As 2016 approaches, some hope Rep. Paul Ryan — the GOP’s veep nominee last time around — will run for president. We’d be happy if he’d run for mayor of New York.
No one in politics today better appreciates the promise of upward mobility at the heart of the American Dream.
On Thursday, Ryan released a reform package that aims to make these dreams a reality for more Americans. And in the process, change the sad dynamic in which costly government programs so often harm the people they are meant to help.
Ryan admits he doesn’t have all the answers. But he notes that each year the federal government spends nearly $800 billon on 92 programs to help struggling families. Meanwhile, the US poverty rate has risen to the highest it’s been in a generation.
His approach: Give states more freedom and incentive to innovate, reward work, strengthen families and make sure some government agency isn’t the sole provider of vital services.
Above all, Ryan insists government programs must be measured by their results — not by good intentions or the amount of dollars thrown at a problem.
We could use this thinking in New York. Our mayor, for example, is a guy who thinks the Sandinistas have something to teach us about health care.
No wonder almost all his “solutions” — from higher minimum wages to more government housing — are mostly retreads from LBJ’s failed Great Society.
For years, Democrats have accused Republicans of not caring about the poor. Ryan can’t be dismissed so cheaply. Since the 2012 election, he’s been going into poor communities, spending time with local leaders, visiting homeless shelters, meeting former prisoners — all to see for himself what works and what doesn’t.
Now he’s advanced a serious reform package aimed at making government more accountable and helping our least advantaged ascend the ladder of opportunity. And it’s kicked off a national debate.
How long must we wait for some Republican to bring this debate back to New York City?