House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has a new video out promoting the tax reform side to the Path to Prosperity budget the House passed earlier this year. His explanation for why a simpler tax code is necessary for economic recovery is particularly compelling:
This criticism is not only true of our tax code, but of pretty much the entirety of President Obama’s agenda. Just look at the Solyndra hearings being held on Capitol Hill today. As the USA Today editorializes today, the federal government simply has no business acting as a venture capital fund. Neither should they by buying car companies, bailing out banks, or setting health care prices.
Every single item of President Barack Obama’s agenda empowers the Washington/lawyer/lobbyist economy over a free allocation of capital. Energy and manufacturing companies should be investing in scientists and engineers not lawyers and lobbyists. But when Washington becomes a center making profits, you can not blame firms for investing in the political system. Once industries become dependent on Washington subsidies, regulation, and tax breaks, no amount of campaign finance reform will ever stop firms from trying to influence Washington behavior.
