Paul Ryan, House Budget Committee Chairman, released his FY 2012 Budget proposal today. The comprehensive proposal includes plans for the way forward over the next decade. You can read an excellent and full analysis of it here.
Former Speaker (I love saying that) Nancy Pelosi of course immediately set to whining and wringing hands over how the Ryan plan will cause people TO DIE!!!!1111
NancyPelosi: The #GOP Ryan budget is a path to poverty for America’s seniors & children and a road to riches for big oil #GOPvalues
Why do evil Republicans hate old people and children? Sigh. Her lines are as old and tired as Larry King. To be fair, she likely hasn’t even looked at the proposal. I mean, why read stuff before it is passed?
Geoff over at Ace of Spades puts the plan into proper perspective. He even has a nifty graph that makes it easy for those of us (by us, I mean President Obama) who aren’t great at math and such. Math is hard.
This is what the President and his crackerjack economic team have wrought. A one-year deficit that is so large that it can only be paid back if everything goes exactly right. And if everything goes exactly right, we’re still looking at decades before we can get back to the debt level we had only 6 months ago.
But, on the bright side, perhaps as early as 2023 we can start working on paying off the FY10 deficit.
So when the Dems start their caterwauling about how “extreme” the GOP’s suggestions are, just remind them that these “extreme” suggestions may not succeed in paying back even 1 year of Obama’s spending.
Extreme? Not so much. What is extreme is the Democrat agenda that has gotten us where we are, and their obstinate refusal to deal with reality.
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cross-posted at That’s What She Said
Steve Maley
Caleb Howe
Jeff Emanuel
Moe Lane
Dan Spencer
The GOP needs to...
writeblock Tuesday, April 5th at 7:03PM EDT (link)Send out the word immediately to its constituencies that the Dem plan is to lie about hurting seniors and children. It needs to get the word out to independents as well. Advertise, advertise, advertise. We can’t wait on this. It must be relentless as well as targeted.
Too late, writeblock!
uncledan Tuesday, April 5th at 7:53PM EDT (link)Too late, writeblock! I just saw some Republicans drag an old lady out of her house down the street and throw her in the snow!
We might yet win this fight.
writeblock Tuesday, April 5th at 8:39PM EDT (link)The budget plan is a good one. For once I even like Ryan’s arguments. He’s usually wimpish playing defense. He’s sounding stronger lately. Even Boehner is sounding like he’s grown a spine.
Fox news pointed out this morning that essential services will continue.
gamechange11two Wednesday, April 6th at 9:31AM EDT (link)Granny’s SS check will arrive on the first, even if DC is still in a shut down. With the exception of the WSJ, the LSM did nothing to clarify this point in ’95. Republicans can rest assured, more people will get more accurate information today than was ever thought possible 16 years ago.
Still, I anticipate Obama’s announcement that he will personally move heaven and earth to get entitlement checks out to the people. But this time somebody might be heard when they point out that it’s not his job. “Don’t worry, Mr. President. Entitlements are on autopilot, and all the checks will go out on schedule. You can return to your golfing now.”
Am I reading the budget graph over at Ace of Spades correctly?
Finrod (Diary) Wednesday, April 6th at 10:21AM EDT (link)It looks like the debt stops growing in 2014 or 2015 or so, at least as a percentage of the country’s GDP. If the debt isn’t growing, that means that the *deficit* is 0.
That’s what we should be touting: Ryan’s plan will balance the budget in 5 (or whatever the exact figure is) years. Obama’s budget will *never* balance.
PETA and the ASPCA are pure evil. See here and here.
That's with CBO's static scoring.
Diogenes314 (Diary) Wednesday, April 6th at 10:44AM EDT (link)It totally ignores any tax revenue increases due to job growth. So realistically go ahead and knock a couple years off the turn around point.
Finrod - Debt not growing means it is only growing
YnotNOW (Diary) Wednesday, April 6th at 1:20PM EDT (link)Remmber, this chart is showing debt as a percentage of GDP. So if the debt as a percentage of GDP is not growing, that means that it is still growing at the same rate as GDP (thus the same percentage). So that does NOT mean a balanced budget (zero deficit).
