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Ryan has denounced the 2009 Recovery Act signed by President Obama as “a wasteful spending spree” and “failed neo-Keynesian experiment,” and – as The Huffington Post pointed out this morning — dismissed as “sugar-high economics” the idea that government spending, through measures like payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits, can help shore up a faltering economy.
But in 2002, when then-President Bush was seeking a roughly $120 billion package of tax cuts, tax incentives for business and unemployment benefits to jump-start the economy, Ryan offered a vigorous defense of the plan. “What we’re trying to accomplish today with the passage of this third stimulus package is to create jobs and help the unemployed,” Ryan said in video that aired today on Up w/ Chris Hayes. The remarks came during a House debate on the measure on Feb. 14, 2002.
Ryan’s comments reveal a strikingly different economic analysis than the one he has become known for in recent years as the “intellectual leader” of the Republican Party and, now, Mitt Romney’s running mate. In 2002, Ryan argued that unemployment would remain at elevated levels even after the economy began to recover, and that aggressive stimulus would be a necessary and effective antidote.
“What we’re trying to accomplish here is the recognition of the fact that in recessions, unemployment lags on well after a recovery has taken place,” Ryan said at the time. “We have a lot of laid-off workers, and more layoffs are occurring. And we know, as a historical fact, that even if our economy begins to slowly recover, unemployment is going to linger on and on well after that recovery takes place.”
My favorite part is that he’s arguing forcefully for a third stimulus. And in case you are too young or have memory problems, here is the unemployment rate that Ryan was so concerned about in February of 2002:
The unemployment rate for the month of January 2002 was 5.6 percent, a decrease of .2 percent from December. Even though the unemployment rate decreased, the number of individuals employed decreased by 89,000.
In contrast to the time when Ryan was compelled to make a passionate defense of Keynesianism, the unemployment rate had already shot up to 7.7%when Obama took office and has not been below 8% since.
I think Ryan’s a true believer, but he’s spent many years proving his partisan bona fides. He’s shown a remarkable amount of philosophical flexibility when it’s necessary to kiss the GOP leadership’s rings. No wonder Romney loves him.
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