New Yorker: on Technology

Paul Ryan: Within government limits are things like infrastructure

Next year, I-90 around [Ryan's hometown of] Janesville will begin expansion from 4 lanes to 8. The project, the top issue for the local business community, will be financed as part of a billion-dollar federal and state highway project. "Paul has been as helpful as he can be to encourage that development," said the head of Forward Janesville, "but he [dislikes] earmarks."

When I pointed out to Ryan that government spending programs were at the heart of his home town's recovery, he didn't disagree. "Of course we believe in government. We think government should do what it does really well, but that it has limits, and obviously within those limits are things like infrastructure & interstate highways." But Ryan's budget plan would drastically reduce the kinds of projects and research now helping Janesville.