I just got done listening to Congressman Paul Ryan talking about the impact of tax cuts and spending increases on the Federal budget deficit. His explanation was explanatory of why the Federal budget is such a mess.

Ryan was explaining to someone he referred to as “Judge” that additional spending needs to be offset by reduced spending elsewhere but tax cuts don’t need to be offset because they have no impact.

What Ryan does not appear to grasp is the fact spending increases and tax reductions have the same impact on the Federal deficit. The only way to reduce the Federal deficit is to generate more revenue than expenses. The reason the tax bill before Congress has such a high price tag is because it both increases spending and reduces revenues (taxes). This is math any high school student should be able to figure out.

The fact our Congressional representatives don’t understand basic math is a very disturbing problem.