The following interactive graph for comparing the Paul Ryan and Barack Obama budget proposals is pretty nifty. Here's how to read it:
Select from the dropdown box for a list of items you can chart. You can also hover over any of the orange or blue boxes for a popup display comparing the budgetary difference between the Obama and Ryan proposals for that year, for that item. Boxes in blue are years in which Paul Ryan has budgeted more for an item than President Obama. Boxes in Orange are the reverse. Straight Up Comparison Numbers for President Obama come from Whitehouse Budget Summary Tables page 174 (PDF page 6). Numbers for Paul Ryan come from Path to Prosperity Table S-3 on PDF page 64. The category items are identical except Ryan has an extra item for Global War on Terror. To equalize, we added Global War on Terror to Security. Without making any judgment to the contrary, let's assume Ryan and Obama can both "deliver". Here are a few charts depicting the results.
What strikes me is how closely so many of these line graphs trend together. Then note on Medicare, that far from pushing grandma off a cliff, the graph looks like Ryan is pushing her uphill. His plan spends even more than Obama's! Just another example of reality and rhetoric not matching up. This is why it's important to look at cold, hard facts like numbers on "boring" graphs instead of just reading bumper stickers and listening to talking heads argue.
Have at it:
Interactive graph by: Tableau Software
Hat tip: Zero Hedge for the good find