After Barack Obama's almost laughable and pretty gutless 2013 Budget proposal, we waited to see what the GOP would come up with - as Cousin Vinny would call it, 'a counteroffer'... Well, that finally happened yesterday. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), without a doubt the smartest and most knowledgable man in the GOP on the budget, put out the party's plan for next year - and before anyone could read it, Democrats seemed to be pumping the propaganda fear machine up.. That's how it goes....
Give Ryan credit for a couple things: first, he is not afraid to say what actually needs to be done. This is probably why Ryan will NEVER be a name at the top of the ticket, but maybe he should. In many aspects, it is similar to the budget he put out last year, but there are parts that are different. The main change being in Medicare.. That tells us that at least Ryan listens to his critics. Obama's 2013 budget changes literally nothing, while keeping the same $1 billion budget gap...
That's the rare thing in DC now - the ability to make the hard choices. Watching Fox News this am, it was great to watch Bill Hemmer pound Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) into the dirt during her interview. Schakowsky is a pure powerhungry bullshitting Liberal. First, she critiqued Ryan's plan with the same lines as last year - taking money away from Seniors, giving it to the Rich and the Oil Companies - blah, blah, blah.. Then she mentioned the Progressive Caucus will be introducing a plan next week. Then Hemmer asked how long it takes to balance the budget, which is 20 YEARS... And how much additional debt will add up til then. Schakowsky requested they stop discussing her plan, and get back to Ryan's plan - literally. She started the discussion, couldn't debate it, then asked to get out of it. The lady is a damned Moron... Illinois could do better than her.
The sad part is the budget is so out of whack, that even Ryan's plan takes ten years to balance the budget. Seriously, we could do it one administration if we tried. But, no one in DC seems willing to do it. Balancing the budget is pretty simple - it's not like it hasn't been done before. All we have to do is go back to the balanced budget days, and duplicate it. Tax reform needs to be done and simplified, and the super rich may have to pay a bit more, but the main problem is we spend too much. We need to get out Afghanistan as soon as possible. With the economy picking up, social programs can drop, but mostly we need to slash all the BS spending caused by every issue and group having a DC lobbyist... It is possible.
No, Ryan's plan will not be passed by anyone this year. It's more so setting a plan for next year - if the Republicans win the White House and the Senate. Maybe then, it will be passed, but we imagine there will be some changes. It's a starting point... Still, compared to four presidential candidates whose plans aren't very realistic, it's a better point to start.
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