Over on Facebook former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich has a post outlining seven things we can expect to see pushed by Speaker Paul Ryan.
1. Reduce the top income-tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent (a huge windfall to the rich at a time when the rich take home a larger share of total income that at any time since the 1920s).
2. Cut corporate taxes to 25 percent from 35 percent (a giant sop to corporations, the largest of which are already socking away $1.2 trillion in foreign tax shelters).
3. Make these cuts without adding the budget deficit by slashing spending on domestic programs like food stamps and education for poor districts (now, 18% of the nation’s children are in poverty, and these cuts would only make things worse).
4. Also by turning Medicaid and other federal programs for the poor into block grants to the states, and let the states decide how to allocate them (in other words, give Republican state legislatures and governors slush funds to do with as they wish).
5. And turning Medicare into vouchers that don’t keep up with increases in healthcare costs (which would in effect cut Medicare for the elderly).
6. Deal with rising Social Security costs by raising the retirement age for Social Security (making Social Security even more regressive, since the poor don’t live nearly as long as the rich).
7. Finally, don’t raise the minimum wage but let it continue to decline as inflation makes it irrelevant; instead, provide poor workers with a larger Earned Income Tax Credit (enlarging the EITC is a good idea, but we need a higher minimum as well).
Ryan was, is, and will continue to be an un-practicing Catholic in my opinion; he is pro-death at least in his economics for the middle class. He should read Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel,” which cries out at the greed of the 1% and their economic enslavement and theft of the middle class.
Also, It is ironic that Ryan is planning to give an additional tax break to those who went “down Mexico way” or elsewhere abandoning his Janesville friends, neighbors, and constituents.
Ryan’s beliefs and works have done little to benefit mankind or followed the social teachings of his Church. Ryan is just one more conservative pro-life phony or has a blind or false conscience.
“Oh the humanity!”
Far from being a true-practicing Catholic, Ryan embodies the modern face of evil (all “Eddie Munster” references aside).
Cited FYI in an earlier discussion by Zach is this article which revealed the Janesville GM plant was officially changed from on “standby” to permanently “closed” in the union contract. Also note that GM made “$3.3 billion in pre-tax profit” so far this year. It appears the Union agreed in exchange for worker bonuses in GM plants elsewhere.
http://www.gazettextra.com/20151028/its_over_janesville_gm_plant_identified_in_uaw_contract_as_closing
Did Ryan and Walker get their “cut” for being silent about the change in the Janesville plant status?