Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has picked Paul Ryan as his running mate in the upcoming presidential election. Ryan is a congressman from Wisconsin who appears to be very friendly with potential voters and the press.

But what do we really know about this man running for the second chair in our government?

He says he works to bring more discipline and accountability to the federal government, striving to fix current tax policies, social security issues, health care and international trading.

With hopes of putting the country back on balance and the economy on the road to prosperity, we have to ask ourselves can and will he be able to achieve what appears to be some impossible goals?

To achieve them, he will start with a policy called “Ryanomics” which promises big tax breaks for some of our country's top corporations, not to mention a new Medicaid plan that will save approximately $800 billion in the next decade if Romney and he make it into office. They're also promising reduced aid to college students.

While these proposals may seem nice on the surface, they are also significantly flawed. His actual policy will have spending cuts at $1.7 trillion and tax cuts at $4.3 trillion; some estimates indicate our  country's deficit would increase by $2.6 trillion causing an even larger rift in our already unstable economy.

For Ryan to be considered an expert in federal budgeting, he sure does have a funny way of getting us into even more debt than we’re already in. Who cares? He’s just the VP, the No. 2 man, right? His policies will just get overlooked, right?

Wrong!

He might have an even closer relationship to the president than the president’s own wife. So, I wouldn’t assume he’s just there to fill a seat, if needed.

Not many really recognize the roles the vice president plays, but those duties are important and may be relevant to you. Vice presidents have the power to tie-break the senate if legislators are at a 50-50 deadlock. He or she has the power to decide whether that healthcare bill that could help your 65-year old grandmother gets passed or not.

This job is classified as The Presiding Officer of the Senate. The presiding officer also has to count the electoral votes in the election as well as announce his or her own defeat if they were to lose. An example of this would be the 2000 election when Al Gore had to do this exact thing as he lost the election to George W.Bush despite winning the popular vote.

 And yes, vice presidents do get the presidency if the president should resign or becomes disabled to the extent to where he can no longer complete his duties as president.

As far as the vice presidential race goes, current Vice President Joe Biden and Ryan are on two completely different sides of the political spectrum. Biden is older than Ryan by three decades and held a senate seat for over 35 years, and they do not agree on which direction the government should go.

Biden and Ryan both play key roles in the White House race by criticizing the presidential opponent and adding credibility in complicated policy debates.

Both have their strengths and weaknesses, but each plays his fair share in lending a helping hand in the political race. Biden is well-acquainted with foreign policy and Ryan knows the ins and outs of federal budgeting.

So, really think about who would you cast your vote for in the upcoming election to be vice president for the next four years?