Ryan Avent (2011): Best Budget Ever

Must-Read: Alice Rivlin described how she, in the first Obama administration, successfully negotiated with Paul Ryan, a serious person interested in honest estimates of how policies would work. I remember it very differently. Worth flagging for everybody thinking of taking Ryan’s policy competence or Ryan-endorsed estimates seriously:

Ryan Avent (2011): Best Budget Ever: “PAUL RYAN has officially revealed the House Republicans’ budget proposal…

…Whatever your take on the policy proposals, it’s worth approaching the rosy claims made on its behalf with extreme caution…. Heritage analysis… [is] simply outlandish…. Ryan’s plan will bring the unemployment rate down to… 2.8% in 2021…. That’s unrealistic enough to be considered somewhat bizarre. Everyone puts a positive spin on their policy proposals. But fundamentally worthy policies shouldn’t need to promise laughably overoptimistic outcomes to win support…