VIDEO: Rep. Paul Ryan Addresses the Debt Crisis

Todd Thurman / May 17, 2011

In a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago yesterday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) laid out his “Path to Prosperity” 2012 budget proposal. Ryan also discussed how the U.S. government reached its big-spending tipping point:

By the end of the decade, we will be spending 20 percent of our tax revenue simply paying interest on the debt – and that’s according to optimistic projections. If ratings agencies such as S&P move from downgrading our outlook to downgrading our credit, then interest rates will rise even higher, and debt service will cost trillions more.

This course is not sustainable. That isn’t an opinion; it’s a mathematical certainty. If we continue down our current path, we are walking right into the most preventable crisis in our nation’s history. (more…)