Over the weekend, two of the most knowledgeable people on our economy spoke up and neither were very kind to Paul Ryan (R – Wall St).
The first is Nobel laureate economist and Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz:
“Democracies can withstand cuts without seeing light at the end of the tunnel, but there is always a red line… nowhere in the world can we find an example where salary, pension and social expenditure cuts resulted in the growth of a weak country!”
Hmmm you can’t cut your way out of a recession? Who knew?
Secondly comes from David Stockman, President Ronald Reagan’s director of the Office of Management and Budget:
“The Ryan plan isn’t a budget. It’s the last will and testament of the Republican party.”
Paul Ryan will have an impact on the 2012 elections….Good for him!
I think the EXTREME Ryan Budget is nothing more than an attempt to steer our conversations on these policies FURTHER & FURTHER & FURTHER to the FARRRRRRR RIGHT!!!!
Ever since primary school I’ve been told that repeating things over and over leads to memorization. IME that’s true more or less, although memorization is a far cry from understanding!
Paul Ryan is just the latest Outer Party mouthpiece for the GOP to preach the Inner Party’s lie that spending less is all it takes to make debts go away. What they’re saying in essence is that the federal government should create a budget around what it has in cash, and ignore both the people that it’s supposed to serve, as well as the massive debt racked up in spending binges past. “Pay no attention to the creditors behind the curtain…”
Well I paid my taxes and I want my service! I don’t want excuses, I don’t want scapegoats, and I absolutely don’t want lies.
If Congress came to me and said “we were poor stewards of your tax dollars, and because of that we’re in a bind” I would be far more inclined to forgive. I’d be willing to join together with all Americans of all classes and work out a fair payment plan that doesn’t steal money that I need from the various trust funds, even if it does mean higher federal taxes down the road. I’m not holding my breath for this to happen though.
Since politicians like Ryan like shifting the financial burden of taxation away from the federal government onto local government, I say this is an excellent time for Ryan’s constituents to call him back to Janesville to sort out their local crises.