Paul Ryan Budget: An Actual Attempt to Help Our Spending Problem

For the last several years, the Republican-led House has attempted to introduce and pass a budget, while the Democrat-led Senate has continued to ignore that passing a budget is even part of their job description for the past 1400 days. Without fail, the left demonizes Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) for his continued attempts at balancing the budget, using hyperbole to scare seniors and the poor. While the left continues on their usual, predictable rampage against Ryan, let's examine what is actually in his bill, which he finally introduced Tuesday.

In an article published on the Wall Street Journal on March 12, Ryan explained his budget to those who had been freaking out about it before even being introduced.

Paul Ryan is not cutting out spending completely. He understands that government spending is necessary. Instead of crying "AUSTERTIY!" like so many do, why don't we examine exactly what Ryan is trying to accomplish?

"On the current path, we'll spend $46 trillion over the next 10 years. Under our proposal, we'll spend $41 trillion. On the current path, spending will increase by 5% each year. Under our proposal, it will increase by 3.4%. Because the U.S. economy will grow faster than spending, the budget will balance by 2023, and debt held by the public will drop to just over half the size of the economy," Ryan wrote.

Does that really sound that bad?

Ryan continued to explain not just how he was going to balance the budget in ten years without raising taxes, but the more important question — why.

"A budget is a means to an end, and the end isn't a neat and tidy spreadsheet. It's the well-being of all Americans. By giving families stability and protecting them from tax hikes, our budget will promote a healthier economy and help create jobs. Most important, our budget will reignite the American Dream, the idea that anyone can make it in this country."

By making a moral argument for passing a responsible budget, Ryan not only sets forth to accomplish his ultimate goals — balance the budget and cut government spending without tax hikes — he also appeals to people on a personal level.

A budget seems like a scary thing. I am terrible at budgeting my money. When we think about what budgets accomplish, however, they don't seem so intimidating.

As Arthur Brooks, the president of American Enterprise Institute, has stated so many times, the road to freedom is through economic liberty and earned success. "Entrepreneurship should not to be extolled as a path to accumulating wealth but as a celebration of everyday men and women who want to build their own lives, whether they start a business and make a lot of money or not," Brooks wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

Brooks is right, and Ryan is right. A balanced budget that includes decreased government spending without tax hikes is the best way to care for Americans. Why burden our children and grandchildren with our own selfish debt? Why burden familes now with an increased tax burden while it's already hard to makes ends meet? The budget is a moral document, and the Senate Democrats' continued refusal to pass one shows the highest contempt for the average American.