John Hayward: Palin And The Ryan Roadmap

"People like Palin, Ryan, and Pence are the adults in the room"
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In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece today, Gov. Palin endorses the fiscal “road map” drawn up by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). Human Events' John Hayward opines that the backing of Ryan's carefully-constructed plan by one of the most popular figures in the conservative movement is an important development:

Palin judges the deficit commission’s report inadequate because it leaves three major financial tumors largely untreated: Social Security, ObamaCare, and our incredibly convoluted tax system. The commission would address Social Security by raising the retirement age, long after the point where the system would have become insolvent – and even at that, it would be making an already rotten deal for future retirees even worse. Ryan’s “Roadmap For America’s Future,” on the other hand, offers a program for younger workers to opt into a private retirement account, while preserving existing benefits for those 55 and older. There is, quite frankly, no other approach that will save the system.

[...]

On taxes, the Ryan plan would “replace our high and anticompetitive corporate income tax with a business consumption tax of just 8.5%. The overall tax burden would be limited to 19% of GDP (compared to 21% under the deficit commission's proposals).” From World War II to the 1970s, the government spent less than 20% of GDP. Our fiscal health went terminal when that limit was exceeded. There is a school of economic thought that suggests it’s essentially impossible for any government to indefinitely sustain spending beyond the 20% threshold, as the recessive effects of excessive taxation and spending cause the economy to begin deflating. I think we’ve gotten close enough to proving this theory to suspend the experiment.

Ryan’s plan also simplifies the tax system to two rates, 10% for single filers up to $50,000 or joint filers up to $100,000, and 25 percent for higher amounts, with a generous standard deduction. It eliminates double taxation on savings, investments, and estates, taxing only income. Aside from the health care credit, the rest of the complex maze of deductions, subsidies, and penalties that turn our current tax code into an instrument of social control are eliminated.


[...]

It’s important to see one of the most popular figures in the conservative movement throwing her weight behind a carefully thought-out set of proposals like Ryan’s. As Palin concedes, the Roadmap for America’s Future isn’t perfect, but it’s clearly not a bunch of cockamamie ideas Ryan tossed out in a beer-fueled rant after realizing he couldn’t handle Speaker Nancy Pelosi for one more instant. Ryan’s ideas are also consonant with a lot of interesting things Mike Pence has been saying lately.

The common liberal knock on the Tea Party movement in general, and Sarah Palin in particular, is that they have no ideas, only complaints and sound bites. Palin expresses her own concrete proposals on a regular basis, and now she’s signing on to the reinforced concrete of Paul Ryan’s comprehensive plan. As Americans watch the Democrats dissolve in a petulant meltdown over their own childish demands, economic fantasies, and utter irresponsibility, they would do well to learn that people like Palin, Ryan, and Pence are the adults in the room.

[More]

- JP

Sarah Palin: Why I Support the Ryan Roadmap

An op-ed by Gov. Palin which will appear in Saturday's Wall Street Journal
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The publication of the findings of the president's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform was indeed, as the report was titled, "A Moment of Truth." The report shows we're much closer to the budgetary breaking point than previously assumed. The Medicare Trust Fund will be insolvent by 2017. As early as 2025, federal revenue will barely be enough to pay for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and interest on our national debt. With spending structurally outpacing revenue, something clearly needs to be done to avert national bankruptcy.

The commission itself calculates that, even if all of its recommendations are implemented, the federal budget will continue to balloon—to an estimated $5 trillion in 2020, from an already unprecedented $3.5 trillion today. The commission makes only a limited effort to cut spending below the current trend set by the Obama administration.

Among the few areas of spending it does single out for cuts is defense—the one area where we shouldn't be cutting corners at a time of war. Worst of all, the commission's proposals institutionalize the current administration's new big spending commitments, including ObamaCare. Not only does it leave ObamaCare intact, but its proposals would lead to a public option being introduced by the backdoor, with the chairmen's report suggesting a second look at a government-run health-care program if costs continue to soar.

It also implicitly endorses the use of "death panel"-like rationing by way of the new Independent Payments Advisory Board—making bureaucrats, not medical professionals, the ultimate arbiters of what types of treatment will (and especially will not) be reimbursed under Medicare.

The commission's recommendations are a disappointment. That doesn't mean, though, that the commission's work was a wasted effort. For one thing, it has exposed the large and unsustainable deficits that the Obama administration has created through its reckless "spend now, tax later" policies. It also establishes a clear bipartisan consensus on the need to fundamentally reform our entitlement programs. We need a better plan to build on these conclusions with common-sense reforms to tackle our long-term funding crisis in a sustainable way.

In my view, a better plan is the Roadmap for America's Future produced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wisc.). The Roadmap offers a reliable path to long-term solvency for our entitlement programs, and it does so by encouraging personal responsibility and independence.

