Ryan's Plan Reverses the Path to Progressivism

Paul Ryan, a young Republican Congressman from Wisconsin, is a ranking member of the House Budget Committee. He first introduced an alternative fiscal policy in 2008 called a Road Map for America’s Future, and has since fine-tuned it as the current administration and congressional leadership continues to pursue the reckless expansion of government and a progressive fiscal policy that is leading us towards a European style welfare state, where excessive unemployment, and higher taxes, and reduced productivity become the normal state of the economy.

Ryan’s Road Map provides us with hope that our current course can still be turned around and we can restore our economy to the elements rooted in individual initiative, entrepreneurship, and innovation, which made us the envy of the world. It explicitly describes a completely different vision about Health Care, Medicare, Social Security, and Tax Reform that refutes the charge that the GOP is the party of “No” and has offered no alternative to the progressive agenda now being forced upon us by the current Democrat leadership.

Health Care: Ryan’s plan shifts the control and ownership of health insurance from away from the government and employers to the individual, by providing refundable tax credits of $5,700 for families and $2,300 for individuals to purchase coverage in any state and keep it if they move, or change jobs, and with high risk pools being created that make affordable care available to those with pre-existing conditions.

Medicare: This program is secured for Americans currently 55 or older and for those under 55, it creates a Medicare payment, averaging $11,000 to be used to purchase a Medicare certified plan. The cost is adjusted to reflect inflation, and pegged to income. It also funds tax free Medical Savings Accounts (MSA’s), which will keep Medicare solvent for generations.

Social Security: The Road Map preserves the existing Social Security program for those 55 or older. For those under 55, the plan offers the option of investing over 1/3 of their current SS taxes in personal retirement accounts, similar to the Thrift Savings Plan that is available to Federal employees. It allows individuals to pass these assets to their heirs and guarantees they will not loss anything they contribute. It also makes SS permanently solvent by modestly adjusting the growth of higher income accounts and providing a modest increase in the retirement age.

Tax Reform: The tax code is simplified with a form that is the size of a post card; just two rates, 10% on income up to $100k (joint filers), and $50k (single filers), and 25% for higher incomes. It eliminates the alternative minimum tax, taxes on interest income, capital gains, dividends, and the death tax. It replaces corporate taxes with a business consumption tax of 8.5% which is roughly half the average of the industrialized world and will make American companies compete more favorably in the global economy.

I think you will see that this plan is bold and innovative and sets us on the path to a smaller government and lower taxes. Something you may not expect from the party of “NO”.