I had a conversation yesterday morning with a group of conservative gentlemen who are very pessimistic about the future of the American experiment. They see our economy devolving into chaos soon. So I asked myself, Are they right?
Tag Archive: Paul Ryan
The Debt Precipice
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UPDATE: The 2012 Republican Presidential Contenders
Earlier, I wrote a post about the possible Republican candidates for president, and since then there’s been a lot of movement in the Republican field. Below is a list of the possible Republican nominees, ranked by how likely I think they are to be nominated (and why).
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Health Care Rationing Is Coming
The debate about health care continues, but there is one thing that’s certain: there will be rationing of health care in our future. Whether the rationing happens through government intervention, insurance companies’ policies, or individual rationing, there will be rationing.
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Rep. Aaron Schock and Me: Separated At Birth
Heh heh… I now know why people almost-constantly compare me to Congressman Aaron Schock (IL-18)… it’s the similarity of our physique. Congressman Schock recently posed for Men’s Health magazine, and showed off his rock-hard abs, in order to promote a “Fit for Life” campaign. He says, “You have the power to change your life for the better. By making smart, simple food and fitness choices, you can take control of your health—and look and feel better than you have in years! (And you’ll even be helping our nation in the bargain)… Do it for yourself! Do it for your family! Do it for your country!”
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Taxing the Rich Doesn’t Solve Our Problem
In an article published in April, the Wall Street Journal said that “Obama targets the middle class while pretending to tax only the rich.” I’ve heard this argument several times in the last week: raising taxes on the rich doesn’t solve the federal government’s deficit problem. In fact, if the government were to take every dollar that each rich person makes, it would only raise about $1 trillion. “The mathematical reality is that in the absence of entitlement reform on the Paul Ryan model, Washington will need to soak the middle class—because that’s where the money is.”
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2012 Update: Who is Gary Johnson?
He’s not as good-looking as Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin or Paul Ryan (do you know how often I begin to call him Ryan Paul, or even Ron Paul—what kind of guy has two first names for a name?). He’s not as ugly as Chris Christie, Newt Gingrich or Mitch Daniels. So, I guess we can chalk up his average looks as another point against him.
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2012 Update: Mitch Daniels
There’s been more and more buzz in political circles about Mitch Daniels recently, as Republicans try to find someone that can offer a solid alternative to President Obama in the 2012 election. I think this is primarily due to the fact that Republicans in general have soured to the candidates already assumed to be frontrunners in the race (Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, etc.). It seems like these candidates have been disqualified by Republican voters (or at least the media) for one thing or another:
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5 Reasons to Become Debt-Free
Last week, I wrote a post called, “The Consequences of Debt,” which dealt with the outcomes of having a burdensome national debt, using the examples of Greece, Ireland, and now Portugal. Today, I want to trumpet several reasons to be debt-free, both personally, and as a nation. I’ll give five reasons for both (and they look eerily similar):
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The Consequences of Debt
What’s so bad about debt? In someone’s personal life, they can continue to rack up debt, charging things to their credit card, buying just a little bit too much house, getting the 0% down deal on the flashy car. If the debt becomes too much to handle, and they can’t make the minimum payments, they can just declare bankruptcy and start over again, right? What about countries?
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Cut, Invest, Grow, Rinse, Repeat
As I watched the State of the Union address that President Obama gave last night, I got the impression over and over that the President was trying to serve two masters. He wanted to work with the new Republican majority in the House, and simultaneously gain a reputation as a centrist… the new Bill Clinton. He also wanted the government, ahem, he wanted AMERICA to invest in things that would make us great in the world again. He wanted to cut taxes—yes, let’s bring down our corporate tax rate that’s stifling American businesses. But he also wanted to “invest” in infrastructure, education, small businesses
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