Tag: Rep. Paul Ryan

It’s Time for Infrastructure, Not for Corporate Tax Hikes

By Bryan Williams

So what is a Republican not to like about infrastructure? You know, spending our tax-payer dollars on things that benefit all of us instead of, say, the harder-to-see societal gains that $2 billion a year in aid to Israel or the $6 million each for an anti-radiation guided missile attached to an Air Force bomber brings. As with previous fits and starts to infrastructure bills, this one seems no different. The center column tells of Trump’s own infrastructure plan that would have cost nearly as much as Biden’s. It has been touted for years now – at least the past three to four election cycles – that “infrastructure should be the one thing both parties can agree on.”  And yet … here we are in 2021 still trying to get it done.

I see this latest effort as kind of ho-hum. This country has sustained three rounds of massively expensive COVID-19 stimulus bills, each in the trillions – with a t—of dollars, and the fiscal sky has not fallen. And yeah, I used to be right with (former) Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI, and other fiscal hawks who said our children will end up paying for our profligacy. I remember hearing that in the ‘90s when I was a kid. Sure the national debt has gone up a lot, but the United States is still considered the most powerful nation in the world. We have the most advanced, most powerful military, and we just landed our fourth rover on another planet, this time with a miniature helicopter on board to fly around Mars. So yeah, the argument that all this debt will hamstring our society rings a little hollow.

The one thing that grinds my gears are the taxes Biden wants to raise on corporations after three short years of the new, low rate that has finally made America competitive with the rest of the world. Businesses like stability, right? Why raise their taxes when they are just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel after a year of pandemic shutdowns? Seems like a bad idea to raise taxes on the companies that will be hiring all of us back.

And why does it all have to be in one massive omnibus bill? Haven’t we all become tired of these huge tomes that become “law?”  Remember the words, “We have to pass it to find out what’s in it [because it’s too big to read],” when the Affordable Care Act was being negotiated? Reminds me of Michael Scott (Steve Carell) from The Office. When asked if he ever read Lee Iacocca’s book, “Talking Straight,” he answered, “Read it? I own it! But no, I have not read it.”  Let’s break this bill up into its constituent parts so the general public, as well as congressmembers and their staff have time to read all its components, and even understand it. One bill for roads, one bill for broadband, etc. This may slow down the process, but hey, we’ve waited this long, right?

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Spending Trillions in Dire Times

By Bryan Williams

A trillion here, a trillion there...pretty soon you're talking real money! Last year during the debate about the CARES Act, being the Republican that I am, I was taken aback at the sheer size of it. Congress and the Trump Administration were talking trillions of dollars. Woah.

I remembered just eight years ago (my mind is boggled realizing it's been that long) Representative Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was cautioning about our debt bomb and entitlement reform and how it was almost too late to do anything about it. The CARES Act, stimulus part II, and now TARP will conflate the national debt way past anything Paul Ryan dreamed of.

And yet ... we are in dire straits. I am relatively amazed at how well our economy has weathered the COVID pandemic from an economic standpoint, and from what I've read, weathered it better than most other countries. Is it because of the massive federal stimulus plans? Maybe Keynes was right?

What is a fiscal conservative to do? Are we to fight these stimulus plans, or see that they are necessary during this pandemic year? Isn't this what government should be doing? Ensuring folks are safe and able to get by when something happens through no fault of their own?

If I were a congressman or senator, I believe I would vote for the stimulus bill. I've seen too many restaurants and other businesses in my city closed up and people desperate. But I think I would also ask for strict accountability and audits after the fact to make sure these trillions are spent judiciously and legally.

The U.S. is still the world's number-one economy despite some of its competitors taking unfair advantage (that's you, China), as a global pandemic, and societal strife have done their best to bring it down. Paul Ryan was right. We do need to keep a watchful eye on our debt. But as my grandfather has half-jokingly always told me, "It's only money." I vote to stimulate.

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