Paul Ryan: America's Conversation Starter

Congressman Paul Ryan, Chair of the House Budget Committee, has become the GOP’s go-to guy for everything economical, and there are two reasons why: first, he is courageous enough to jump into the water and get the pool party started. As with his Path to Prosperity, his budget, and his plan for Medicare, Mr. Ryan is clear that Americans need to talk about big changes in the amount of money we spend and ways we can grow our economy, increase productivity, and, of course, employment- none of which have been even remotely addressed by the current administration. His willingness to get out on the road and talk to Americans about his ideas, have conversations with them, and take on the darts and arrows demonstrates a strength of character that the president and his party might only dream of possessing.

Second, Congressman Ryan’s brilliant ability to explain aspects of the budget and economic data to Americans who may not be economists and budget analysts is on display in his new video, in which he describes the three necessary features of a new tax code: fairness, competitiveness, and simplicity.

Mr. Ryan told Tina Korbe of Hot Air, “If you tax something more, you get less of it. If you tax something less, you get more of it. If you tax work, savings, investment more, you’re going to get less of those things. If you lower tax rates across the board, we always see stronger economic growth result across the board.”

How simple is that? No jobs saved and created here. No double-counting Medicare in Obamacare. No tax increases to pay for investment, i.e., spending, in infrastructure.

In the same interview, the chairman made an important distinction between being “pro-market,” versus “pro-business.” He explained that Republicans need to be advocates for the former, a term which invokes the concepts of entrepreneurism, American creativity, and competitiveness in world markets.

While Paul Ryan has endured criticism from both Republicans and Democrats alike, he is a man who is not afraid to light a fire under Americans and our politicians, and to lead us to take a hard look at the kind of changes we need for growth. Let the next conversation begin.