Obama's Response to Ryan Plan Wins Round One

Ryan's roadmap was initially received by many pundits as a serious plan for cutting deficits and the national debt. His plan did indeed cut deficits and it included many changes to entitlement programs that are the fastest growing segment of government spending. Now that everyone has had a chance to analyze the Ryan plan it looks like a real loser for the GOP. First of all the plan contained many assumptions that did not pass the laugh test. For example, Ryan used data from the conservative Heritage Foundation that crunched the numbers to prove that cutting taxes for the rich was good for the economy. They forecasted unemployment dropping to 2.8% as a result of the tax cuts. They have since retracted that claim, but the damage had been done. Real budget analysts began to look closely at the plan and its weaknesses became more apparent.

Democrats should be pleased that the GOP decided to go with the Ryan roadmap. Not simply because it exposed its weaknesses as a plan that adds up, but because the plan does layout the GOP view of the world. The plan cuts taxes for the superrich dramatically and it pays for the tax cuts by cutting government spending on entitlements and non-defense discretionary spending that provides real benefits for those in need. Nothing could be clearer. The GOP plan is a roadmap for the path to plutocracy. Obama, and the Democrats now have the opportunity to ask the public what they want. Plutocracy or a democratic state that serves the interests of the entire population.