Paul Ryan Could Save America
Since the stunning result of the Massachusetts senatorial race, President Obama has softened his tone quite a bit, essentially saying to Republicans that if they have any good ideas, “Bring ‘em on.”
Whether he’s sincere or not remains to be seen, but the implication is that he’s unworried, because in his opinion the opposition party only knows how to criticize and doesn’t have anything constructive to say.
He needs to call Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, ranking member of the Committee on the Budget, and have him over for tea.
Ryan is a representative who appears to take his job — overseeing the federal budget — seriously. In 2008, he introduced legislation called “A Roadmap for America’s Future.” It died, so he’s reintroducing it this year. It won’t pass, unless the Democrats somehow manage to lose control of the House. It’s just too simple.
It’s also breathtakingly visionary. In one fell swoop, Ryan takes on taxes, health care, Social Security, and the federal deficit, and fixes them all. He puts the government back on the road to solvency, something no other plan comes close to achieving. Most important, he wants to shift our mindset, so we finally recognize that the cure for debt problems is not to pile up more debt.
Income and Other Taxes
Ryan has a nicely targeted sense of humor. For those who can’t bear to part with today’s elephantine tax code, he leaves it in place, and anyone who loves it can still use it. For the rest of us: Single filers would pay 10% on income up to $50,000 ($100,000 for joint filers) and 25% thereafter, with a generous standard deduction and personal exemption ($39,000 for a family of four). That’s it. No loopholes, deductions, credits or exclusions. Fill out the postcard and mail it in.
Additionally, the plan promotes saving by eliminating a whole bunch of other taxes — on interest, dividends and capital gains. It scraps the alternative minimum tax and abolishes the death tax. It replaces the corporate income tax — currently the second highest in the industrialized world — with a business consumption tax of 8.5%, about half the world average, putting American companies and workers in a stronger position to compete in the global economy. And it allows for immediate expensing of new business investment.
Health Care
A refundable tax credit — $2,300 for individuals and $5,700 for families — to purchase coverage (from another state if they so choose) and keep it with them if they move or change jobs. State-based high-risk pools. Supplemental payments to low-income recipients, who can choose their care rather than be consigned to Medicaid.
Medicare
Large-scale, common-sense reforms involving vouchers and medical savings accounts, along with a very gradual rise in eligibility age, designed to preserve the best parts of Medicare while securing its solvency for generations to come.
Social Security
Maintains benefits for current recipients, while making the program permanently solvent by combining a modest adjustment in the growth of initial Social Security benefits for higher income individuals with a gradual, modest increase in the retirement age. Includes a property right, so that your vested Social Security interest does not die with you. Those who own these accounts can pass on assets to their heirs.
Making all this work would require some adjustments, though. Nondefense discretionary spending, for example, would be frozen for ten years at 2009 levels in nominal terms and allowed to grow thereafter by an amount linked to CPI.
There has been immediate criticism from Democrats, mainly centered around cuts to Medicare. And some of the objections could be valid; maybe the plan could be tweaked a little to bring more of the opposition on board. Or maybe they’ll just continue to complain because reducing the size of government doesn’t sit well with them.
But the thing is, even the critics have been forced to admit that the plan would probably work. How do we know? Ryan had the confidence to submit it to the Congressional Budget Office for analysis. As you probably know, the CBO has stated frankly that continuing along the current path leads to unsustainable deficit levels and bankruptcy for the country.
According to CBO projections, debt will spike sharply upward in 2015, rising — relentlessly and unstoppably — to over 700% of GDP in 2080. Of course, the economy will be destroyed and government forced to default long before then.
If Ryan’s Roadmap were adopted, however, the CBO estimates that debt/GDP would peak at 100% in 2043 and “decline thereafter, reaching zero by 2080,” then move into surplus. (For the complete CBO report, go here.)
Yes, all predictions are bound to be flawed. Yes, we must remain skeptical of anything that comes from a politician. And yes, it’d be better for government to shrink more than this proposal envisions. But, especially concerning taxes, it’s a big step in the right direction.