[More]

Congressman Ryan's Roadmap website is here.

- JP

Brett Arends: Is Sarah Palin Right About Inflation?

It's on its way
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Brett Arends, who writes the Wall Street Journal's ROI (for Return on Investment) column, admits that when it comes to inflation, Gov. Palin may be about to look quite perceptive:

The more interesting question is about Ms. Palin's broader point: whether inflation is on its way.

If the commodity markets are right, it sure looks like it.

[...]

Wheat prices are now surging... They've risen 36% over the past 12 months.

And there are similar patterns across other agricultural and related commodities.

Coffee has risen more than 60% in the past year. Sugar's up by more than a half. Corn: 43%. Lumber's risen by a third. Cattle: 17%. Oats: 37%. Pork bellies are up by a fourth.

"Prices across the board are surging to their highest levels since the 2008 price spike," says Alex Bos, commodities analyst at Macquarie Securities. "We have an extremely bullish cotton market, and extremely bullish corn market and an increasingly bullish soybean market."

[...]

Don Carson, analyst at Susquehanna Financial, notes that the U.S. may actually be running low on wheat. Inventories, in relation to consumption, are near record lows, he says. And Alan Knuckman, market analyst at Agora Financial, says it's ominous that prices are hitting highs around harvest time, when supplies should be at their greatest. "That's very unusual," he says.

Meanwhile -- as Ms. Palin said -- the U.S. policy of debasing the dollar is driving up commodity prices in dollar terms, as it is driving up prices for other "real" assets, including precious metals.

There is a long-running debate among economists about what really causes inflation: higher costs (so-called "cost push") or just too much money. But right now you don't really have to choose: We have both.

[More]

Which is precisely the more important point the first woman to become both Alaska's governor and the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate was trying to make: the Obama Administration cannot just continue to print paper money and borrow from China to cover its backside, while driving the dollar down. The end result of such recklessness is inflation - the wrecking ball that crushes economic recovery.

- JP

WSJ's Gigot: Sarah Palin 'leading the pack' on monetary policy

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The Wall Street Journal's Paul Gigot and James Freeman discuss Gov. Palin's "consistent message" on financial matters on "Opinion Journal Live." Gigot says the former Alaska governor "shows a very sophisticated understanding of monetary policy" and "she's leading the pack" of potential 2012 presidential contenders on the issue:


- JP

WSJ Book Review: Going Rogue

The book review of Sarah Palin's memoir by Melanie Kirkpatrick for the The Wall Street Journal seems to us to be, on the whole, a fair and balanced one. Ms. Kirkpatrick's main criticism of the book is that that the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee doesn't devote enough of her memoir to political issues. But with the subtitle An American Life, should anyone be surprised or disappointed that Going Rogue is more of a personal memoir than a political one? We recommend that policy wonks go to Sarah Palin's Facebook Notes page and read the posts there, most of which deal with the issues of the day. As for the issues that John McCain and Sarah Palin ran on in 2008, which Ms. Kirkpatrick laments aren't given much space this book, she should consult McCain, because they were his policy positions, and Sarah Palin didn't have much, if any, say in developing them.

On the positive side, Melanie Kirkpatrick commends Mrs. Palin for writing...

"...with sensitivity and affection about her gay college roommate, and she confesses her anguish when she found out that she was carrying a baby with Down syndrome. That experience, she says, helped her to understand why a woman might be tempted to have an abortion. This is not the prejudiced, dim-witted ideologue of the popular liberal imagination."

The reviewer also opines that the 2008 Republican VP candidate wasn't as harsh with the McCain campaign as she could have been:

If anything, she is too gentle on the staffers who kept her out of the loop and under wraps. She is certainly too gentle on the man at the top of the ticket who let them get away with it. She has hardly a critical word to say about John McCain, whose appearances in the book are surprisingly few.

The mistakes started on day one. The McCain communications team had not compiled the usual press-briefing guides, she writes, with the result that the national media had "zero information" on her or her record in Alaska. Moreover, her "family, friends, and political associates were under strict instructions not to talk to the media." She wasn't even allowed to speak to her home-state press, which was very friendly.

But those who have followed Alaska politics know that the amicable relationship between Sarah Palin and the press in her state quickly became an antagonistic one after election day 2008, and the national media, which had already savaged her, just got nastier in its treatment of this woman:

Mrs. Palin's veep candidacy ignited fury on the left and much skewed reporting in the mainstream media. It is probably too much to hope that a book that begins at the Right to Life booth at the Alaska State Fair will inspire her critics to read on. But if they do, they'll find themselves in the company of a woman whose views are more nuanced than they were portrayed to be during the campaign.

You can read the full Journal review of Going Rogue here.