Remember, all we need to do to get the Debt to reduce, is to make it grow slower than GDP, we do not actually have to “pay it off.” Though it would be extremely valuable to the economy to pay the actual dollars down (run a budget surplus for a few years) so that the interest on the Debt is to a more manageable level.
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
Point
Finrod (Diary) Wednesday, April 6th at 2:37PM EDT (link)If the debt is declining at at least the same rate that the GDP is increasing, that would be a balanced budget (or a tiny surplus) then.
PETA and the ASPCA are pure evil. See here and here.
Your math is correct
YnotNOW (Diary) Wednesday, April 6th at 4:33PM EDT (link)If the budget is exactly balanced (Zero deficit), then no $$ would be added to the Debt. But this Debt in relation to the GDP would deline exactly the same amount that the GDP grows.
That is assuming that the current Debt dollar amount is sustainable, which it technically is, but it is a significant drag on the economy when the government needs to collect taxes just to pay interest on the debt. That’s why I would prefer to work toward a budget surplus for a while, to reduce the $$$ amount of debt and make the interest payment less of a drag.
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
The bottom line though...
Diogenes314 (Diary) Wednesday, April 6th at 6:11PM EDT (link)With an improved economic environment, job growth and increased revenue we will meet the targets well ahead of the CBO estimates.
Without it we are screwed economically and probably in the 2012 election as well.
At which point the lamps start going down all over America. For good.
And the bottom line solution is...
YnotNOW (Diary) Thursday, April 7th at 3:56PM EDT (link)to cut spending.
We do not have a taxing problem, we have a spending problem.
When the overspending (and overregulation) are resolved, the economy is more free to grow (not guaranteed, but much more likely), which will increase tax revenues. In the long run, much more sustainable than trying to raise revenues via tax increases.
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
Wrong order.
Diogenes314 (Diary) Thursday, April 7th at 7:07PM EDT (link)It is the over-regulation that is the prime cause of the economic distress, not overspending. Cutting alone isn’t enough, The first priority needs to be regulatory reform, then tax reform (lowering rates-especially capital gains, enacting small business incentives) to increase revenues.
Which is why the EPA and obamacare riders in the 2011 budget are worth more than whatever piddling dollar amounts are being discussed.
My sequence differs slightly
YnotNOW (Diary) Friday, April 8th at 12:58PM EDT (link)First priority – cut spending (yes, the $6B being aruged right now is piddling, but it sets the stage for real spending reform in 2012 budget. And yes, it is overshadowed by almost anything until it approaches a balanced budget – then it becomes the single most important aspect of change in governance)
Second – cut regulation and free up the economy – although I totally agree that this cannot wait until priority 1 is “done”, and they go hand-in-hand. Defund the EPA’s efforts, as well as outlaw their carbon regulation. Free up drilling. etc. have major impact on #1. But again, if we cut Government, we are by definition cutting their ability to interfere with the economy.
Third – tax reform. While this is a major factor on freeing up the economy, I just don’t see it being politically feasible to do major revisions until the deficit is under control, and people are not so fearful of “causing” deficits by reducing tax rates and closing loopholes. Though if we could get a “package deal” to cut spending and reform taxes together, that would make me happier than a pig in….
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
Paul Ryan's Budget
billinsuwanee (Diary) Thursday, April 7th at 7:10AM EDT (link)Ryan’s plan is nothing more than Republicans throwing up their hands and surrendering to the Socialists Democrat Party. Ryan brags aboiut revising the social safety net established in the 1960′s by the Great Society.
Paul Ryan needs to be primaried and defeated in 2012. He is a Socialist.
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The Tea Party movement is the greatest civic uprising since the Revolution.
We Need to get Rand Paul's budget plan enacted.
edingerb Sunday, April 10th at 10:40AM EDT (link)He, and a few others, have a budget plan that will fix a lot of the mess in 5 years.
I hope that he gets some more support.