Comparing budget plans

Budget plans from Congress. [Link]

Note that this is the second budget bill to come out of the House this year. The first was the infamous “Ryan plan,” crafted largely by Congressman Paul Ryan, and its merits — like this one — are highly debatable, and it was defeated in the Senate.

I don’t know too many details of either proposal, but I do know that they have one very sizable advantage over Democratic proposals:

They actually exist.

It’s worth noting — repeatedly — that over the last two years of the Democrats’ control of the House, they didn’t even bother to produce a budget bill. That’s one of the most fundamental duties of Congress, and they utterly abandoned it. Further, President Obama did put forth a budget proposal in May — and it was so “unserious” a plan (to coin a phrase) that it was defeated, 97-0.

No matter what one thinks of the Republicans’ proposals, one can at least look at them and discuss the merits and particulars thereof. At least the Republicans are putting forth something tangible, not vague numbers and promises — or, worse, the equivalent of yet another “blue-ribbon debt panel” like Obama set up previously, then promptly ignored their report when it told him things he didn’t like to hear.