Rep. Paul D. Ryan’s proposed federal budget — now starring as the centerpiece of the presidential campaign as he joins the Republican ticket — would reshape American government, achieving long-sought conservative goals and reversing an 80-year path of larger, more expensive federal programs.

Under Ryan’s plan, which has passed the Republican-controlled House twice in slightly different versions, the Internal Revenue Service would tax the wealthiest Americans less, but many of the poorest ones more; Medicare would be transformed; Medicaid would be cut by about a third; and all functions of government other than those health programs, Social Security and the military would shrink to levels not seen since the 1930s.

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