The Ryan Budget would increase the deficit
Matthew Martin
3/18/2013 09:49:00 PM
Tweetable
Ezra Klein has the numbers: Ryan's so-called "budget" includes \$5.7 trillion in tax cuts, but only claims \$5.2 trillion in spending cuts. Now, the budget does say that the tax cut would be "revenue neutral," but this is clearly, blatantly false: there only exists less \$2 trillion worth of tax deductions that could be eliminated, less than half of the "base broadening" that Ryan needs. Also, in my view, if you want to claim you have a revenue neutral tax plan, its only fair to be required to name the deductions you want to eliminate--the Ryan "budget" does none of that. It is specific about tax rates, but says not a word about which deductions to eliminate.
So I'm calling foul. There are no revenue offsets in the Ryan plan, and only \$5.2 trillion in spending reductions. Therefore, the Ryan plan is an unambiguous deficit increaser.
And this is the guy who won a "fiscy" award.
...grumble...