Rep. Paul Ryan Walks the Walk on Fiscal Reform

Kathryn Nix / July 08, 2010

Lawmakers in Washington are quick to talk the talk of fiscal reform these days. Solutions to the nation’s abysmal financial outlook are at the tip of everyone’s tongue, and even Democrats have conceded that maybe conservatives were right when pointing out that the United States doesn’t have a tax problem but rather a major spending problem.

But amidst all this talk, who in Washington is actually willing to walk the walk of actual fiscal reform? Not just hand-wringing. Not just a few symbolic cuts here and raising taxes there, but a complete overhaul that leaves the government on solid financial footing. Real reform, as Niall Ferguson, a Harvard historian and professor, puts it, may sound “pretty radical … but it is an option that we should be discussing much more seriously.”

Bloomberg Businessweek points out that “at least one congressman is doing just that—and learning how lonely it can be crusading for real change.” That congressman is Paul Ryan (R–WI), who released the second version of his Roadmap for America earlier this year, which includes health care reform, entitlement reform, and tax reform. (more…)