Among the many problems with Paul Ryan's draconian budget plan is the idea that federal spending can and should be capped at 20 percent of GDP.
Let's start with why the "should" part is problematic. Like the president's budget commission, which called for capping spending at 21 percent of GDP, fiscal conservatives make the assumption that terrible things will happen if federal spending goes above some magic point. But where is the evidence that a few percentage points actually makes any difference at all when it comes to economic growth?
