Ryan Blasts Obama's Call To Hike Taxes On Wealthy

House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) released the following statement in response to President Obama’s proposal to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans, a measure Obama is attempting to use as a method to pay for a jobs bill he introduced last week:

“The President’s partisan speech and misguided proposals are disappointing, but not surprising.  Having overseen an unprecedented surge in government spending – from his failed stimulus law, to the creation of new trillion-dollar health entitlements, to double-digit percentage increases in the budgets of many federal agencies – the President has finally admitted that he plans to send the bill for Washington’s reckless spending straight to American businesses and families. A $1.6 trillion tax hike on job creators is never a good idea. But taking more money from private savers and investors, and giving it to the same government bureaucrats who brought us the Solyndra debacle, is an even worse idea – especially in a weak economy. 

“Unfortunately, none of the President’s proposals this year – from his February budget to his April budget speech, to his recommendations today – offers a credible plan to lift our crushing burden of debt while restoring economic growth. Instead of renewed prosperity, the President has offered us a plan for shared scarcity. The nation deserves better.”