We can change politics as we know it. We have an opportunity to begin addressing the fiscal mess in Washington.
Liberals are already on the attack because we're bringing an end to Barack Obama's reckless spending and spiraling debt. With deficits over $1.5 trillion and debt of $14-plus trillion, roughly the size of our entire economy, we can no longer "kick the can down the road."
It's time that our country make some tough choices. This is our moment of truth. It won't be easy, but we will never get our country back on track unless we confront this fiscal crisis head-on.
Many Republicans will be afraid do what's right, but this is no time to back down. We need leaders willing to stand on principle, regardless of the consequences.
I will always fight for what I know is right. That's what it means to be a serious leader. I'm not a career politician and I didn't expect to be in this position. I'm a businessman. I didn't run for U.S. Senate so I could toe the line. I ran because it's time for a leader who understands the fiscal and economic challenges facing us, knows how to make the tough decisions and has made those tough choices both in the private and public sectors.
Rhetoric is not the answer. Solutions that move our country forward are the answers we need.
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan this morning released his "Path to Prosperity" plan, which will cut $6.2 trillion from Obama's budget over the next 10 years. This plan takes on the issues that others deem too heated to discuss in Washington or confront on the campaign trail.
What will this plan do? First and foremost, it drastically reduces spending. It reforms welfare, including corporate welfare, and it ends "too big to fail" for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The tax code will be reformed by eliminating burdensome loopholes, while at the same time assuming top individual and corporate tax rates of 25%, which will boost job growth. Congressman Ryan doesn't back away from the so-called "third rail of politics," entitlement reform. He takes a sensible approach to getting spending under control while preserving Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security for all who rely on them, as well as future generations.
The Heritage Foundation estimates these reforms would cut unemployment to 4% by 2015 and raise the average family's income by $1,000 each year.
With any plan so bold, there are parts that we agree with more than others, and there are some elements that still need to be added. All these issues will be addressed, but right now, we need to welcome the Path to Prosperity for its visionary approach.
We need to show the big-spenders in Washington that we're serious about making the hard calls.
