Representative Paul Ryan Gets It Right On Entitlement Reform

Patrick OBrien / October 30, 2009

It is all too common for members of Congress to recognize the problem with entitlement spending, talk about it, but then decide to kick the can down the road, leaving the toughest choices for future generations to make. But Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) has been a long-time advocate of paving a new road to ensure a sustainable fiscal future for the United States.

On Thursday, Congressman Ryan spoke about the comprehensive proposals in his bill, “A Roadmap for America’s Future,” at the Tax Policy Center.

Although the discussion centered primarily on the tax reforms in his proposal, Congressman Ryan made very clear to his audience Thursday what he sees as the primary challenge our country faces when he said “Entitlement reform is really the holy grail here.” He is right. Over the next few decades, the costs of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will explode, causing debt to jump from 55 to 300 percent of GDP. (more…)