Ryan expects the % of GDP paid in taxes to remain steady while not increase in taxation for the rich, and cutting down on the middle class by reducing the size of government. The current trend is towards putting more of the income and wealth in fewer hands. That makes Ryan's plan unrealistic.

You want to cut the deficit, cut government, but also bring back the estate tax. Attack both expenditures and revenue. The current trend is for larger government entities to pass the expenses of government onto smaller ones. The federal government want to cut its budget, so it cuts down on federal money going to the states (in the form of aid, but more importantly, in the form medicare and medicaid reimbursements, in the form of cutting needed services so that the states have to provide them). The states cut down on aid to counties and municipalities (in the form of state aid, but also in the form of services that were offered by the state, but now have to be offered by municipalities). For my state (which traditional gets 60-70 cents back on the dollar from our federal income taxes), the only source of revenue for most municipalities is residential property tax. Our cities have large tracts of land owned by other governmental entities, religious organizations, and other non-profits that do not pay property tax (more half of the property in Newark, a city in my area, is owned by entities that do not pay property tax). Municipalities are forced to lay off their police, firemen, and other employees, and are no longer able to perform the services (including unfunded federal and state mandates, meaning a loss of what ever outside funding was available).