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The good news for progressives, including Madisons Democratic congressman, Mark Pocan, is that the budget proposal authored by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis, has almost no chance of becoming law anytime soon.

Although the Ryan budget narrowly passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives last week, it does not have the support necessary to get through the Democratic Senate and President Barack Obama would not sign it even if it did.

The bad news for progressives is that their alternative budget proposal has about the same chance of seeing the president's desk.

But the Congressional Progressive Caucus, made up of 67 liberal Democrats and one independent (Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont), is promoting its vision for American economic recovery and deficit reduction nonetheless.

The differences between Ryans budget and the progressive alternative display many of the age-old left-right debates over what the government should prioritize. Ryan seeks to balance the budget by reducing spending on entitlements and other social programs, while progressives aim to cut defense spending and raise revenue by increasing taxes on capital gains and incomes above $250,000.

The two proposals also reflect fundamentally different beliefs about how to generate economic growth.

Ryan believes that trimming spending on social programs and cutting taxes on the American investment class will lead to heightened economic activity, which will generate greater tax revenue.

He argues in supply-side fashion that lowering tax rates and plugging loopholes will produce more income, not less, conservative economist and columnist Larry Kudlow noted approvingly in 2012.

In contrast, progressives believe that New Deal-style spending on programs that deliver dollars directly to low and middle-income Americans food stamps, hiring more teachers is a more effective way to jump-start the economy and will ultimately lead to a balanced budget down the road.

Laura Dresser, an economist at the liberal Center on Wisconsin Strategy, explained the progressive approach: When youre in a down cycle and there is a lack of jobs, you need demand in the system and the only place that can come from is the government.

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Comparing Paul Ryan's budget to the proposal from Mark Pocan's progressive caucus