????奧巴馬召開(kāi)冬季醫(yī)療保健峰會(huì)的前夜,，眾議員保羅?瑞安正在Talay Thai餐廳用餐,，這家樸實(shí)無(wú)華的餐廳用的是金屬椅子和膠合板桌子。在這個(gè)嚴(yán)寒的冬日晚上,，瑞安從他那狹窄的國(guó)會(huì)山辦公室漫步到Talay餐廳,，身上連件外套都沒(méi)穿——他說(shuō)：“我可是威斯康星人！”當(dāng)天晚上,，他將睡在辦公室里的一張簡(jiǎn)易小床上——他已經(jīng)這樣度過(guò)了很多夜晚,。

????考慮到他一邊啜飲著冰水，一邊感慨美國(guó)“正在夢(mèng)游般走向債務(wù)危機(jī)”,，對(duì)這樣一個(gè)政治家來(lái)說(shuō),，保持簡(jiǎn)樸確實(shí)很恰當(dāng)。瑞安對(duì)我說(shuō)：“不出幾年,，將會(huì)有一次政府債券拍賣(mài)失敗,，資本市場(chǎng)將陷入瘋狂，美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)（Fed）和財(cái)政部（Treasury）將緊急趕往國(guó)會(huì)山,，要求獲得巨額緊急援助,。奧巴馬醫(yī)保改革將使危機(jī)進(jìn)一步加深、來(lái)得更快,?！?/p>

????如今，共和黨人發(fā)出這種反對(duì)增加政府開(kāi)支的言論乃是司空見(jiàn)慣之事,。但有一點(diǎn)使得瑞安與眾不同,，他在眾議院任職的11年間一直致力于宣揚(yáng)自由市場(chǎng)理念，但其觀點(diǎn)獲得的關(guān)注并不多,。

????如今,，這位時(shí)年40的威斯康辛州簡(jiǎn)斯維爾人正成為共和黨在經(jīng)濟(jì)政策方面的權(quán)威人物，因?yàn)樗麨槿绾谓鉀Q赤字問(wèn)題制訂了詳實(shí)的路線圖,，而民主黨和共和黨都認(rèn)識(shí)到美國(guó)財(cái)政未來(lái)危機(jī)四伏,。（美國(guó)財(cái)政的未來(lái)到底有多黯淡？總統(tǒng)的2011年預(yù)算預(yù)測(cè),，2020年財(cái)政赤字將突破1萬(wàn)億美元,，相當(dāng)于國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值（GDP）的4.2%，這不可能維持下去——上述數(shù)字還是假定失業(yè)率較低且經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)速度不錯(cuò)的情況,。

????并不是只有共和黨人突然注意到瑞安對(duì)削減赤字與政府開(kāi)支的觀點(diǎn),。2010年早些時(shí)候共和黨議員們?cè)诎蜖柕哪瘯?huì)，瑞安在會(huì)上的亮相如今已經(jīng)廣為人知,，因?yàn)榫瓦B奧巴馬總統(tǒng)也將他單獨(dú)拿出來(lái)大做文章,。“那是我的40歲生日，我正在吃午餐,，6歲的兒子坐在我膝蓋上,，”瑞安驚奇地說(shuō)，“突然間總統(tǒng)開(kāi)始說(shuō)起我,，我大吃一驚,。”

????譯者：小宇

????On the eve of President Barack Obama's winter health-care summit, Rep. Paul Ryan is dining at Talay Thai, a no-frills restaurant with metal chairs and Formica tables. On this frigid evening, Ryan strolled coatless to Talay -- "I'm from Wisconsin!" he says -- from his cramped Capitol Hill office, where tonight, as on most nights, he'll sleep on a cot.

????Such frugality is fitting for a politician who, as he sips ice water, frets that America is "sleep-walking toward a debt crisis." Ryan tells me: "Within a few years a sale of government bonds will fail. The capital markets will go crazy, and the Fed and Treasury will run to Capitol Hill demanding a giant bailout. Adding Obamacare would make the crisis go deeper and arrive faster."

????It isn't unusual to hear such antispending rhetoric from Republicans these days. What makes Ryan a rarity is that he's been preaching cerebral free-market ideas during his 11 years in Congress, despite getting little attention for his views.

????Now the 40-year-old Janesville, Wis., native is emerging as the leading GOP voice on economic policy, thanks to his detailed blueprint for solving what both Democrats and Republicans agree is a perilous fiscal future. (How bad is America's financial picture? The President's budget for 2011 forecasts deficits running at more than $1 trillion, or an unsustainable 4.2% of GDP, in 2020 -- and that assumes low unemployment and decent growth of the economy.)

????Republicans aren't the only ones suddenly taking notice of Ryan's views on deficit reduction and government spending. During his now-famous appearance at the Republican congressional retreat in Baltimore earlier this year, the President singled out Ryan. "It was my 40th birthday, and I'm sitting at lunch with my 6-year-old son on my knee," marvels Ryan. "And the President starts talking about me. I was amazed!"