Paul Ryan, Snake-Oil Salesman
Congressman Paul Ryan gave the Republican response to the President's weekly address this weekend and I don't have much to add that our own Nicole Belle didn't already mention at C&L in her post on his Sunday show appearance on Meet the Press, but the Republican Party apparently wants us to take his budget proposal seriously enough that he was chosen to be their voice to respond to the President this week.
So here we go with the same old "up is down, tax cuts create jobs, let's destroy our social safety nets in order to save them and let's send the have-mores some more money because god knows they all aren't doing well enough already" business. Oh yeah -- and the country is supposedly broke, unless you look at the hordes of cash the upper 1 percent are holding onto and not being taxed on. Ryan wants us all to be scared to death about this "crushing debt" we're facing, but it's funny he didn't seem to have those same concerns when Bush was breaking the bank.
Transcript via the LA Times:
Hello. I’m Congressman Paul Ryan from Janesville, Wisconsin – and Chairman here at the House Budget Committee. It’s no secret our government has a spending problem –- and the problem has gotten so bad it’s threatening our future and hurting our nation’s ability to create jobs.
Republicans made a pledge that we would work to change this if given the opportunity to lead. Since January, we’ve been urging President Obama to listen to the people and work with us to reduce spending. The president started this year by proposing a freeze that would make no cuts at all.
But now bipartisan legislation is in sight to enact the largest spending cut in American history.
This is good news for job creators in America –- but much more has to be done to put....
... our nation on a true path to prosperity. Earlier this week, the House Budget Committee advanced a new budget for the United States government that will move the debate in Washington from billions in spending cuts to trillions.We did so because it is unconscionable to leave the next generation with a crushing burden of debt and a nation in decline. Washington’s obsession with the next election has come at the expense of the next generation.
We are calling this budget The Path to Prosperity, because it is more than just a budget.
It is a commitment to honor the American legacy of leaving the next generation a more prosperous nation than the one we inherited.
More prosperous -- but only for that 1 percent.
By removing the anchor of debt that weighs down our economy and advancing pro-growth tax reforms, this budget is a jobs budget. It sends signals to investors, entrepreneurs, and job creators that a brighter future is still possible – a future in which America is still an engine of growth that leads the world.
Right now, that legacy is in grave danger. This nation is going deeper and deeper into debt -– and the spending choices we make today will determine the kind of lives our children enjoy tomorrow.
The facts are these: Washington has not been telling you the truth about the magnitude of the problems we are facing.
Unless we act soon, government spending on health and retirement programs will crowd out spending on everything else, including national security. It will literally take every cent of every federal tax dollar just to pay for these programs.
The non-partisan experts have been clear about what this means:
Each day that Congress fails to act, the government takes one step closer to breaking its promises to current retirees.
Each year that policymakers kick this can down the road means trillions of dollars in empty promises are being made to future generations.
If we stay on the current path, we are heading toward a debt-fueled economic crisis –- meaning massive tax increases, sudden cuts to vital programs, runaway inflation, or all three.
Make no mistake: The prospect of a crisis is casting a shadow on economic activity in this country. Uncertainty is keeping job creators from hiring as fast as they should be. Businesses know that all this borrowing and spending today means higher taxes and lower incomes for their customers down the road.
Economists agree: Advancing a credible solution to this crisis will begin to restore confidence and create better conditions for job-creation immediately.
The President’s recent budget proposal is worse than just a commitment to this status quo. It would actually accelerate this country’s descent into a debt crisis. It would double the debt held by the public by the end of his term, and triple it in a decade from now.
It would raise taxes by $1.5 trillion, even though the problem is that Washington spends too much, not that Americans are taxed too little.
It would permanently enlarge the size of government by sending government spending as a share of the economy skyrocketing to levels that a healthy economy simply cannot sustain. And it offers no real reforms to save government health and retirement programs, and no leadership.
Our budget is very different: Instead of locking in the spending spree of the last two years, our budget cuts $6.2 trillion in spending from the President’s budget over the next ten years.
This keeps government spending as a share of the economy consistent with the historical average of 20 percent, so that individuals and the economy can be free.
Instead of letting deficits spiral out of control, our budget keeps borrowing in check and puts us on the path to balance.
