..with nothing new from the "conservative" movement that has been tried, failed, and documented
I can rant about Paul Ryan's "Blame the Poor" - summer poverty tour but what is needed right now are people that know what they're talking about, before this two pronged political assault on working folks gets any more traction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The basic two pronged agenda of Paul Ryan/GOP/"conservative" movement:
1) End the New Deal; stealing away with guaranteed social programs, a long time goal of the RWNJ republican pseudo “conservative” movement. End Social Security, turning it into a voucher program = no-guarantee no - COLA coupon; Slash Medicare & Medicaid.
Allow republican controlled states another sluiceway into the federal treasury to direct tax monies into the pockets of private for profit entities - cronyism- and away from federal departments and agencies
2) “Defunding the left”; Dismantle the democratic infrastructure Dems built in order to fight back and protect against the never ending assault by the RWNJ’s “conservative” movement. Code named: "De-fund the left"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These people know what they're talking about.
Starting with Joy-Ann Reid of the Reid Report who questions: "Are 'opportunity grant' just double speak?" (video) (I'd embed the video because it is very informative but am unable to with this latest format - sorry about that)
Joy-Ann Reid references Charles M. Blow's recent article that seriously nails the GOP and Ryan; exposing blatant hypocrisy and racist genesis of his ideas, while questioning the wisdom of giving over to states the control of our national social infrastructure - The New Deal - asking "What could possibly go wrong?"
Joy-Ann Reid also points to an excellent article written by Jeff Shear @ the Baltimore Sun back in 1995, long before Paul Ryan took on the GOP's lead role in continuing the many decade old effort to weaken the federal governments ability to tend to and protect the 'general welfare' of its citizens while systematically dismantling the Democratic infrastructure from within called:
GOP Catch Phrase for the '90s: 'Defunding the Left' by Jeff Shear | April23, 1995
excerpts from Jeff Shear's work:
Prong 2)
"Defunding the Left" is the catch-phrase for the campaign to stop the flow of federal funds to not-for-profit groups that are associated with liberal causes, and it has gained powerful new impetus through the GOP's takeover of the House. In its latest incarnation, the drive aims to disrupt the liberal infrastructure that supports the legacy of the New Deal. It differs from earlier efforts because it is more narrowly targeted and because the GOP controls Congress.
"We will hunt [these liberal groups] down one by one and extinguish their funding sources," Grover G. Norquist
Prong 1)
Privatization and block grants are other potential weapons in the GOP's arsenal. Privatization could be used to cut social advocacy groups out of the money loop by replacing them with for-profit contractors.
Attack on unions and on women - not new:
Among the advocacy groups singled out by conservatives so far: AARP; the AFL-CIO; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; the Association of Head Start Grantees; the Child Welfare League; the Children's Defense Fund; Families USA; the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc.; the National Council of La Raza; the National Council of Senior Citizens; and Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc.
With more on
de-funding the left from source watch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another expert on fiscal matters is Robert Greenstein, founder of CBPP (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities) with Joy-Ann Reid and Lawrence O’Donnell
Here is a shortened clip:
(short ad – sorry)
Link to full discussion and more stuff too: http://www.nbcnews.com/...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is Ryan's con:
"..get the public and the private working together. Tha's how we can smooth the transition from assistance to success.."
read: the transistion of federal dollars and authority into the hands of RWNJ state legislatures, governorship's, and out of the control of Dems
"..I would start a pilot program called an 'opportunity grant'. It would consolidate up to eleven federal programs into one stream of funding to participating states."
Re-label the failed/rejected
"premium support" block grant scheme calling it an
"opportunity grant"
Bypass the federal government, eliminate social programs starting with republican states in control of revenue - like the 26 states that refused to expand Medicaid, leaving millions of people without health care
"..The idea would be..let states try different way of providing aid and then to test the results. In short more flexibility in exchange for more accountability"
In short,
fuck -off pip squeak sorry, let me try that again.
In short hand over to Red states the ability to slash every program they can get their greedy hands on without having to answer to anyone, especially Democrats or the federal government.
Slip of the tongue or The tell?: "more flexibility in exchange for accountability". Ryan openly admits to holding states unaccountable to the federal government in trade for "flexibility"
Then there's Ryan's tease: the earned income tax credit expansion mirrors what the President has recommended; but the con: pay for it by ripping away the child tax credit for millions of low income families, immigrants and Dreamers
(short ad – sorry)
Link July 24, 2014: http://www.nbcnews.com/...
So Ryan wants to start a pilot program. A little teeny weeny experiment that can’t hurt to try right?
Wrong.
Ryan is trying to sneak in what has been rejected time and again – ending the guarantee that social programs provide. What the GOP can’t eliminate despite decades of trying they will privatize (corporate welfare to cronies); coupons instead of Social Security; End all nutritional assistance programs and ‘block grant’ federal money to the states to hoard as they see fit (the same asshole republicans refusing to expand Medicaid btw) and defund the left in the process.
My under standing after listening to Robert Greenstein and Joy-Ann Reid explain is that the RWNJ controlled states would have free rein to do as they please with the Federal government bypassed.
So even if Ryan's "deep concern" about the cultural "tail spin" in the "inner cities" is for real, there is zero guarantee that the current republicans in control wouldn't continue to do what they have vowed to do in service to their 1%er/corpo "betters"
This has probably been covered here @ Daily Kos by now, but I really appreciate Joy-Ann Reid's take on these issues. She know her stuff and tells it like it is - imo
Also Robert Greenstein of CBPP has many years of expertise on this I wanted to share
Thx for stopping by; and mini rant over :)
Late update: xaxnar has an excellent write up with more on:
Paul Ryan Poverty Scam Eviscerated