The president is wrong. There is another idea out there, and according to the government’s own budgetary watchdogs, it’s a good one. It “just” necessitates adopting a 75-year time line.
Of course, the odds of Congress looking that far ahead are slim to none, and you know where Slim is. But who knows, if enough Americans beat the drum for Paul Ryan, this country may actually have a future.
Regards,
Doug Hornig, Casey Research
for Whiskey & Gunpowder
March 3, 2010
ShareThis
Sounds like Congrssman Paul Ryan is on to something. But he is just one man so i hope the GOP will take a hard look at it. If they do or not will tell us if the GOP is on the right track come this November. Time will tell.
I like Paul Ryan’s plan except when it says “Nondefense discretionary spending, for example, would be frozen for ten years at 2009 levels in nominal terms and allowed to grow thereafter by an amount linked to CPI.” Locking in nodefense discretionary spending at 2009 levels is ratifying the Bush and Obama drunken sailor spending binges. Cut it to 1998 Clinton Era levels, when the government was relatively lean, then link it to the CPI. While you are at it, cut all salaries for Federal employees except the serving military by 10%, and reduce benefits and pensions to the average level in the private sector. Paul Ryan is on the right track, but my ideas will get us to surplus a lot faster.
[...] Whiskey and Gunpowder – Paul Ryan Could Save America [...]
The problem with adding a new tax is that it always goes up and the other ones never go away. My suggestion was to dust off the 2001 budget for 2011, and the 1991 budget for 2012, and keep going backwards until income exceeded expenditures…and then cut taxes and keep going backwards.
I saw Ryan during the ‘summit’ and was impressed. He is one of the sharper tools in the Repub’s shed. However, the POTUS has to go to ramming speed now cause Blago’s trial this summer will reveal how he and his staff tried to “sell” his former Senate seat. Once Blago starts singing in open court the MSM will go into the “What did the Pres. know and when did he know it?” mode.
In the meantime you get this from the “Chicago School of Politics”: Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes?
http://weeklystandard.com/blog.....care-votes
Enjoy!
[...] I like that the country has someone like him serving and watching over the countries finances. As Whiskey and Gunpowder writer Doug Horning explains he has an answer to our growing debt and deficit problems with common sense solutions that [...]
Paul Ryan is a great American. I fully support his efforts to get our country back on the track of fiscal responsibility. In 2000, I offered my plan for Social Security privitization. Pres. Bush recognized the need for a change or disaster would follow. It is happening. With the influx of baby boomers, it’s not if but when SS collapses or drains what’s left of the fiat money available. Briefly, private accounts would salvage a portion of SS contributions. F.D.I.C. backed, adjustable to inflation bank CDs would offer safe and consistent returns to be compounded until SS distribuion. Unused funds would be part of the recpients estate. I must protest the
scam perpetrated on our minorities at present. The life expectancy for minorities, especially blacks, is considerably less than whites. Generally, blacks enter trhe work force, when posible, at a youngr age than whites, due to longer educational acquirement. As the age for qualifying for SS disbursement is incrased, the shorter the time payment is realized. The remaining funds are maintained by the Treasury, the worker of many years is denied benefits accrued. Private accounts would transfer unused amounts to his heirs. I am not a liberal, rather a conservative. However, Injustice and unfair treatment of anyone is my concern. Bless you Paul, go get’em.
Dear Dr. H: Good to see you up. The SPAM filter never disgorged my answer to the very nice letter you wrote me last time. SS, Medicare, Medicaid, and foreign aid (among many others) have drained the US of the wealth of generations. So long as there is fiat currency and the theory of “entitlements” there is no way to solve the problem. Congress could proclaim a digital fund of a million dollars for each child upon birth, but it would be as useless as the “non-negotiable” promises in the so-called SS fund. I was thinking of the ten thousand million (that being easier to grasp than a “billion”) Bunning is protesting in the Senate. We don’t have it, and if we did a better use for it than extending unemplement “benefits” would be 200 new millionaires in each state. We all know how little SS checks cover, and I know a young man in college who draws $860 every two weeks–and that is after withholding! He gets twice what many retired workers do as a consolation prize for being out of work? At least he is using the money for some useful purpose.
