U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) told a crowd at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee this week that a bipartisan approach is needed to fix the national debt, but he lamented the problem “has become weaponized politically.”
Ryan, speaking this week at a forum hosted by the Concord Coalition and the Wisconsin Fiscal Advisory Council, also criticized the Obama administration’s handling of the recession.
“You can’t tax your way out of this. If you try to, you will kill the economy,” said Ryan, who outlined the proposals in his “Roadmap For America’s Future.
Andy Stern, former president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), emphasized the importance of creating jobs that strengthen the middle class. Stern countered Ryan’s claims that taxes were the main issue, instead arguing the real problem lies in rising inequality.
Stern emphasized that education is key and that in the newly emerging global economy, “Team USA has no real plan.”
The Concord Coalition is a non-partisan group that seeks to educate the public in order to champion fiscal responsibility. The forum addressed a variety of topics, most prominently the projected skyrocketing of debt as the country’s population continues to age and health care costs rise.
– WisPolitics.com