Conservative Babylon

If you don’t believe (or realize yet) that Paul Ryan‘s end goal is to murder Social Security (and Medicare, of course) through death by a thousand cuts (literally), read the easy-to-understand details. In short, the Ryan plan would:

• slash benefits for middle-class seniors and people with disabilities;

• reform Social Security entirely through benefit cuts;

• increase out-of-pocket health care costs (“by $4,300 a year for nearly 1 million individuals ages 65 and 66 — even with the subsidies and Medicaid expansion of the Affordable Care Act, which the Ryan Budget repeals”;

• privatize Social Security at the taxpayer’s expense, which ultimately “would deprive Social Security of revenue, the federal government would have to transfer $1.2 trillion to finance traditional Social Security for those already in or near retirement.”

With that, we give you the first reason (of many) Mitt Romney‘s new golden boy, Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is a card-carrying hypocrite:

“Ryan Used Social Security Benefits To Pay For His Education. According to US News and World Report, ‘Ryan’s father died when Paul was only 16. Using the Social Security survivor’s benefits he received until his 18th birthday, he paid for his education at Miami University in Ohio, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science in 1992.’ According to the Chicago Tribune, ‘Ryan’s late father was a lawyer who died when Ryan was 16. He has said his father’s death made him grow up fast. Until he was 18, Ryan, the youngest of four children, collected Social Security survivor’s benefits, which he said he socked away for college.’ [US News and World Report, 7/23/08; Chicago Tribune, 4/17/11"

All in all, it sounds like Paul Ryan believes nobody deserves a foot up when it comes to education — since, after all, he got his — initially through the public school system, which Ryan continually refuses to support. After all, he got his...

"Ryan Supported Pell Grant Award Cuts. In 2003, Ryan voted in favor of a budget resolution that provided for $1.3 trillion in tax cuts over ten years, while cutting programs for children and public education by $38 billion over ten years below the amount needed to maintain current service levels. It provided virtually no increase for education programs overall and cut funding for No Child Left Behind programs by $1 billion (from $23.8 billion to $22.8 billion). In addition, the House Budget eliminated 46 education programs (such as Rural Education, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology), cut the after school program by 40 percent (or $400 million), and reduced the maximum Pell Grant award (from $4,050 to $4,000). The budget passed 215-212.' [Roll Call 82, S 95, 03/21/2003]“

“Ryan Voted Against Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, Doubling the Maximum Number of Pell Grants.” On July 31, 2008, Ryan voted against reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. According to the Washington Post, ‘Congress yesterday passed a major overhaul of federal higher-education programs aimed at expanding financial aid and bringing greaterclarity and disclosure to the student loan process. By overwhelming bipartisan votes, the House and Senate approved a five-year reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. It will nearly double the maximum amount of Pell Grants by 2014 and will require the Education Department to collect and publish better data on soaring tuition costs at universities and colleges. …’ [Roll Call 544, H 4137, 07/31/2008; Washington Post, 08/01/08]“

“Paul Ryan Voted Against Expanding Access To Higher Education. Paul Ryan voted against a measure to replace costly private student loans with federal government loans by eliminating the Federal Family Education loan program. The legislation would provide for a competitive bidding process for entities to service the loans. The bill would make several modifications to education programs, including increasing funding for Pell grants, early-childhood education and community colleges.’ [Roll Call719, H 3221, 09/17/2009]“

“Ryan Voted To Block Legislation To Save Thousands Of Dollars For Pell Grants.” On July 1, 2010, Ryan voted to block legislation that would help prevent thousands of teacher layoffs across the nation. The legislation would invest $10billion to teachers’ jobs and $16 billion to help cover state Medicaid payments. The legislation also invests $4.95 billion for Pell grants, which help support low-income students attend institutions of higher education.’ [Roll Call 430, H 4899, 07/01/2010]“

“The Post Standard: Ryan Plan Would Pay For Tax Cuts On Top Earners And Corporations By Slashing Entitlements, Pell Grants And Benefits For Veterans. According to The Post Standard, ‘As the GOP continues its war on women, it adds to its victims the weak, disabled, elderly, poor and disadvantaged. Congressman Paul Ryan’s “Path to Prosperity,” lauded by our representative Ann Marie Buerkle as “courageous,” is in fact downright cowardly. Ryan wishes to extend the Bush tax cuts and cut the top tax rate for individuals and corporations from 35 percent to 25 percent. He pays for this by slashing Medicare, Medicaid, Pell Grants, food stamps, low-income housing subsidies and veterans’ health care.’ [ThePost Standard, 6/9/11]“

“Under The New Ryan Plan, 1 Million Students Would Lose Pell Grants. According to the Huffington Post, ‘More than 1 million students would lose Pell grants entirely over the next 10 years under Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget, according to an analysis that the national reform organization Education Trust provided to The Huffington Post. And by the looks of it, the Ryan budget, which is slated to hit the House floor this week, would hit the poorest kids hardest. [...] The plan proposed by Ryan (R-Wis.), who chairs the House Budget Committee, would chop away at Pell grant eligibility, thereby reducing total Pell grants by about $170 billion over the next decade; allow the interest rate for federally subsidized Stafford loans to double; end student loan interest subsidies for those still in school; and make Pell spending discretionary — instead of mandatory — allowing further cuts down the line. Pell grants, the largest source of federal financial aid, currently help more than 9 million students to afford college. Following last year’s budget standoffs, next year’s maximum Pell grant of $5,645 will cover just one-third of the average cost of college — the smallest share ever.’ [Huffington Post, 3/27/12]“

“Ryan Budget Would Impose Enormous Cuts To Food Stamps.” According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, ‘The Ryan budget reportedly also cuts SNAP (that is, food stamp) benefits by $133 billion over ten years and slices Pell Grants. The former would likely increase hunger and hardship among poor children, while the latter would likely reduce opportunities for promising students from low-income backgrounds to attend college.’ [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/12]“

“Ryan Budget Slashes Pell Grants. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, ‘The Ryan budget reportedly also cuts SNAP (that is, food stamp) benefits by $133 billion over ten years and slices Pell Grants. The former would likely increase hunger and hardship among poor children, while the latter would likely reduce opportunities for promising studentsfrom low-income backgrounds to attend college.’ [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/12]“

“Ryan Budget Proposed $10 Trillion In Tax Cuts For High-Income Americans Alongside Severe Spending Cuts ToMedicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps And Pell Grants. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, ‘These tax cuts all would come on top of President Bush’s tax cuts, which also are very expensive and tilted toward the nation’s most affluent people and which Chairman Ryan would make permanent. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC) estimatesthat extending the Bush and other expiring tax cuts would cost $5.4 trillion over the next decade and that Chairman Ryan’s additional tax cuts would cost another $4.6 trillion. That means Chairman Ryan is proposing nearly $10 trillion in tax cuts(relative to current law) that heavily favor high-income Americans even while claiming that his budget’s severe cuts in basic low-income programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and Pell Grants are needed to rein in unsustainable deficits.’ [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/22/12]“

“Ryan Plan Would Make Paying For College ‘Substantially More Difficult.’ According to the Sun Chronicle, ‘As student debt soars, the U.S. House is looking to cut college financial aid in a way that critics contend will make it even harder for middle class families to afford higher education. The House has passed a budget plan authored by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, that slashes Pell Grants for low-income families and doubles the interest rate on unsubsidized Stafford Loans. “This will make things substantially more difficult” for students trying to pay for college, said Kate Tromble with The Education Trust.’ [Sun Chronicle (Attleboro, MA), 4/9/12]“

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