A Politician Named Ryan

After much pondering, Romney has selected his running mate in the presidential race. His vice presidential candidate is a Republican congressman named Paul Ryan. For the vast majority of Spaniards, the name Ryan means nothing, except that it reminds one of the title of a famous war movie or the name of the American-Irish gentleman who stirred things up for poor Farrah Fawcett. Nevertheless, for Americans, Paul Ryan is very well-known because he chairs the Congressional Budget Committee and because he has proven to be a true bulldog, sinking his teeth into the economic shins of the incumbent, President Obama. Indeed, this is the Paul Ryan’s great strength — and his great weakness. Although the Republican vice presidential candidate is a man of ideas that in Spain are qualified as conservative — against abortion and same-sex marriage — but which in the U.S. are majority opinions, the key to his appointment has been above all to maintain a tight position of economic liberalism. In fact, in Spain his positions would not manage to be endorsed by Esperanza Aguierre and Jimenez Losantos combined. The book Ryan keeps by his bedside is Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged,” and he often gives it to people as a handbook for political life. In other words, although Ryan is a Catholic, professional Spanish Catholics would throw him into the flames of hell because he is still farther away from the Vatican’s social doctrine than a socialist, and this is the key. The majority of Americans are sick of paying taxes to a government that they consider elephantine. One might object that this is also a Spanish trend and that more and more taxes are being paid in Spain, but for the people of Nebraska, Florida or Illinois, what is happening in Spain doesn’t make any difference, unless it is also happening to them. Of course, they don’t want to pay so many taxes, but they want cuts to affect politicians and not programs like Medicare, a medical service for adults over 60 that covers millions of people. This is where Ryan can cause a lot of damage to the Republican Party because his plans are going for cuts to Medicare, while at the same time defending tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which reminds one of Felipe Gonzalez’ famous SICAV — variable capital investment company — created so that the rich hardly pay any taxes.* If Romney continues moderating Ryan’s dialogue and saves the sick and the elderly from Ryan’s budget cuts, he might have a chance at winning. If, on the other hand, Ryan continues to preach about how he is going to scalp the U.S. health care system, Obama will enjoy a second term.

*Translator’s note: In Spanish, SICAV stands for sociedad de inversión de capital variable. The reference to SICAVs in the article is because in Spain, SICAVs enjoy significant tax benefits, paying only about 1 percent in corporate income tax if they fulfill the requirements.