Yesterday following sharp criticism by the Catholic Bishops and Georgetown University of his budget priorities, the GOP's economic darling Paul Ryan spoke openly to Georgetown to "explain" himself.
It didn't actually go that well.
Ryan: Our idea is to force Insurance Companies to compete against each other in order to better serve seniors, with more help for the poor and the sick and less help for the wealthy. Or as President Obama likes to call is "Social Darwinism". (Chuckles) Of course we disagree with that characterization.
Yeah, of course. But here's the thing. Medicare already does provide the option to use Private Insurance and already does
have them compete to provide care. That's called
Medicare Advantage (or Medicare Part-C) and by and large it costs about 20% more than regular Medicare. Under Ryan's proposal the government would only cover about 39% of the costs of these plans, leaving
seniors on the hook for the remaining 61% of the costs.
This is the chart that CBO produced last year showing the projected cost impact of the Ryan plan for Medicare on Seniors. The Extended Baseline and Alternative Scenarios are ones where the Affordable Care Act and Medicare Parts A & B remain in place.
It's been these kinds of figures that have prompted this reaction from the Georgetown Faculty.
However, we would be remiss in our duty to you and our students if we did not challenge your continuing misuse of Catholic teaching to defend a budget plan that decimates food programs for struggling families, radically weakens protections for the elderly and sick, and gives more tax breaks to the wealthiest few. As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has wisely noted in several letters to Congress – “a just framework for future budgets cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor persons.” Catholic bishops recently wrote that “the House-passed budget resolution fails to meet these moral criteria.”
Perhaps the reason that Catholics are having such a difficult time with Ryan's brand of Morality is because it truly
doesn't come from the Bible. These are not the teachings of Jesus, these are the teachings of a completely different philosopher at work.
Ayn Rand.
Mike Wallace full interview with Ayn Rand in 1959 is here: http://www.youtube.com/...
Survival of the Fittest. "If your are weak, you are not worthy of Love. Altruism is Evil. We are moving towards disaster until all of the Welfare State is dismantled."This is the Ryan Morality.
Ryan: You can't lift people out of poverty if you don't have a growing economy, and we have to put in policies that we believe will do the best to maximize economic growth.
To which I say the first part of that is true, but as far as the second part - Ryan's budget actually
does the opposite. Three is NOT ONE SHRED of evidence that massive tax giveaways to large corporations or the super-rich will have a massive positive impact on the economy. It didn't happen under Reagan, when he cut the top marginal tax rate from 70% to 50% -
unemployment went to 13%.
It was only after Reagan began raising taxes, which in turned caused people in industry to invest their money in the economy in order to claim tax exemptions and deductions that the economy started moving again.
When President Clinton raised the top marginal tax rate back up to 39% from where Reagan and Bush had eventually left it (around 20%) we went from being in a deficit crisis and economic downturn to the longest and strongest economic boom in our history, creating over 20 Million jobs in eight years and ultimately Balancing the Budget.
And they didn't achieve that Balance on the Backs of the poor, sick, dying and elderly as Ryan would.
Just remember that not a single Republican voted for the Clinton Budget. They fought it tooth and nail. They've been trying to implement plans like Ryan since Newt Gingrich took over Congress. They never believed in it, and even after it worked - they still refuse to believe it.
You have to recall that Ayn Rand was a writer of Fiction. She wasn't a journalist. She wasn't a historian. She wasn't putting forth fact based arguments, she was putting forth a theory of worshiping the "morality" of ultimate individualism. That collectivism was the enemy of achievement, the enemy of progress. It's a lie. But it's a popular lie for those who want moral justification for their immoral choices. For those who think the one thing that the poor need is just one more kick in the teeth to get them motivated.
Remember: "Hunger is a great motivator".
Who’s buying dinner? Who is getting paid to serve the meal? Churches and other non-profits can do this at no cost to the taxpayer if it is warranted. [...] Bigger governmental programs take away our connectedness to the human family, our brotherhood and our need for one another. [...] Anyone under 18 can be eligible? Can’t they get a job during the summer by the time they are 16? Hunger can be a positive motivator. What is wrong with the idea of getting a job so you can get better meals? Tip: If you work for McDonald’s, they will feed you for free during your break. (No, they won't) [...] It really is all about increasing government spending, which means an increase in taxes for us to buy more free lunches and breakfasts.
Well, sure it is - but the question is
motivation to do what exactly?
I have a favorite philosopher of my own, and he once said: Anger is a Gift!
Now, here we have those very self-same churches that the GOP says we should be relying on - to maintain our "human connectedness", while they deny females students and employees access to contraception in order to preserve "religious freedom" - specifically saying that they can't FEED everyone who needs it on their own without government support. They can't heal everyone without the financial aid that only the government can provide. Republicans argue that Welfare is a "trap" that people can't escape, ignoring the fact that President Clinton changed Welfare so that it's only available for a limited period of years. Republicans ignore this, and they also ignore what happens people once we have an economic downtown that lasts longer than the available aid?
What happens to those who fall of the end of their rope as has occurred to a growing horde of millions of Americans while Corporate Fat Cats sit on their $Billions as if it were going to hatch someday? Who remains to help the helpless?
Jesus said: That which you neglect do unto the least of those among you - you neglect to do unto Me
Mother Theresa knew this.
Obviously Rep. Paul Ryan. wasn't listening.
Vyan