The debates are beginning on the deficit reduction and tax plans. It is important if not critical that we pay attention because that is going to shape the direction of the Endgame. This is a critique of the Ryan Plan by conservative Bruce Bartlett. It is short but if gives you an idea for what is coming. I think it is the beginning of a negotiation that will hopefully end up with a revised tax code and a rational budget. Bartlett reviews the tax side of Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, which was released to much fanfare on April 5. He finds the plan has insufficient detail to allow a thorough analysis and has many unsupported assumptions that are unlikely to be true, which may explain why Ryan bypassed the Joint Committee on Taxation in getting his proposal scored. Ryan turned instead to the conservative Heritage Foundation, which, according to Bartlett, used dubious methods to conclude that the plan would have extraordinary economical effects.