Instead of adding $13 trillion to the debt over the next decade and trillions more in the years to come, this Path to Prosperity lifts this crushing burden of debt that is threatening our economy and our children’s future.
It is not too late to fix America’s problems. It is not too late to get our country back on track so our kids can also realize the American Dream.
We can – and we must – preserve this nation’s exceptional promise, because that is exactly what previous generations of Americans worked so hard to do for us.
It is time for officials in Washington to stop acting like politicians, and to start acting like leaders. We have a legacy to fulfill. It is time for all of us to get to work, put an end to the empty promises and advance a plan to prosperity.
I guess a snake would be a pretty effective snake oil salesman.
No... I've known real snakes --- they were honorable creatures that never attempted to make anyone think they were anything but what they were... unlike the R's...
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
LOL... The GOP, against the anti-christ before they became it.
will take more than either party is going to propose. there are legitimate points in ryan's critique, but no credible solutions. neither are the democrats proposing any solutions either, not for our long term problems. solutions to our problems will only come when consensus is reached on what is killing our economy, which is really simple, but no one wants to talk about it on the talk shows.
the answer is outsourcing, we all know it, outsourcing is why you can't find a job in detroit, why Camden is a free fire zone, how does our emperor intend to get multi-national conglomerates to hire americans for $25.00 an hour when they can get the same work done in china for $1.25? this is the question, and they are not answering it.
How do you find equalibrium in global wage disparity when your workforce has a disproportionately higher wage scale? Why you lower the expectations for your workforce. You bring their wages down to the level of the competition relatively speaking.
You're seeing it happen yet as we speak, the austerity chatter and targeted programs, the anti-union legislation, defunding of education, lack of focus on infrastructure rebuilding and the high unemployment that results, not to mention the political benefits that surely rise from the anger. And all of it while the corporations horde vast sums of cash and the rich get ever more tax breaks.
It's all about us and yet we fail to see it.
my slogan would be "FUCK FREE TRADE"
It's a nice, honorable idea. But like communism, it doesn't work in practice. At least for most people. For the upper crust it works fine, however.
not all martyrs see divinity
be nice if it had ever been tried. of course total communism is not the only option, a country could have a mixed economy, but then one would have to admit the validity of the basic theory of class struggle to get that far..
now, this free market capitalism, it's working out just fine and dandy here in the USA.
Dubcek gave it a go.
More prosperous is a joke when you aren't prospering at all. How about just living, instead of surviving? That'd almost be enough these days.
I think it's time to start suggesting that by failing to raise the debt ceiling the GOP would be giving Obama the power to decide what government payments were going to immediately stop, like, say, oil royalties, corporate tax credits, military contractor payments, conglomerate farm subsidies, etc.
In the case of possible default and debt ceiling limits, it is the executive branch that decides...not the congress!
Of course, the tough part is actually getting anyone in the administration to display this kind of backbone.
He is not going to bite the hand that purchased him and paid for his soul.
Seriously, how many squeaky snakes does this guy think are in our country? We don't need any snake oil from him or anyone else. We can proudly say, Our snakes doen't squeak.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
We're Number 1 in squeakless snakes! Go America!
Hello. I’m Congressman Paul Ryan from Janesville, Wisconsin – and Chairman here at the House Budget Committee. It’s no secret our government has a spending problem (We should know, we created it) and the problem has gotten so bad it’s threatening our future and hurting our nation’s ability to create jobs (By “threatening our future” we of course mean the tax cuts for the rich).
Republicans made a pledge that we would work to change this if given the opportunity to lead (The pledge was to the Koch brothers by the way). Since January, we’ve been urging President Obama to listen to the people (ie: the Koch brothers) and work with us to reduce spending. The president started this year by proposing a freeze that would make no cuts at all. (After agreeing to a two year extension on those tax cuts we love so much).
But now bipartisan legislation is in sight to enact the largest spending cut in American history. (In other words; we held the poor and middle class people of this country hostage long enough to brow beat the Dems into capitulation).
This is good news for job creators in America (ie: Rich People) but much more has to be done to put our nation on a true path to prosperity (More money for rich people). Earlier this week, the House Budget Committee advanced a new budget for the United States government that will move the debate in Washington from billions in spending cuts to trillions (Even more money for rich people).
