Ted Gayer, the co-director of the Economic Studies program and the Joseph A. Pechman Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote of Mr. Ryan (http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org/2010/08/06/in-defense-of-congressman-paul-ryan/):
"First, it is worth citing budget estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). According to CBO, Congressman Ryan’s Roadmap for America’s Future Act would dramatically reduce the build up of America’s debt.
. . . .
On the spending side, Congressman Ryan’s plan achieves these substantial reductions in our long-term debt through such things as progressive reductions in Social Security benefits, increases in the eligibility age for Medicare, and the replacement of Medicare benefits with a voucher starting in 2021 (with an average initial voucher value for 65-year-olds of $5,900 in 2010 dollars).
On the revenue side, Ryan has proposed creating an alternative income tax system that has two marginal tax rates, eliminates most deductions and credits, and exempts all interest, dividends, and capital gains from the individual income tax.
. . . .
Ryan’s vision of broad-based tax reform, which essentially would shift us toward a consumption tax, needs to be adjusted in order to meet his stated goal of matching historical levels of revenue as a proportion of GDP. This indeed poses a challenge to Congressman Ryan to make specific changes to his tax reform plan in order to meet his revenue goal. Reasonable people can disagree about whether we should close our long-term fiscal gap primarily through spending reductions or tax increases, but Congressman Ryan’s proposal makes a useful contribution to this debate."
It's time for serious proposals concerning America's economic morass, which is the key issue in the coming election. Mr. Ryan offers such proposals and will change the entire tenor of the election. He will also wipe the floor with Joe Biden (or President Obama) in any debate on the economy.
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