Paul Ryan's Budget Is Worse Than Pink Slime

Never mind that it's "inconceivably cruel" to cut taxes for the rich and aid for the poor: Perhaps the biggest problem with Paul Ryan's latest budget is that it's "surely the most fraudulent budget in United States history," writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. It claims to reduce the deficit by closing tax loopholes to bring in trillions of dollars. But the truth is it doesn't close a single loophole.

Indeed, Ryan has "categorically ruled out" closing loopholes that currently work for the rich. A nonpartisan analyst calls it a "mystery meat budget," but in fact it's even worse: At least pink slime has some kind of "nutritional value. Mr. Ryan’s empty promises don’t." Instead, his plan is based on "totally implausible spending projections" and claims of a "secret plan to raise trillions of dollars in revenue," Krugman writes, noting that Mitt Romney has endorsed the plan. "This is what happens when extremists gain complete control of a party's discourse." Click through for Krugman's full column. (More Congress stories.)