The Paul Ryan Plan

I've had some time to review the Paul Ryan Plan, and though I still won't call myself an expert, I'm ready to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Before I get there, I would like to offer an obligatory "shame on you" to the Republican Party whose members are currently threatening to shut down the government over issues pertaining to women's and environmental health.  Way to lead guys, way to lead.

Back to Pauly Ryan.  In previous posts I've bashed Ryan, and I was not incorrect to do so.  The man has presented some mind-bogglingly bad ideas that illustrate either his dishonesty or his inability to do math or both.  In today's post I am going to bash Paul Ryan a little bit more, but I'm also going to praise him, so when looking at Paul Ryan's plan, let us start with the good.

What good do we find in Paul Ryan's plan?  Well to start with, we find the plan itself.  Flawed though it is, Paul Ryan has done something that no one else has dared to do, he has stared (some of) the main drivers of debt in the eye and come up with (flawed) plans to tackle them.  For all we hear about the evils of government spending, the people who are most against it - the Tea Party - are wasting there time with inconsequential cuts that will hurt Americans but not dent the debt.  Paul Ryan has actually attempted to curb some of those drivers.  That makes him an easy political target, but he has had the gall to do what no Democrat or Republican will, address the real issues.  Even if his plan only acts as a conversation starter, he deserves to be lauded for showing some fortitude on this issues.  The man clearly believes we have to make changes and he understands what things need to be changed.

Ryan's plan also calls for states to receive lump sums or block grants to cover Medicaid.  Rather than allocating the money, the federal government will give states money and allow them to make the decisions.  This may very well be more efficient, but it may also lead to a serious loss in benefits depending on how the state decides to spend the money.

Of course, if you look only at the numbers, the Paul Ryan plan cuts trillions of dollars in spending.  In terms of fixing our long-term deficit, it's on point...until of course we get to the bad.

The plan has job growth goals that aren't only unrealistic, they're unworldly.  In fact they're so unrealistic that the analysis, done by the Heritage Foundation, was removed from their website.  The problem with the analysis has mainly to do with the tried and untrue Republican idea of trickle down economics.  Despite the fact that we know this doesn't lead to dynamic growth, it's still being thrown out there as serious economic policy.  Paul's plan lowers taxes dramatically, which of course sounds good, but also doesn't necessarily spur job growth and means that the plan is based on cutting alone.  That may sound good until you realize what is being cut...which brings us to the ugly.

As if relying on flawed economic theory and faulty job creation projections weren't enough, Paul has skirted the real issues by making cuts that would harm Americans rather than coming up with creative solutions to the problems.  For example, Paul attempts to tackle the problem of Medicare spending by privatizing the system.  It's true that this would save a lot of money, but it's also true that people would also be getting worse coverage.  Pay less, get less.  Fair enough I suppose, everyone will have to sacrifice, but Ryan's plan doesn't attempt to rein in the ever rising cost of healthcare.  Unlike the President's new healthcare law which attempts to control costs by sharing the burden of payment, Paul Ryan just wants to cut benefits.  It's not so much a solution as a shortchange.  It is increasingly evident that Republicans don't have a solution for how to fix the problems of healthcare.  It's a good thing we've got Obamacare.

Furthermore, Ryan doesn't go anywhere near Social Security.  For a budget that is bold enough to cut Medicare, it's strange that Ryan didn't attempt to reform social security.  At the very least, even if no steps are taken to reform how money is spent, the retirement age must rise.  That alone will make a dent, and it's an important step to take.

Finally, Paul Ryan is living in a fantasy world in which it's possible to fix our deficit woes without raising taxes, in fact, Paul Ryan is living in a fantasy world in which we can cut taxes significantly and still run a surplus in the future! Aside from being fantastical, this is just morally wrong.  Paul Ryan's "path to prosperity" involves giving more money to rich people while cutting benefits for the poor and elderly.  Typical.  Only a combination of taxes and spending cuts is going to solve our budget woes.

In conclusion, Paul Ryan deserves some credit.  He's done what no other politician, either Democrat or Republican has had the fortitude to do.  He put himself in the firing line and perhaps jump started an important national debate by proposing necessary albeit controversial ideas.  However Ryan's approach is flawed and based on either outright deceit or a gross misunderstanding of the issues.

Put simply, I think Ryan has constructed a nice template for fixing our long-term deficit problems and I hope that he will spur other politicians to make tough decisions and choices and get involved in a very important debate.  Having said that, Ryan's plan is only the "path to prosperity" for those who are already prosperous, the real work of fixing our budget will have to be done by people who understand the drivers of long-term debt AND care about the welfare of average Americans.