Posted on 04/05/2011 8:27:51 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
WASHINGTON - In response to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's new budget proposal, Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle issued the following statement today:
"Americans hoping to get real about our national debt just got sucker-punched by Republican Paul Ryan.
"Republicans want to spend $40 trillion over ten years. That averages a staggering $4 trillion per year. As recently as 2000, federal spending was only about $1.8 trillion.
"They also want to increase the federal debt from $15.0 trillion to $23.1 trillion. I hope our children and grandchildren enjoy paying interest on that extra $8.1 trillion.
"People should not judge the quality of this Republican plan by the standard President Obama has set. Everyone knows Obama is a big spender. Democrats rarely campaign on cutting government. What this budget shows is, Republicans are hypocrites. They have no intention of cutting the federal government down to size. In 2021, Paul Ryan still wants the feds to be spending 19.9% of GDP. That's a higher percentage than during Democrat Bill Clinton's second term. In 1997, federal spending was 19.5% of GDP, and it dropped to 18.2% by 2000. Paul Ryan is worse than Bill Clinton.
"Another unfortunate but predictable thing about Paul Ryan's budget is that it continues to mollycoddle the Pentagon. Paul Ryan is the Military-Industrial Complex's best friend. He apparently can't find one penny to cut from Obama's bloated levels of military spending. Only a big-government Republican could come up with language like 'reinvesting $100 billion in higher military priorities.'
"It's interesting that when the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and the White House from 2001-2006, they did nothing to shrink government, or even slow down government growth. On the contrary, back then, Paul Ryan was busy voting for expensive foreign wars, No Child Left Behind, and the huge 2003 Medicare expansion. More recently he's voted for the TARP bailouts and even ethanol subsidies.
"We Libertarians propose eliminating federal functions that are not authorized in the Constitution. Furthermore, Libertarians propose ending foreign wars and foreign troop deployments, allowing huge cuts in military spending. Libertarians would cut the federal government down to less than 10% of GDP, and we'd keep cutting once we got there."
For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.
The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.
“Paul Ryan would have my vote.”
As a conservative libertarian, he would have my vote, too!
I am a conservative libertarian.
I don’t lie, and I’m not cheap.
Though, I do agree that Ron Paul is insane.
“This is why libertarians get about 1.0% of the vote everytime...they live in la-la land.”
As a party they may get 1% o the vote.
But, as TEA Partiers go, they get a lot of votes.
Though, I’m not talking about the big L Libertarians like Ron Paul. I’m talking about small l libertarians...conservative libertarians like myself.
You know...those who support Palin, Bachmann, etc.
Face it...those who support those two fine women, and others like them, aren’t establishment Republicans.
Libertarians may I remind you that it’s been over a year since the Dems, who were completely in control of Congress at that time, were supposed to pass a budget for this year. At this time, we should be working on next years budget but we are still stuck on last year/this year’s. Please place the heat where it belongs.
i did see yesterday that he assumed a 2.8% unemployment rate off in the future,like 2028? Last time it was that low was right after the Korean war so its a dubious assumption.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Ryan’s budget proposal EVENTUALLY balance the budget? And doesn’t it do that by NOT raising income taxes? Aren’t those GOOD things?
Am I missing something here?
“You need the votes to get it done.”
Madison set up a government where you need the votes to get it done but you don’t need the votes to stop it. Republicans have the votes to stop it.
I think many Conservatives have bought into the Democrat and Media invention that the compromise between what the Republicans vote for is 1/2 way to what the Democrats would vote for. Not so. Our founders decided that Liberty would be protected if only what Democrats AND Republicans freely agreed to became law. The baseline position with our constitution is that NOTHING gets done and its branches work from there.
You get that impression don’t you. If Ryan’s plan is insufficient ( and I’m sire it is) Republicans are going to be dragged into a Libertarian lifestyle. Every man for himself.
You get that impression don’t you. If Ryan’s plan is insufficient (and I’m sure it is) Republicans are going to be dragged into a Libertarian lifestyle. Every man for himself.
Why should I compare Republicans to Democrats? That’s like comparing a D student to a rapist. Comparing what Ryan proposes to what needs to be done, it falls short.
How can Conservatives cheer a budget plan that fails to eliminate the deficit in the next ten years?
Ryan’s plan is an excellent litmus test for who is a Conservative vs. who is a Republican.
Pretty well sums up the Ryan position, keep digging.
China leaders are scared of their own people and the thought of going to war with them is childish at best.
LOL, you will be saying the same thing a year from now, no budget. Not going to be one the rats have the winning hand.
So we add 20 trillion to the national debt and then in five years we start on a downward slope, to a balanced budget I get it and we have 2.8% unemployment. At what point do we start singing happy days?
IBD has a good graphic showing how the Ryan plan will eliminate the national debt....in 2050.
Now there’s a selling point. We all know how wise it is to rely on politicians keeping to a plan for 40 years that doesn’t line their pockets or ensure their reelection. Yep, I feel better now.
The Libertarians make a good point, but they do not live in the world of realpolitik.
Ryan is a good man, and there is a HUGE difference between him and BO.
I look at Ryan’s work as a good first step.
Let me offer an analogy. I have a friend who is on blood pressure medicine. She is trying to lose weight and hopefully get off the meds. But her doctor has already warned her: even IF you are able to get off these meds, it will not be “cold turkey”.
The medicine will be slowly reduced, until her body can handle it.
Newt Gingrich used the phrase “wither on the vine” a few years back...NOT meaning he would refuse to fund it, but that the NEED for the program would be reduced through natural economics.
Let’s not allow the demand for perfection ruin the better of the two viable plans.
“Go take a simple test. It’s at the nolan chart.”
The password was “Reagan sucks” I refused and was denied entry.
“You found this site so that one shouldn’t be so hard!”
LOL you’ve been here since 2010. LOL
You’re irrelevancy as a Paulian is noted.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Ryan’s budget proposal EVENTUALLY balance the budget? And doesn’t it do that by NOT raising income taxes? Aren’t those GOOD things? Am I missing something here?”
You are clearly missing the irrelevancy of Losertarians. The premise is that you get more than 1% of the vote and not more than 3% of the vote.
Then you prance off, declare victory and pronounce yourself ideologically pure. All claims of irrelevancy are then shouted down with, “we won the CPAC strawpoll”
I don’t see any lies in this article. Republicans have been lying to conservatives for too long now and look where it has gotten the country. By sticking with Republicans no matter what, we have gotten ourselves the Rino party in power.
Trimming spending here and there is not going derail this monster Republicans and Democrats have created. There has to be a new scope of work set for the Federal government in line with it’s orginal constitutional purpose and power if we hope to get out from under the burden of this monster.
I agree with you that having libertarians driving the car of reform is dangerous and I propose that it is as dangerous as permitting Rinos to continue driving the car. Libertarians are amoral and mindless drunks in pursuit of an extra-constitutional ideology while the Rinos are following Soros’ mindless pursuit of social and economic international Marxism.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.