Do you think Rep. Paul Ryan (R) is legit when talking about spending cuts?

[Curtis2011]

Or do you think he is just using them to further his political career?

Here is an interview of him on Fox News:
YouTube - Paul Ryan previews FY2012 budget, pushes back on political attacks

(Yes I know people have a stigma against Fox News but it is still a legitimate interview)

I believe he is the head of the committee in the House that is responsible for coming up with a federal budget. Recently the House Republicans, led by this dude, proposed some huge spending cuts that would supposedly cut the USA's national deficit by up to $6 trillion over the next 10 years.

Personally, I think many Americans want to see spending cuts like this. We obviously have a huge debt that is taking a toll on our economy, as evidenced by the lowering of the purchasing power of the dollar compared to the Euro and other currencies, etc.

Also, everyone is aware that politicians often just use pork barrel projects to get themselves re-elected, at the cost of everyone's tax dollars.


What is your opinion? Do you think Paul Ryan and the Republicans are actually trying to do the "right thing" and lower spending, or are they just trying to get re-elected with a bunch of hogwash?

[1by1]

From what I know of his proposals they haven't been spelt out in a huge amount of detail, and so it is impossible to say whether they would work or not.

Strangely he produced an earlier set of proposals that were much more detailed, but are possibly going to be to politically unpopular.

So its hard to tell if he's doing it for personal gain or out of the interest of the country. If he develops his ideas further and is willing to make some truly hard decisions then I would say its in the interest of the country. If he leaves it like this then it's for personal political gain.

[SnerpGoodWord]

I think he's trying to do the right thing - the size of the federal government is out of control and probably needs to be cut by half in the long run. That has to be achieved primarly through the reduction of various entitlement programs - welfare, social security, medicare/medicade, agricultural subsidies etc.

[Brutha]

Talking about cutting spending in general is easy.

Once you come down to single items it becomes a lot harder. You get lobbyists who argue for the specific item.

[garentee]

Rather than focusing on just cutting spending it would be a good idea to collect on the unpaid taxes of those corporations who weaseled their way out of their taxes for a long time. Cutting wasteful programs should come first... then work on entitlements...
.Obama: Looking for Dumb Federal Programs? Kill 13(c).

SOmething to think about in relation to the budget too..
The Federal Budget: Getting What We Asked For.