Paul Ryan is probably the best thing in Washington these days — but that’s not saying much. Here’s his “bold” plan for deficit reduction:
The proposal, authored by Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), calls for spending cuts and tax changes that would put the nation on course to wipe out deficits and balance the budget by 2040. The national debt would continue to rise but would shrink to the historic norm as a percentage of an expanding economy. [Emphasis added.]
Balance the budget no sooner than 2040, with no way to promise that future congresses will actually abide by the Ryan Plan?
That’s just not good enough.
Hyperinflation and economic collapse to follow — and long before 2040.
Of course, the Washington Post doesn’t notice (or care?) about that. Read down a little further, but first get your hanky ready:
All told, Ryan proposes to slash federal spending by $5.3 trillion over the next decade compared with President Obama’s latest budget blueprint, with the biggest savings taken from health programs — including the repeal of Obama’s initiative to expand health coverage to the uninsured — and entitlements for the poor.
Mean old Republicans are trying to postpone the fiscal Day of Reckoning by a few months or years, because they hate poor people and ObamaCare. But wait — there’s more! Read on:
Ryan says he will stage a vote on the plan in the House Budget Committee on Wednesday, and that he has the necessary support to move it to the House floor. Even if it were to win approval, the blueprint would be rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate. But Ryan said it would provide a foundation for the GOP’s election-year push for a radically smaller federal government.
Balancing the budget, maybe, perhaps, in 28 years would make Washington “radically smaller.” Cutting $5,000,000,000,000 out of a projected $50,000,000,000,000 is “radically smaller.”
If this is the best we’ve got — on Capitol Hill or in the DC press corps — then it’s not too soon to say we’re doomed.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member