Which isn’t to say I don’t approve of Dr. Paul Ryan, of course!
Dear Doug: This is my first time and I am pleased with this congressman’s proposal. But it is at best a stopgap measure to buy us time so we do end up like Greece or some Banana republic – broke with a dictatorship for life. This would be a good first step combined with “RLD” proposal of linking non defense discretionary spending to CPI based on level closer to era of Clinton where we actually started to laying the foundation for lean government and regular surpluses in the annual budgets. Also bringing government salaries and pensions and benefits more in lined with the markets and current economic conditions would go a long way to give our economy some breathing space. As it is now government sucking up some much discretionary cash for investment and capital expenditures that both business and start ups that create the wealth of the future is drying up and our economy is starting to dine on the vine for lack of nutrients.
By my estimates we have less than 20 years barring no major catastrophes or another global war like WWII. If that happens that our debt to GDP ration will be 100%. Meaning for every dollar produced in wealth will be consumed by debt and servicing the debt. If that is the case, then we will have to make the hard choices no politician or citizen have been willing to face for the last thirty or forty years. This problem has been building up for decades. While our ability to create wealth has been shrinking our government’s appetite at all levels for more money to finance all manner of programs – military and nonmilitary programs. We are at a crossroads.
We are in decline but it can be arrested. But only at high cost and necessary sacrifice. But once we have contained the infection and killed it then the body politic and economy will revive. It will take at least a generation which is about twenty to thirty years to rectify. But once done our republic and our society would stronger and better because of it and freedom and liberty would available to all for another couple of hundred years and possibly beyond.
So Paul Ryan’s plan is sound. But it is only a first step bring order to our economic and fiscal house. One more thing. I strongly feel that just like after years of the depression and war left a huge demand for good and services and the economy exploded with growth more akin to that of the later half of the 19th century, so it will again after we get through the hard times which are now descending upon us. This is a long overdue winter for our economy to heal and restore to health and vitality. That is what strong winter does it helps to protect the soil and replenish the soil. I hope we hear more of Paul Ryan and I will keep my eye on him and his political career.
Welcome to the crew, Randy. Nicely said.
Everything about Ryan’s plan is fundamentally dishonest. None more so than the claim that he submitted it to the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO doesn’t analyze projected tax revenue: the Joint Committee on Taxation does. And they’ve said it wouldn’t come close to balancing the budget. Not now, not 75 years from now, not ever.
Vouchers to purchase insurance? We’ll see how you like dealing with Bart Stupak preening for the cameras while claiming you’re federally funding abortions.
And you’re forgetting the most important thing: How do you expect to balance the budget when the Republicans idea of balancing the budget is a 10 billion dollar tax cut and a 50 billion dollar increase in defense spending.
Face it, this country was better off with a 90% top tax bracket. If you want to live in a world where you are king and the police exist entirely to keep everyone else “off your lawn” than perhaps you should try Somalia. They already have pirates there, maybe they’ll accept cowboys, too.
Come on…..Doesn’t anyone have a response to AG silly tirade?
“fundamentally dishonest”?
What does that even mean? Spending has to be RESTRAINED!!
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black…..
“Face it, this country was better off with a 90% top tax bracket. If you want to live in a world where you are king and the police exist entirely to keep everyone else “off your lawn” than perhaps you should try Somalia. They already have pirates there, maybe they’ll accept cowboys, too.”
How do you square taking 90% of someone’s earnings and then say they need to go to Somalia to find pirates? How did so many people come to think they have the right to pick another’s pocket and if stopped, extortion is okay? Or crazier yet that the “real” problem is the guy who wants to keep his money/property etc?
If people put the same effort into solving their own problems instead of trying to find a way to make the other guy responsible or get the government to pay we would be better off. It is “fundamentally dishonest” to assume you are owed something by those who have more than you, (more smarts, heart, sense, things, future, etc.) and that they are the problem. In your scenario how was the country better off?
C~
http://www.FairTax.org