- JP

Much More on Sarah Palin's Wall Street Journal Op-Ed

Moe Lane/RedState.com:

"The entire ‘death panels’ issue was one that the media kept worrying at and worrying at, and even the ones that deigned to admit that THAT WOMAN had an actual point were ever-so-disapproving at the way that Palin expressed it. The unapologetic and humorous (that’s important) way that the former governor referred back to it is refreshing."

Serr8d's Cutting Edge:

"Sarah Palin's timing is perfect. Another chip thrown in the gears of Obama's machine-operated political disaster. Just when we needed it."

Jeff Poor/NewsBusters.org:

"Palin, with a baby with Down Syndrome, does have real-life expertise dealing with the American health care system. And her position as governor of Alaska makes her qualified to give insight into the bureaucratization of any part of the public sector, despite Ambinder's calls to dismiss her as a serious voice in the health care debate."

Confederate Yankee:

"We have before us a leader with vision. And then we have the President."

Pundit & Pundette:

"As our fearless leader says every five minutes or so, let's be clear. Sarah Palin is that."

Another Black Conservative:

"If there is one single lesson that Obama and the Democrats should have learned by now, it is that it's in their best interest to ignore Palin. But like moths to a flame, they cannot help themselves. They will descend upon her Op-Ed with snark and insults, all the while inadvertently amplifying her message."

Dodo Can Spell:

"Boy, oh boy - this woman is delightfully devious. The MSM was totally off the mark when they labelled her 'empty-headed'. Moreover, looking at the writing, it is obvious her degree in journalism was well earned."

Ed Walsh/Podium Pundits:

"Governor Palin defuses the president’s “Their answer is do nothing” rhetoric by endorsing four concrete proposals – more concrete than anything President Obama has yet put forth."

Melissa Clouthier/Pajamas Media:

"It’s good. Cogent, clear, and well-written. She’s got a ghost-writer, say lib operatives. Let’s hope! Does Barack Obama write all his own stuff? Surely, libs jest. His college thesis can’t even be found. Why would anyone quibble that Sarah Palin would have a ghost writer? Probably because she makes sense."

Jay Anderson/Pro Ecclesia:

"Far from 'leaving the room' whenever health care is being discussed (as suggested by certain self-satisfied beltway elitists), the lady has taken her place at the at the head of the table. And when the lady at the head of the table speaks, people listen."

Jack Fowler/The Corner:

"By the way, she's not relenting on blasting "death panels" (and good for her)."

Michael Wolff/Newser:

"The message here is not that Sarah Palin is against the Obama health care legislation, but that she is a considerable force to be reckoned with."

Glenn Reynolds/Instapundit:

"So is this a step up from posting her thoughts on Facebook? Or a step down? The Facebook approach has been working pretty well..."

Hyscience:

"Of course Ambinder isn't the only pundit on the left (or right) to criticize Palin. But I can't help but see a lot of common sense in what she has to say and share her concerns."

Rick Moran/American Thinker Blog:

"Sarah Palin has a good op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today where she identifies the major problem with Obamacare; whatever congress comes up with will have to be implemented by thousands of regulations written by unelected bureaucrats."

Allahpundit/Hot Air:

"If I were a GOP bigwig, I would have finagled her an invite to the speech and seated her in the gallery as a visual reminder — preferably with this article in hand."

Update: Sarah Palin's op-ed is now the most viewed on the Wall Street Journal website.

- JP

More on Sarah Palin's Wall Street Journal Op-Ed

Hillbuzz:

"The federal government has no place in making end of life decisions for Americans. Sarah Palin is, yet again, right on the money."

Gary P. Jackson:

"During the 2008 election Sarah Palin warned over and over about the perils of electing Barack Obama. Her warnings went unheaded, and everything she warned us about is coming to pass. This time, listen to what Sarah Palin is saying, and stop this massive government intrusion in our lives before it is too late."

Wizbang:

"Just as she has done in the past regarding Obama's push for a government takeover of health care, she will drive the discussion with her latest article."

The Truth in Black and Right 

"I don’t know if she wrote this entirely on her own or not, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she did and it doesn’t bother me if she didn’t. Most politicians have writers (even “Teh One”), but that isn’t the point really... Unable to argue based on logic and policy the left always goes back to its standard approach of demonizing the opposition, insulting those who disagree, and disparaging any who oppose [them]."

Don Surber:

"10 years from now, I will retire at 66 and be signed up for Medicare. Why do I keep thinking Soylent Green?"

INC/RedState.com:

"Once again her timing reveals her as a point guard who has mastered when and where and how to move on the court. The common sense suggestions she mentions will resonate with Americans. She is driving the discussion. Obama’s speech now becomes a response to her editorial!"

antistrib:

"Liberal heads will now spin like the exorcist, then explode... What they will not do is address the substance of her points addressed in her WSJ piece."

The Lonely Conservative:

"The left will surely go ballistic over Sarah Palin’s latest op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal. Especially since she’s using common sense, something in short supply in Washington, DC these days."

