America needs Paul Ryan

As Election Day approaches, the ideal strategy for Mitt Romney becomes increasingly clear: to be as un-Obama as possible.

Almost two-thirds of the country believes we are headed in the wrong direction, according to an Aug. 13 poll by RealClearPolitics.com.

Unfortunately for Romney, some of his most well-known actions as governor of Massachusetts are eerily similar to some of Barack Obama’s most famous policies, such as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
   
These similarities are one of the main reasons Romney has avoided talking about his past as governor.

Luckily, Romney and his campaign staff have noticed this and begun the un-Obama game plan. This was most recently shown by the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as Romney’s vice presidential candidate. Ryan is everything Obama isn’t.
What Ryan is, more than anything, is a budget guy, a number cruncher. This is what America needs.

Since President Obama took office, our national debt has increased by more than $4 trillion. In comparison, in President George W. Bush’s two terms combined, our debt rose $4.9 trillion.
 
Our country cannot sustain this level of spending. Our credit rating wavered for a reason. We have too much debt. Whether people like it or not, we must curtail our spending, which is Ryan’s expertise.

One of the most attractive aspects of Ryan’s plans is his proposition to give choices back to Americans. Obama, conversely, seems to force his choices, such as Obamacare, on his constituents. 

With Ryan’s revised Medicare plan, retiring Americans would have the choice to enroll in a government health care program or receive their care from private programs with vouchers.

Ryan also is a proponent of privatizing Social Security, which needs to be done.
Social Security has become a bottomless piggy bank for the federal government to dip into whenever  it pleases.

Privatizing Social Security would ensure participants would receive payment when they retire. It could also yield higher return rates and eliminate the government from dipping into the piggy bank.

Ryan plans to eliminate or restructure several safety nets, health care and tax
programs, all with the goal of a balanced budget and to decrease our national debt.
The Romney team has cast Ryan’s small government background and ideologies against Obama’s big government style, which seems like the best game plan for the
Republican Party.

Ryan brings more to the table than simply being un-Obama. Ryan brings the type of fiscal and budgetary discipline our government needs. 

Despite the ‘insignificance’ of the vice presidential office, it could only be beneficial to have someone like Ryan in the White House. 

Our country is almost $16 trillion in debt. If this doesn’t seem ridiculous to you, go to usdebtclock.org and watch our debt rise before your eyes.

With Ryan in his ear, hopefully Romney could begin to turn back time on our debt clock.

­—wfgryna@indiana.edu