We did so because it is unconscionable to leave the next generation with a crushing burden of debt and a nation in decline (We only do that when we’re in charge). Washington’s obsession with the next election has come at the expense of the next generation (The next generation of rubes and morons who will be lead by our fear mongering into giving up even more of their wealth and privileges).
We are calling this budget The Path to Prosperity, because it is more than just a budget (It’s a dagger at the heart of the middle class, senior citizens and working poor).
It is a commitment to honor the American legacy of leaving the next generation a more prosperous nation than the one we inherited (And by American legacy we mean a return to the gilded age of robber barons, sweatshops and serfdom of all but the very wealthy).
I like it!
If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.
And the Sociopath Ryan thinks nobody is catching on to the GOPers' scams. Their lives aren't going to be worth a plugged nickel once the mass of rubes who voted for them figure out how badly they've been taken to the cleaners by the likes of Ryan.
Methinks Congressperson Ryan Rand wants us to take the Path to Prosperity, past Lollipop Lane and Unicorn Avenue, to the Shining City Upon A Hill...where a life of joyful bliss awaits.
;>)
Ryan looks like the devil... or is it Dracula... not that there's anything wrong with that. But his proposals are evil cheap labor conservative, social hierarchical, privilege based, certain failure for America.
Ryan you are a total dork!
Get real or get bent.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
This whole ugly battle is because republicans refuse to admit that Bush and the rich greedy republicans failed. They ruined everything. They ruined everything and they don't want to pay for it.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Personally, I think the Republicans do know that Bush failed this country...they simply don't care, as long as they can find some way of pointing fingers and passing the buck in the attempt to deceive as many Americans as possible into believing they had nothing to do with it (despite the fact that they love to lecture other people at the slightest provocation about the importance of "taking personal responsibility."
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
That's it exactly.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
"unless you look at the hordes of cash the upper 1 percent are holding onto "
I think you meant 'hoard of cash'. 'hordes of cash' would imply the rich had a vast army of feral Johnny Cash clones.
Walker, Prosser, Duffy, Ryan...were they born this way, or is it something in the water up there which is turning every Republican politician from that state into a sadistic and cold-blooded monster eager to prey upon the middle class?
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
but drink beer. breeds sociopaths
not all martyrs see divinity
the dems chose to accept the GOP/teaOP framing of the economic crisis. the president and his neoliberal economic team agrees with the economic ideology behind paul ryan's proposal, now they are 'haggling about the price'
By the looks of the graph in Cenk's MSNBC show today, tax rates for the richest was at 85% during the 1950's - the golden age in America.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
it went over 90% at times
http://www.ntu.org/tax-basics/history-of-fede...
Tax rates for the richest was about 50% during the Reagan 1980s. The tax rates right now are ludicrous, ridiculous, and it's not working - duh!
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
it's too high! gotta cut that upper rate and let old people die in the streets.
not all martyrs see divinity
that the Republican will get to implement their plans and America will suffer because of it. And they will never admit that it fail. They will double down on it. This is because they have faith in their ideas even when its proven wrong time and time again.
If Reagan was president he would raise taxes.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
georgie boy doubled it.......do you see a pattern? what was that about 'government is the problem',like creating the most unworkable,laviathon(sp?) expensive turd known as .....dept. of homeland security........never thought i'd say this,nixon was a president that did some good,EPA,clean water act,help for the people in real need.......compaired to the three that came after him(ford was a third string player that got the job by defalt,a tool) reagan and bushies,now they knew how to hate.and they're the template for future right wingers to follow,they hate the americans that do not buy into their shit...hate,hate americans.....i'm pretty sure thats a first in the history of the nation....we are something to distroy. 2 percent,6 million own 300 million americans,..how long before they want to be called 'master?'
....the fools do not realize,a population that can ,..... not paticipate .............in the 'economy'...,can not keep it viable!..........."we are listening,.......and we're not blind.,......this is your life....this is your time."
That is not snake oil he is selling, it is the arsenic cure. He is peddling pure poison as the cure for our ills.
January 29, 2011 | .
Ayn Rand was not only a schlock novelist, she was also the progenitor of a sweeping “moral philosophy” that justifies the privilege of the wealthy and demonizes not only the slothful, undeserving poor but the lackluster middle-classes as well.
