TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Ross Douthat comments on Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget proposal:

It puts flesh on the bones of the standard-issue conservative pledge to limit government’s growth, and it does so not with evasive pledges on process (like the risible idea of a balanced budget amendment) or dishonest suggestions that the deficit can be erased by defunding N.P.R. and slashing foreign aid, but by attacking entitlement spending deeply and directly. George W. Bush touched the third rail of American politics with his Social Security gambit, and lived to regret it. With their proposal to transform Medicare from an open-ended entitlement to a system that provides support for seniors’ premiums, Ryan and the Republicans are reaching out and grabbing it with both hands.