In yet another misguided handout to Wall Street at the expense of Main Street, Congressman Paul Ryan today introduced his latest budget plan, designed to place the blame for his 14 years of poor decisions squarely on the backs of our hardworking families.
Continuing to choose the millionaires who fund his campaigns instead of the people of Wisconsin to whom he swore an oath to represent, Paul Ryan has once again shown that his Washington political priorities are grossly out-of-touch with our Wisconsin values.
From raising healthcare costs for our seniors by privatizing Medicare, to reducing Pell Grants and Stafford Loans for our students, Paul Ryan is single-handedly working to dismantle each and every program that people of all generations count on. Instead of a laser focus on creating jobs, he focused solely on removing safety nets for our most vulnerable populations.
I lived my version of the American Dream that Paul Ryan always talks about. I started two successful small businesses that turned a healthy profit that allowed me to retire early, while providing excellent benefits for my workers. I took care of my workers, they took care of me and together we took care of our customers. And I did this without the tax breaks, loopholes and schemes that Paul Ryan’s new budget creates for his Wall Street buddies and campaign funders. Instead, I was able to run these businesses because of the very investments in our people that Paul Ryan wants to take away from our children – Pell Grants and Stafford Loans.
As Paul Ryan likes to preach about in his new taxpayer-funded campaign ads, we do have a choice between two futures. One future, under Paul Ryan’s “Path to Poverty”, ends Medicare for our senior citizens, provides tax breaks only to Paul Ryan’s campaign contributors and places the weight of making up the loss in revenue on our already struggling families. The other future is one that puts people over corporations and begins the long haul of an economic recovery that doesn’t place the blame and burden on our working families.
Paul Ryan has tried to scare America into submission in the past. It didn't work then, and it won't work now. Make no mistake about it: the American people are a lot smarter than Paul Ryan gives them credit for. They will see through his fancy videos and op-eds and know his budget for what it really is: a path to poverty and ruin for the middle class across our country. People around Wisconsin and the nation are fed up with slick corporate-funded politicians like Paul Ryan. In November, they will send a message loud and clear that Paul Ryan’s 14 years of fatally flawed judgment are up.
Rob Zerban
Congressional Candidate