Money, Medicare and Next Year's Election

As the White House and Congress struggled to avoid a government shutdown based on this year's budget, chair of the House Budget Committee, Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan, presented his much-awaited plan for next year. Republicans claim it would save almost $6 trillion in ten years by spending cuts, restructuring Medicaid and Medicare and providing a choice of private insurance plans. Critics say it would make the rich richer and require the old and the sick to shoulder rising healthcare costs on their own. Does anybody expect the package to become law, or is it designed to shape debate about the role of government in next year's presidential campaign?