Paul Ryan explains why he voted for the McConnell-Biden deal and H.R. 8.
In his words:
“We had been hit with a $4.4 trillion dollar tax increase yesterday, and I had the opportunity to knock it down by $3.8 trillion dollars. That means 98% of the country don’t get hit with a tax increase.”
To think that passing H.R. 8 was a “good choice” is clueless conservatism. The Republican Party is either the party of economic growth, or it is nothing—and being nothing loses elections. H.R. 8 is not something that anyone who is concerned about economic growth (and who knows how to produce it) would have agreed to.
From 2012 levels, H.R. 8 raised all of the taxes that negatively impact economic growth (the top rates on ordinary income, dividends, capital gains, and inheritances), while capping those that have little or no effect on the rate of GDP expansion. As a result, compared with maintaining all of the 2012 tax rates, H.R. 8 will reduce economic growth and yield lower, rather than higher, federal revenues.
To split hairs, the “good choice” remark came from Hewitt, not Ryan. Obviously, they both agree the Ryan vote was “a good choice”.
Trusting even conservative ponies right now, is very hard for me. Time needs to cough up a Reagan before the ‘16 election, someone with both charisma and brains together, or knows where they can rent some, because the old lions are already picking our next nominee now.
Billion dollar campaigns are fashionable and of course require a very early start.
In other words, Ryan decided to play the GOP-E game of “voting for a tax cut”, vs. fighting tooth and nail against the enemies of us all...