Ryan's Extreme Budget

 

I’ve been away from my keyboard for a while, so I haven’t been able to participate in the various discussions as much as I’ve wanted.  I’m sorry about that.  Worse, I haven’t been able to write any posts since yesterday morning!  Again, to the faithful readers, I’m sorry.  I try to keep the content fresh and the conversations moving.  But, with this blog being just little ole me, sometimes it is an impossibility. 

Now that out of the way, I thought I’d write a little note about Ryan’s budget plan and the Dems characterization of it.

As soon as Ryan was picked as the VP candidate for team Romney, the left has tried to portray his budget as extreme.  It isn’t. 

Now, mind you, it is incomplete.  There are any taxes specified, he left that for a separate committee of the House.  But, in general terms, which is all we have to go on, Ryan’s budget is almost exactly what we need. 

I say almost, because in my estimation, he doesn’t go far enough in limiting federal growth.  That’s right, I said limiting federal growth.  While the left continues to pretend Ryan’s budget is extreme and cuts federal spending, it doesn’t.  According to noted economist Dr. Daniel Mitchell,

the Ryan budget is that it limits the growth rate of federal spending, with outlays increasing by an average of 3.1% annually over the next 10 years. 

I believe 3.1% is too much, I’d much rather see it limited closer to 2% to get to a balanced budget quicker.  Ryan’s budget also addresses the bleak future of Medicare, which very few politicians have the wherewithal to approach the subject, even though nearly every citizen in this country understands the need to address it. 

One of the best features of the Ryan budget is that he reforms the two big health entitlements instead of simply trying to save money. Medicaid gets block-granted to the states, building on the success of welfare reform in the 1990s. And Medicare is modernized by creating a premium-support option for people retiring in 2022 and beyond.

Did you notice that?  Ryan’s proposes to do with Medicare exactly the same thing that Clinton did with welfare reform.  Dems often cite this as a grand accomplishment of Clinton!  (They never credit the Repub House that forced Clinton to the table on that issue.)  For some reason, emulating success is something the left hates. 

While there is room for debating proper approaches to specifics, I don’t think we can question that the general approach is what we need. 

Assuming we get the current job-killing president out of the way, we can get back to the path to prosperity and fiscal solvency without any pain.  We simply have to limit the growth of the federal government. 

We don’t have to alter the tax rates, though, I would prefer a flatter tax and less loopholes and write-offs. 

So there you have it.  A bold plan with very little pain involved if implemented.  How extreme.   

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