Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., released a much-anticipated poverty reduction plan today.
Given the heated criticism leveled at the Wisconsin congressman's previous budget plans, which advocated for cuts to government programs intended to address poverty, it should come as no surprise that his new report already has the political blogosphere buzzing.
What will the political ramifications be? Or, perhaps better put, what should they be?
Over at Vox, Ezra Klein weighs in:
"There will be charges of hypocrisy against Ryan's plan, and they're merited," Klein writes. "His poverty plan and his budget cannot coexist in the same universe at the same time. Conservatives who spent the last few years cheering Ryan's budget and are now cheering his poverty policies need to ask themselves some hard questions.
"But more important than the contradictions in Ryan's plans is their progression: Ryan is refocusing himself and, perhaps, the Republican Party on reducing poverty by making the government's anti-poverty programs work better: that's a project that's both more important for the country and more amenable to compromise. Democrats should welcome it."