Critical Narrative:

"This opinion piece probably reflects how a great deal of Americans feel, and the distrust that they have in the government-- not as an entity as the Left would have you believe, but in the federal government's efficiency and its ability to cost-control. Anyone that possesses even a little knowledge of history and bureaucracy knows the dubious history of the fed's track record in those departments."

Elkhart Review:

"The standard meme that this woman is an idiot needs to end, particularly in the face of this, in which Gov. Palin makes more sense than a hundred Nancy Pelosis. But then, for the left, it isn’t really about healthcare, is it?"

Pièce de résistance: Sen. Jim Demint:

"It's an excellent article. It actually focuses on some of the things introduced in the Health Care Freedom Plan... as common sense ideas to make the system work better, I'm glad to see her back in the fight."

A Just Dessert: Moe Lane tweets:

"Hi, Netroots. Sarah Palin is laughing at you for the way that you made her task easier."

- JP

Palin Targets Obama, Democrats on Health Care in WSJ Op-Ed

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece Tuesday, said that the approach to health care reform being pursued by President Obama and the Democrats is fatally flawed because it assumes that only government can solve the problem:

How can we ensure that those who need medical care receive it while also reducing health-care costs? The answers offered by Democrats in Washington all rest on one principle: that increased government involvement can solve the problem. I fundamentally disagree.

Common sense tells us that the government's attempts to solve large problems more often create new ones. Common sense also tells us that a top-down, one-size-fits-all plan will not improve the workings of a nationwide health-care system that accounts for one-sixth of our economy. And common sense tells us to be skeptical when President Obama promises that the Democrats' proposals "will provide more stability and security to every American."

With all due respect, Americans are used to this kind of sweeping promise from Washington. And we know from long experience that it's a promise Washington can't keep.

Instead of looking to government for answers, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate lists some viable, non-governmental alternatives to reform health care:

Instead of poll-driven "solutions," let's talk about real health-care reform: market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven. As the Cato Institute's Michael Cannon and others have argued, such policies include giving all individuals the same tax benefits received by those who get coverage through their employers; providing Medicare recipients with vouchers that allow them to purchase their own coverage; reforming tort laws to potentially save billions each year in wasteful spending; and changing costly state regulations to allow people to buy insurance across state lines. Rather than another top-down government plan, let's give Americans control over their own health care.

What Sarah Palin has done is to preempt President Obama’s health care speech by writing the rebuttal the day before Obama delivers it. Read Sarah Palin's op-ed unabridged here.

- JP

Media proves it doesn't understand Sarah Palin

An article by Jon Friedman on the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch is a parody of itself. Titled "Why Sarah Palin still befuddles the media," it demonstrates that Friedman and the "expert" he relies upon for commentary about Palin don't "get" the governor.

That "expert" is Melinda Henneberger, and Friedman's piece consists mostly of her comments. The editor-in-chief of Time Warner's PoliticsDaily.com, Henneberger logged 10 years at the New York Times, Newsweek and other leftist drive-by media outlets. That alone speaks volumes about how Henneberger doesn't have a surplus of clues about Sarah Palin or her supporters.

One particularly revealing Henneberger quote in Friedman's article:

"She started beating up on the press before they started beating up on her."

Anyone who has enough active memory cells to recall the events surrounding the 2008 Republican Convention will recognize this assertion by Henneberger as an outright lie.

Even before Gov. Palin delivered her acceptance speech, a group of Republican women had to hold a special briefing just to answer a flurry of attacks on the governor by the the drive-by media, Democrats and nutroots bloggers. The attacks began the moment news broke that John McCain would announce that Gov. Palin would be his running mate. The media assault took aim at Palin's family, especially her daughter Bistol, and the governor's ability to do her job while raising five children.

It was during her acceptance speech that Palin took her poke at the media, and by then she and her family had already been savaged by the drive-bys. Some major media outlets, CNN in particular, simply repeated, without question or investigation, unfounded allegations which had been posted on leftist websites.

Indeed, Rich Lowry on National Review Online wrote on September 2:

"A popular liberal talk-radio host calls her a 'bimbo,' a Washington Post columnist compares her to Caligula’s horse, and the left-wing blogosphere goes on a demented jag about how her fifth son, Trig, is really the son of her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol. The lunacy forced the Palins to issue a statement that Bristol is pregnant, setting off a feeding frenzy from the same press that went out of its way to protect the privacy of John Edwards."

This was the day before the acceptance speech, and the media assault on Sarah Palin was already ramped up.

So enough of drive-bys like Henneberger trying to justify her colleagues' attacks on the governor by whining, "She started it." She most certainly did not. This is just one illustration of why nothing the media says about Sarah Palin can be accepted at face value. Even in an article claiming to explain why the media doesn't understand Palin, the drive-bys have to resort to prevarication and distortion. 

- JP