File under: They'll Give A Nobel In Economics To Anyone like, you know, Paul Krugman:

Democracy and Power 103: Government MoneyIn general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one part of the citizens to give to the other. —Voltaire (1764)

A skilled poker player as they say, never shows his cards. Republicans seemingly haven't heard such advice.  With 'fiscal cliff' negotiations taking place in the media of late, they are proving to be poor poker players, poor negotiators, and all-too-willing to fold.  

Looking for information on Paul Ryan's budget plans and the "Ryan Roadmap?" Look no further. 

Democracy and Power 106:  A politician receives no financial gain for good policy or punishment for bad policy.It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. – Thomas Sowell

Click to listen! Yesterday, the House passed Paul Ryan's ten-year budget plan on mostly party lines while rejecting President Obama's budget unanimously. In my audio update this morning, I discuss the votes and give a brief look at the state of the national budget debate.

The House GOP budget proposal for the coming decade (2013-2022), released yesterday, is a mixture of boldness and caution, principle and compromise. Resembling and building on last year's House-passed "Ryan budget," the Path to Prosperity version 2.0 reads very much like a preview of a Romney Administration budget version 1.0. While not nearly as bold and principled as these debt-drenched times require, it would still be a major improvement over the status quo, and much better than what President Obama and congressional Democrats envision, namely, ever-bigger government.