Her books provided wide-ranging parables of "parasites," "looters" and "moochers" using the levers of government to steal the fruits of her heroes' labor. In the real world, however, Rand herself received Social Security payments and Medicare benefits under the name of Ann O'Connor (her husband was Frank O'Connor).
As Michael Ford of Xavier University's Center for the Study of the American Dream wrote, “In the end, Miss Rand was a hypocrite but she could never be faulted for failing to act in her own self-interest.”
Her ideas about government intervention in some idealized pristine marketplace serve as the basis for so much of the conservative rhetoric we see today. “The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand,” said Paul Ryan, the GOP's young budget star at a D.C. event honoring the author. On another occasion, he proclaimed, “Rand makes the best case for the morality of democratic capitalism.”
stephen
January 29, 2011 | LIKE THIS ARTICLE ?
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Ayn Rand was not only a schlock novelist, she was also the progenitor of a sweeping “moral philosophy” that justifies the privilege of the wealthy and demonizes not only the slothful, undeserving poor but the lackluster middle-classes as well.
Her books provided wide-ranging parables of "parasites," "looters" and "moochers" using the levers of government to steal the fruits of her heroes' labor. In the real world, however, Rand herself received Social Security payments and Medicare benefits under the name of Ann O'Connor (her husband was Frank O'Connor).
As Michael Ford of Xavier University's Center for the Study of the American Dream wrote, “In the end, Miss Rand was a hypocrite but she could never be faulted for failing to act in her own self-interest.”
Her ideas about government intervention in some idealized pristine marketplace serve as the basis for so much of the conservative rhetoric we see today. “The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand,” said Paul Ryan, the GOP's young budget star at a D.C. event honoring the author. On another occasion, he proclaimed, “Rand makes the best case for the morality of democratic capitalism.”
stephen
January 29, 2011 | Ayn Rand was not only a schlock novelist, she was also the progenitor of a sweeping “moral philosophy” that justifies the privilege of the wealthy and demonizes not only the slothful, undeserving poor but the lackluster middle-classes as well.
Her books provided wide-ranging parables of "parasites," "looters" and "moochers" using the levers of government to steal the fruits of her heroes' labor. In the real world, however, Rand herself received Social Security payments and Medicare benefits under the name of Ann O'Connor (her husband was Frank O'Connor).
As Michael Ford of Xavier University's Center for the Study of the American Dream wrote, “In the end, Miss Rand was a hypocrite but she could never be faulted for failing to act in her own self-interest.”
Her ideas about government intervention in some idealized pristine marketplace serve as the basis for so much of the conservative rhetoric we see today. “The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand,” said Paul Ryan, the GOP's young budget star at a D.C. event honoring the author. On another occasion, he proclaimed, “Rand makes the best case for the morality of democratic capitalism.”
stephen
he'll be peddling Oil of Old Lady. It's got highly ironic acid or some such crap.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
Paul Ryan, London School of Economics, Class of 1327
paul ryan can take a large latex item and put
it in his dark place.
Classic Sellout Scumbag. He sold his soul to the highest bidder.
NOBODY 2012
Gangster Capitalism, facilitated by Conservative Businesses and driving the get-away Car… Republican Congress and Bush and then Hamstring Obama and Democrats majority, keeping them from doing little about the THEFT, but not with out the help of Moderate Democrats and Independents abandoning Obama and Democrats, T Publicans House Republicans are going to finish off the middle class and workers.
Holding the Nation as hostages too their Gangster Capitalism, on the CR, one after another and now the Debt Ceiling.
The only responsible thing left is to let Republicans crash the Nation, so they can seen as the real treat, Republicans really are. It’s treat, after treat to crash the Nation, if Republicans don’t get what they want.
I say hold the line and let them do it, or capitulation is what we get. Is this worth it Mr. President, is this a winning Strategy for the Majority of Americans, hurting, suffering, losing ground, in every conceivable way.
Just say No Democrats and let them do it. We have to suffer the Crash to get control back and it is the only way a CLEAN BILL for the Debt ceiling and SHARED SCACRIFICE, will happen and the CALL WORDS, GROW a PAIR Democrats.
I can’t vote for this and I will not stand behind you and defend cowardice.
WHEN do you, we say… THIS FAR and NO MORE, Mr. President, Democrats WHEN. The Nation can’t take any more of this, No and I won’t follow, none of you any more.
Ministerbruce
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