Paul Ryan, Statesman  Photo: Congressman Paul Ryan  In
yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Congressman Paul Ryan made the
case for a compromise to end the government shutdown, address
the approaching debt limit, and start down the path to long-term
fiscal sanity. Our government may be in the midst of a crisis,
but Ryan also sees opportunity—there is something to be gained
for both Republicans and Democrats. Today, the Washington Post
ran an approving editorial of their own, adding to the growing
momentum behind Ryan’s proposal.  To understand what Ryan is
proposing, and why it might work, it helps to recall how we got
here: the Budget Control Act of 2011 gave us what is now known
as The Sequester—automatic, across-the-board cuts to
discretionary spending (including defense) designed to be
politically unacceptable to both Republicans and Democrats. No
lasting budget deal was reached, and in March of this year,
budget sequestration kicked in. The political take-away is this:
even before the federal government bega