Ryan: Obama’s Budget Suffocates Economic Growth

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan defended Mitt Romney’s tenure at private-equity firm Bain Capital while accusing President Obama of “gambling with taxpayer money” on alternative-energy company Solyndra.

Ryan, appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” said Bain Capital invested private money to help restructure businesses, not public dollars.

“We don’t think the government should be in the position of picking winners and losers in the economy, which is the result of the president’s economics,” he said.

Obama’s tactics amount to “crony capitalism” and “corporate welfare” and are suffocating economic growth, he said.

On the topic of the budget, the Wisconsin Republican said his party’s plan will increase revenues by plugging tax loopholes and will attack the debt crisis by reforming Medicare and Social Security.

“The kind of budget that Mitt Romney’s talking about is one to prevent a debt crisis, save Medicare and Social Security from going bankrupt,” Ryan said. “Unfortunately, the president’s budget does none of that.”

He said Obama’s budget would result in a 76-percent increase in the debt.

“If we just did nothing, the debt would go up 78 percent,” he said. “This is not leadership. It’s economic stagnation. The president has punted. We’re going to lead.”