Ryan's Roadmap

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan's star has risen significantly over the past couple years. He faced down President Obama at the phony "health care summit" and, in my opinion, bested the One in a verbal joust, leaving the tongue-tied President flustered and fuming. (As a WI native, I proudly posted that episode on this blog. The above link will take you there.) The seemingly indefatigable Ryan has of late crafted a gutsy plan called The Roadmap, with the aim of tackling the monstrous problem of the national debt and the ticking time bomb that is Social Security.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel featured a nice article on Ryan and his ideas for the future. It is well-worth a read.

Ryan's plan is audacious in at least two ways. One is that it tries to tackle with great specificity the government's long-term debt and deficits, a problem that intimidates both parties because it requires doing very painful things, such as raising taxes or cutting Medicare.

In that sense, the Roadmap has taken on symbolic significance - and won a great deal of flattering attention - as a call-to-arms about the nation's finances.

The other reason it's audacious involves the particular solutions that Ryan is offering: deeply conservative remedies that provoke genuine ideological division.

Among them:

• A total makeover of Medicare for people now under the age of 55, replacing a guaranteed benefit with a federal voucher that individuals would use to help purchase private coverage.

• The option of personal investment accounts for younger Americans in place of the traditional Social Security system.

• Reductions in traditional Social Security benefits for many future recipients.

• Tax changes whose direct benefits go overwhelmingly to wealthier Americans, including no taxes on investment income and capital gains and the replacement of the corporate income tax with a tax on consumption.

"The plan identifies all the 'third rails' of politics and makes a beeline for them. It massacres sacred cows in slaughterhouse fashion. The audacity is remarkable," observed a USA Today editorial Monday.

Wisconsinites should be proud of this man. May he ascend to even loftier heights.