Former House Speaker Paul Ryan blasted the current state of American politics, arguing both parties have abandoned fiscal responsibility in favor of populism.
Ryan made his remarks Thursday during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” where he minced no words about Washington’s failure to address the national debt.
“Our politics are just fundamentally unserious right now, and they used to be better,” Ryan said during the televised interview.
Ryan, who chaired the House Budget Committee before ascending to the speakership, has long been one of Washington’s most vocal advocates for deficit reduction and entitlement reform.
He argued that the political environment has shifted dramatically, with lawmakers now unwilling to take on difficult votes that their predecessors once accepted as part of governing.
“The Overton window in our politics is open for all these crazy ideas but closed for things like debt reduction,” he said, capturing his frustration with the current political climate.
Ryan pointed to his own record as budget chair, noting that fiscally conservative legislation once passed without costing members their seats in Congress.
“When I was budget chair — in the early 2000s, in the ’10s — I passed four budgets that paid off the debt, that balanced the budget, that reformed Medicare and Medicaid, and all of these things. And no one lost their seats over those votes,” Ryan argued.
Co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin pressed Ryan on whether he was surprised the debt issue had not gained more political traction, to which Ryan replied simply, “I am surprised.”
Ryan identified rising interest rates and surging debt-servicing costs as compounding the underlying fiscal problem facing the country today.
“The real problem,” he said, “is you have terrible politics right now. We have unserious politics, incapable of dealing with the drivers of our debt, which is basically our entitlement programs going bankrupt.”
Ryan did not spare his own party from criticism, directing pointed remarks at the populist direction Republicans have taken in recent years.
“I think the real reason we are here is that we have this populist running our party right now who is against doing anything important and that’s principled, in my opinion,” he said.
Ryan expressed deep skepticism that Congress would act proactively, suggesting a fiscal commission may be the only realistic path forward in the near term.
“I don’t see Congress anytime soon doing what is necessary to avert a debt crisis. The only alternative I think today you have is possibly a commission,” he said.
Ryan outlined three prescriptions for strengthening the economy: reforming immigration law to address labor supply shortages, establishing a pro-growth tax system, and using resulting revenues to bring entitlement spending under control before a crisis forces the issue.
