Is Paul Ryan serious...

...when he says he wants to “expand opportunity,” “strengthen the safety net,” move toward “patient-centered health care reform” and “end cronyism” in the financial sector?

Jared Bernstein is dubious. From his piece in Politico (my emphasis):

If Paul Ryan actually had the courage of his convictions, he would call his budget what it is: a radical evisceration of the safety net. He would tell the American people: “Look, we can’t afford the health coverage, social insurance and protection from recessions that you say you want, at least not without asking you for more tax revenues, which I’m not going to do. We can’t afford to invest in human capital, from pre-school to college, ensuring basic nutrition for the poor, medical research or infrastructure. We cannot afford to arm regulators against financial volatility, bubbles and the subsequent market failures they cause.”

“We need to leave all of that up to the dynamic private sector and to the gumption of the poor themselves. Here’s the budget that makes all those cuts. Good luck.”