Paul Ryan is a headline-grabbing "my way or the highway" kinda guy. Bad move, Republicans! The Tea Party-ers apparently didn't get the message: The People have repudiated extreme politics. They want our leaders to work together to get something done and not throw us all under the bus.
My concern is that if this is true and Ryan (or Cantor) does become Speaker, we're going over the "fiscal cliff" next year. Sequestration (across-the-board spending cuts) will automatically kick in, cutting not only fat from government (good) but meat, too (bad). And we can ALL see our paychecks reduced when the "Bush tax cuts" expire and we go back to our previous tax rates. Ouch! Ryan has said, and I believe him, that he will NEVER allow taxes to go up on the wealthy.
"If my friends can't get their tax cut, then none of you can, either."
Ryan says the wealthy are the "job creators", which is a half-truth at best. While the wealthy might be "incubators" of new businesses, they depend on middle class consumers to actually buy whatever the new businesses are selling in order to succeed. If the middle-class has their take-home pay reduced due to higher taxes, they'll buy less. New businesses will stagnate or even fail, perhaps taking us into another recession. How would that create any new jobs?
Whatever the two sides can negotiate regarding tax rates for the wealthy, so be it, but don't hold the middle class hostage in the process. The election is over. Now we need leaders, not ideologues.
S
