On Romney/ Ryan's Tax Plan and Medicare

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Catholic Bishops: Ryan's Rethug Budget Fails Moral Criteria

On Tuesday, the U.S. Conference of Bishops sent letters to Congressional committees saying that the recently-passed House budget crafted by soulless Randian Rep. Paul "Lyin'" Ryan (Social Darwinist-WI) failed to meet its moral criteria, including protecting the poor and shared sacrifice. Significantly, Ryan earlier had said his Rethuglican budget was informed by his "Catholic social teaching" (he must have been surreptitiously reading his condensed comic book version of "Atlas Shrugged" when the nuns were teaching social justice).

The letters were signed by Bishop Stephen Blaire, Chairman of the Conference's Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. Just last week, 60 Catholic theologians, clergy and social justice leaders had condemned the Ryan Rethuglican budget as "morally indefensible," saying it "betrays Catholic principles of solidarity, just taxation and a commitment to the common good."

This is the same regressive budget that Willard "Etch-a-Sketch" Romney called "marvelous" and said that he would run on it. Start shaking that Etch-a-Sketch, Willard!

(Photo: Sister Mary Theresa would like to see you in her office, Lyin' Ryan)

Cartoon of the Day

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The radical right-wing farce that Rep. Paul "Lyin'" Ryan's budget represents won't be going anywhere. But as Center on Budget and Policy Priorities president Robert Greenstein says,

"The new Ryan budget is a remarkable document — one that, for most of the past half-century, would have been outside the bounds of mainstream discussion due to its extreme nature. In essence, this budget is Robin Hood in reverse — on steroids. It would likely produce the largest redistribution of income from the bottom to the top in modern U.S. history and likely increase poverty and inequality more than any other budget in recent times (and possibly in the nation’s history)."

The income tax cut windfall to the wealthiest Americans -- who have already benefited greatly from Rethuglican tax policies -- from 35% down to 25% would be an enormous loss of revenue, with programs for the middle class being cut to pay for it. The 2012 elections should be a forum for exposing this proposed transfer of wealth to upper income Americans at the expense of the vast majority of the country.

Cartoon of the Day

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The more people know about the Rethug plan, the more they'll oppose it.

Quote of the Day

"...Ryan warned that a generous safety net 'lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency, which drains them of their very will and incentive to make the most of their lives. It’s demeaning.' How very kind: To protect poor Americans from being demeaned, Ryan is cutting their anti-poverty programs and using the proceeds to give the wealthiest Americans a six-figure tax cut." -- Dana Milbank, commenting on the Rethugs' budget plan for 2013 proposed by Rep. Paul "Lyin'" Ryan. Read his whole breakdown of the proposal to understand how deeply misguided, devious and selfish the proposal is, and how it places all of the sacrifice on those who can least afford it. Hopefully, once the Rethug presidential candidates embrace it, this will be a heavy anchor that sinks them in November.