Simply stating that the Ryan plan is "stupid" is unconstructive.
Of course the Congress, including Boehner and Ryan, are directly at fault as well. However, the President is equally at fault. Let's not be naive and be actively hyper-partisan ourselves now by stating that only one of the parties involved, whether it is the President, Representatives, Senators, Democrats or Republicans/Tea Party is responsible for all/most of our nation's issues.
The GOP and right-wingers are not necessarily the only party responsible for the national debt with their reckless tax reduction and corporate subsidies for upper-wage earners and exorbitant military expenditures, the democrats are responsible for the frivolous spending on social welfare programs which consists of most of the federal budget,and expenditures on job creation which creates jobs like public works and infrastructure that do not bring more money into the country given that these jobs do not bring in assets from external sources. Stimulus money was largely spent on these types of programs, not on programs that would increase exports to imports and bolster the economy; it was essentially a MASSIVE pork-barrel omnibus bill that went toward agencies that seek more funding, expansion, power, and recognition at the expense of the electorate. (Much of this was supported by the President)
Actually, the underlying issue at hand is the increasing democratic institutions that have held the congressman and senators captive by the constituent vote. The average person cannot balance short-term interests of their own with the long-term interests of the nation. That is why the Framers originally made two houses, one by direct election, the House, and the other by indirect election by legislature, the Senate. This allowed for the Senate to be able to control the spending of the House while still enabling the public to be participants in government. Now, the Senate is elected via direct elections and it's purpose has been diminished.
Therefore, yes the Congressman and the system of congress is a HUGE part to why our economic policies have failed. However, the President has not done anything to address the systemic issues; he, like the congressman, plays the game of politics, wasting an already diffuse and corrupt congress' time and resources on issues like the gun legacy legislation that only exploited families of the Sandy Hook victims, and he further perpetuated the polarity between the Dems/Reps by placing ALL blame on the Republicans, rather than on both parties, and taking no blame himself for economic failings. Further, the President has endorsed Keynesian economics and has allowed for trillions upon trillions of dollars to be used as stimulus spending, yet the jobless rate and underemployment have skyrocketed since the policies have been enacted. There is no way that spending more and generating less revenue is a viable solution, he is simply appeasing the beneficiaries of social welfare programs, which I am one of, given that I am a college student. However, I would not need assistance, or significantly less assistance, if the government had passed balanced budgets as they had during the Clinton Administration.
Clinton, I wouldn't say he was a perfect President, but he was quite admirable in how he allowed for dialogue between the Congress (Republican-controlled) and the Executive Office (Democrat-controlled). Thus, there was less spending on entitlements and increased taxes from the Reagan tax cut-back era which was a vital part as to why the US observed a surplus during his second term. Dialogue and true policy evaluation is important, and Obama has failed to accomplish these relations.
Oops, I didn't intend to write a book :/
