No Path to Prosperity: Ryan's Incredulous Budget-Balancing Proposal

04-06-2011 • GlobalEconomicAnalysis.blogspot.com

Here is a set of questions for you: How many recessions will there be by 2020? Does Ryan's plan take any recessions into account? Does the CBO's analysis? Forget 2040. To be remotely credible, any plan would need to balance the budget by 2020. By that measure, Ryan's plan fails right up front. What About Defense Spending? Can we really be serious about tackling the deficit while doing nothing about defense spending? I think not, and Ryan wimps out big time by failing to address it. The United States spends more on defense than the rest of the world combined. We have troops in 140 countries. Yet, the simple fact of the matter is the US can no longer afford to be the world's policeman. If other countries want our troops, perhaps they should pay us. However, it would be better yet if we would simply leave on our own accord. As long as we are packing our bags, we should pack up and leave Iraq and Afghanistan. It's time to declare the wars are won and leave. If we do that, and pull some troops home, it should be an easy matter to cut $200 billion a year out of the defense budget. That would save $2 trillion over 10 years. Actually I think we should cut far more, but I am hoping to come up with a number that has a chance. Sharing the Sacrifice Where is the proposal to share the pain? How about lowering wages and benefits of those in Congress? How about reducing Congressional staff budgets? How about making Congress immediately accept the same health-care plan it passed for the rest of the country? If everything is on the table, where the hell is defense?