminate taxes on dividends, interest, and capital gains for those making less than $200,000 per year. He would also permanently extend the Bush-era tax cuts, which lowered individual income tax rates and cut the child tax credit in half. Eliminate the estate tax and cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Romney's tax plan also includes reducing income tax rates by 20 percent across-the-board, a figure which could significantly reduce the tax burden of middle-income Americans. But some experts are skeptical that Romney will be able to keep tax rates low for middle-income taxpayers without getting rid of loopholes like the mortgage tax deduction, a popular tax break for people in the middle class who own their own homes. Romney has consistently said he will not raise taxes on any Americans, but has declined to specify which loopholes and deductions he would get rid of in order to make his tax plan revenue neutral.

Ryan's tax plan, as outlined in his 2013 budget proposal, would also extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts enacted under President Bush, which are set to expire at the end of this year. It would enact another $4.5 trillion in cuts over the next decade, excluding the $5.4 trillion in revenue lost from permanently extending the Bush-era tax cuts.

As CBS News' Jill Schlesinger explained in August, the plan would eliminate the current six marginal tax rates and replace them with just two rates: 10 percent and 25 percent. Like Romney's plan, Ryan's would also repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, and eliminate the tax provisions of the 2010 health reform law.

Sarah Huisenga contributed to this report.

[msimamaji]

In 2010, in a taped conversation, Ryan divided the country in half. 60 % the country were "Takers" and 40 % were "Makers." Ryan insisted it was time for the "Makers" to take back the country from the "Takers."

In 2011, Ryan claimed that 30 % of the population did not believe in the American Dream i.e., they were a bunch of welfare cheats.

A few weeks ago, Romney insisted he did not give a rat about the 47% who were a bunch of parasites.

Then, 17 days later, he said he was sorry for his comments. But was he sorry for what he said, or was he sorry that the comments got out of the secret room big-buck fundraisers.

Actually, Ryan and Romney have the same policy. They don't give a rat about the 99% - They only care about the 1 %.

99 % of the people need to re-hire Obama and fire the entire Shifty-Mitty, Lyin'-Ryan GOP.

[msimamaji]

Key policy differences?

What policy differences are you talking about?

Are we talking about the policies Ryan and Romney said at the GOP convention? Are we talking about the text of the GOp Party Platform? Are we talking about the latest pivots to the center?

Are we talking about what these guys are actually going to do if they get elected?

Romney and Ryan are a pair of con artists. If you get a hold of the latest edition of AARP magazine and read the article "Confessions of an Ex Con Artist," you'll see what I mean.

We don't need a country of con artists and crooks. That's the big reason we need to re-hire President Obama, and fire the entire Shifty Mitty, Lyin'Ryan GOP.

[pfwag-2009]

Here is all you really need to know:

Excluding the 2012 fiscal year that just ended, as the data isn't in yet, over the previous ten fiscal years, we've paid $3,863,025,388,199 in interest on the national debt.

Yes, that is correct: $3.9 Trillion!

And that was on a MUCH smaller average debt and despite a 65 year record low interest rate on that debt.

Anybody have any better ideas on what we should have spent $3.9 trillion on rather than paying interest to China, Wall Street Banks, the Federal Reserve, the 1%ers, and the Social Security System?

President Obama's 2013 budget projections add another $8.9 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/technical_analyses.pdf

However, Elmo can explain it better:

Per Capita Income and Debt
http://i.imgur.com/TRW8C.jpg

Changes to the Debt in Monthly per Capita
http://i.imgur.com/2A4lH.jpg

[Shallow_LibsAre_Cretins]

Accoring to what the NPR was reporting about Biden's so called expertise on foreign policy over Ryan is because he supposedly helps Barry on foreign policy decisions.
Really?

Then that would explain quite a bit.
So he is also responsible for the Arab Spring mess in the Middle East, allowing Iran to thumb their nose at the US over their development of the bomb, no peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and last but not least the Libya debacle and then the killing of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans?

Lets see "Chains" Biden with his buffoonery and gaffes spin all of above mentioned away.
What a monumental task that is going to be.
He will finally end up getting drunk in the end after all these years of teetotaler and join the rest of the Biden drunks to ease his defeat tonight.

[Larnan5]

Policy? Romney, Ryan and the GOP have a very horrible agenda to take back what they consider their country to the time of lily white zealot control of everyone's life. They want to push women, blacks,Latinos and other ethnics back to where the zealots of the right believe they belong. The want to go back to a time that was comfortable only for them.The GOP does not believe "all men and women are created equal'. They are very comfortable herding people to the back of the bus. That's their unprincipled agenda. Ryan, the rich man's savior, is setting this agenda.

[cubscout09]

Someone should show this "cheat sheet" to Romney so that he knows where he stands on the issues.