At what is now the explicit Romney-Ryan target of 4% annual growth, deficit reduction and fiscal stability would be achievable, and with much less pain and suffering. When I recently asked Mr. Ryan whether 4% growth was reasonable, he responded: "It should be easy. Under Reagan we had growth rates of 7% and even 8%."
Reagan's Presidency had a single year of growth in that range -- 1984, after a brutal double-dip recession. Only Bill Clinton's years achieved the kind of growth that Ryan wants without a plunge at the start (Reagan) and/or the end (Bush).