Path to Prosperity

Ryan shows a projection of economic growth under his budget   "This is not a budget," said House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, unveiling his 2012 budget proposal. "This is a cause. Or more accurately, it's a blueprint for the future. It's so many things. It's the Path to Prosperity. It's kind of like Google Maps in a way, so forget about the blueprint part because that really doesn't fit into my metaphor, and if there's one thing that Americans are tired of, it's mixed metaphors. So I just want to be careful not to be accused of throwing the baby out with the haystack. Not that I won't do it, I just don't want to be accused of it."   Ryan admits that given an environment where sixty billion dollars is for some reason seen as a big fucking deal, he may encounter some resistance in a budget that promises to cut six trillion in ten years while lowering the top tax bracket from thirty-five to twenty-five percent, slashing aid to the poor and middle class, and dismantling Medicare and Medicaid.   "Don't forget ending infrastructure and education spending, alternative energy development, counterterrorism and veterans benefits," chuckles Ryan. "A lot of people have a vested interest in those programs too. But at the end of the day, this is all about the Path to Prosperity. See, it's right there in my title. Most people would have just called this the 2012 GOP Budget proposal, but not me. Paul Ryan doesn't take the easy path. Everyone is going to suffer under my plan. Well, not everyone, but hard working Americans are going to really feel the pain. The upside, however, is twenty-three million new jobs by 2019. And those jobs are important, because most people are going to need three or four of them."   "We are here to try and fix this country's problems. If that means we are giving our political adversaries a political weapon to use against us, shame on them. But I say, go on, try to exploit this budget, because it's not nearly as much fun being in the majority as I thought it was going to be."