The Ryan Pick

Last weekend, Mitt Romney announced his selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate.  The selection and announcement, shrouded in secrecy, was a great display of the Romney campaign's attention to detail, which is hopefully a preview of what a Romney presidency might look like.  The process included a walk through the woods, a couple drives to Chicago and air travel that went completely undetected by the media, all in an effort to make sure everything went completely as planned.

The inevitable question is whether he was the best pick.  While he was not the best, generally, he was certainly the best of those being considered for many reasons:

• He has a budget plan, that is detailed, addresses entitlements and reforms the tax code.  It is not enough, but it is much better than anything else that has come out of politicians, lately.

• On those entitlements, the Ryan-Wyden plan is the farthest any proposal has gone in correcting the destructive Medicare program.  While complete elimination at the federal level would be better, it is a step in the right direction.  The use of a sort of market driven competition will likely see costs stabilize, but Medicare will still be a huge burden.

• Paul Ryan has made the anti-Obamacare argument better than anyone has.  He has studied the numbers in great detail, and understands the impact it will have on the economy and our destructive and dangerous level of national debt.

• His tax plan, while, again, not ideal, brings the incentives of tax code closer to being in line with the goals of greatest economic growth and stability.  A consumption tax would be better, but cutting taxes on business, investment and work will surely incentivize all three. 

• He has the charisma to debate these issues in a way that gets the points across in a concisely and effectively.

• On a more philosophical note, he has, since college, been a follower of many Austrian School economists such as FA Hayek and Ludwig von Mises, along with being a supporter of Ayn Rand.  It is becoming increasingly clear that an understanding of Austrian economics will be necessary to correct the economic situation in which America currently finds itself.

From policy to philosophy, Paul Ryan is clearly the best pick, among the commonly discussed contenders, in regards to the proper way to correct our economy and fix our bloated government.  Whether he was a good political choice, remains to be seen.