Ryan, Paul Davis

Paul Davis Ryan, 1972–, U.S. politician, b. Janesville, Wis., grad. Miami Univ. (B.S. 1992). A politically active, conservative Republican, he was influenced by the economic theories of Hayek and Friedman and the political philosophy of Ayn Rand. In 1998 he first won election as a U.S. representative from Wisconsin. A member of the House Budget Committee, he became its ranking Republican in 2007 and chairman in 2011. Ryan has advocated reducing government spending, privatizing Social Security, replacing Medicare with a voucher program, turning Medicaid into block grants to states, repealing President Obama's health-care legislation, and lowering income-tax rates. A favorite of Tea Party Republicans, he was chosen by Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, as his running mate; the two lost to the incumbents, Obama and Biden, in the general election.

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Publication information: Article title: Ryan, Paul Davis. Encyclopedia title: The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. © 2012 The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. Used with the permission of Columbia University Press. All Rights Reserved. Publisher: The Columbia University Press. Place of publication: Not available. Publication year: 2013.

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