That Republican Representative Paul Ryan would make the statement that he is not worried about cutting the budget too fast shows either a great ignorance of economics or a complete disregard for humanity. The fact is a drastic reduction in government spending will reduce economic activity especially if private companies do not makeup the spending with the same influx of spending in the economy. We all know it is unlikely they will as they find that investing overseas and outsourcing is more profitable to them as our economy is left to fail.
There is no doubt that if private companies are hiring slowly as the federal and state government lay off workers that unemployment will soar. Moreover, if unemployment soars further, the economy will be further depressed by the reduced spending by the laid off worker.
The budget must be cut, however now is not the time. The economy needs to be primed with federal dollars with investments in infrastructure, education, energy, and home grown technology. When the multiplicative effect of these efforts kick in, the tax base will increase and the deficit will shrink partly from that increased economic activity. Then and only then should the structural nature of the budget deficit created by the irresponsible tax cuts of the previous president be addressed.
It is undeniable and evident that the goal of the GOP is to shock the economy into a double dip recession to increase their chances of winning in 2012. The failure of the Obama administration to forcefully & continuously educate Americans on how an economy works and how spending and taxes really affects it I is disconcerting. Moreover, the wealth disparity and how the middle class is already taxed effectively (all taxes) at a higher rate on disposable income than the wealthy must be addressed as the middle class approaches indentured servitude.
President Obama must not walk into the Republican trap. He must know better.
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Paul Ryan Defends GOP’s Proposed Spending Cuts: I Am Not Worried About Cutting Too Much Too Fast
Elise Foley HuffPost Reporting First Posted: 02/13/11 10:17 AM
WASHINGTON — Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) defended Republicans’ plan to cut $60 billion from current spending levels, including $1.4 billion in job training programs and $600 million in border security, telling Fox News Sunday that he
dismisses concerns that sudden cuts would worsen the economy.
"I am not worried about Washington cutting too much spending too fast," he said. "The kind of cuts we are talking about right now are $100 billion out of a $3 trillion budget."
House Republicans unveiled a bill on Friday that would trim $60 billion from current spending for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year, while at the same time increasing defense spending by more than $8 billion. Congress must pass a bill by March 4 to continue funding the government, which Ryan said may require a short-term continuing resolution while House Republicans and Senate Democrats come to an agreement on the budget for the remainder of the year.
Within those cuts are billions of dollars of proposed spending decreases for a number of government agencies and programs, including the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency. The bill proposes $1.4 billion in cuts for job-training programs and $715 million from government rental assistant programs — including Section 8 housing vouchers — that help families pay their rent.
Ryan said he stands behind the proposed cuts to popular programs. "No matter how popular these programs are, they mortgage our children’s future and they compromise our current growth," he said.
Ryan said the proposed cuts are only the beginning of Republicans’ plans to decrease the debt, but declined to go into detail about his plans for cutting entitlements. He said he would like to see cuts to entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicaid, in President Barack Obama’s upcoming 2012 budget.
"If the president’s budget ignores those programs, that means he is abdicating leadership on dealing with the deficit," he said. "Presidents are elected to lead, not to punt, and this president has been punting."
Paul Ryan Defends GOP’s Proposed Spending Cuts: I Am Not Worried About Cutting Too Much Too Fast
