Friday, August 17, 2012

Krugman Examines the Ryan Plan

That dapper young Congressman Ryan
Was sellin' what many were buyin'.
A wonk came along,
Announced he was wrong,
And proved it without even tryin'.

"My plan," said the Chair of the Budget,
"Will balance the books, as I judge it."
Said Krugman: "Your cuts
Are unspecified, but
Any figure looks fine if you fudge it."

"To cite what I find so offending
In the plan that the Chairman's intending,
Have a look at the dents
That he'd make in Defense
And in Other Discretion'ry Spending."

"They'll cut, say the Chair and his staff,
From 12 points to 3 1/2.
Since the Pentagon's spent -
On its own - 4%,
This projection is good for a laugh."

"If you doubt this Princetonian nerd,
Let the CBO have the last word:
'The specifications
For these calculations -
At this point - have yet to be heard.'"

Paul Krugman, in his New York Times blog, asked What's In The Ryan Plan and determined: not much. His dismissive critique of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's US federal budget proposal is based on the analysis of the Congressional Budget Office, which found that the plan's headline numbers were unsupported by specific proposals to achieve them.

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