Ryan’s Alternative Road Is Old Path To Nowhere

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Part II of Rep. Paul Ryan's road to recovery was posted in the Journal Times on Thursday.

Journal Times Excerpt:
Today, I want to put forth an alternative economic recovery plan. We must recognize that real, sustained growth comes from the work, savings, and investment of American families and businesses – not from the Federal Government. We can, and should, take immediate action to address a weak economy with initiatives that produce lasting economic gains.

Ryan then proceeds to lay out a few of the old GOP rhetorical standbys about taxing and spending, and a rather hollow outline on how we can attract investment and jobs in the U.S. This coming after six years of rubber stamping legislation loaded with incentives to shift American business operations and jobs, overseas.

It was only a short four months ago at a forum in Racine, Wisconsin, when Ryan said the answer to all our economic trouble goes back to fuel. He suggested lower gas prices as the fix to the country’s apparent recession and said the only way to lower the prices was to essentially “drill, drill, drill.” Well, things have changed since then. But no thanks to any drilling, gasoline has plummeted to $1.69 a gallon around Janesville. Ryan’s empty solution to all our problems has arrived, yet our problems have refused to go away.

Journal Times Excerpt:
…this included 11,000 pork-barrel earmarks at a cost to taxpayers of $17 billion. If – as Washington likes to suggest – higher government spending leads to stronger economic growth, our economy today would be the strongest in our nation’s history. – Rep. Paul Ryan

Playing around trying to balance our deficits by trimming $17 billion away in so-called earmarks – will not solve anything. Unfortunately, whatever strength and resilience our economy still has left in it is owed to government spending. If it isn’t, Rep. Paul Ryan should be the first in line to denounce and retract the $800 billion Wall Street spend-a-way.

If not for the Bush Administration and past Republican policies aimed at deregulating both the speculative and housing markets, and cutting taxes during wartime, our economy would’ve been the strongest it’s ever been. Instead we are faced with a near unstoppable catastrophe - and it’s spreading around the world.