Mr. Ryan’s Neighborhood

[marmar]

from In These Times:




Mr. Ryan’s Neighborhood
The House budget chairman’s plan takes from the poor and gives to the rich.

By Roger Bybee


House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) star is rising fast, as Beltway pundits describe his plan to cut $6.2 trillion in federal spending over 10 years as a “courageous” and “thoughtful” strategy to hold down spending on “entitlements.”

But in contrast to his climb to prominence, Ryan’s district—like many across the United States—continues to decline and shows few signs of economic recovery. To understand the implications of Ryan’s proposed “Path to Prosperity” budget, which passed the House in April, let’s examine whether it would help his own constituents.

The 1st Congressional District in southeastern Wisconsin is in dire straits. Prolonged unemployment—14.1 percent in Racine—has exacted a painful toll on family and community life. The region has been plagued by plant shutdowns and relocations, like the 3,800-worker Delphi plant closing in Oak Creek and the 1,800 workers who lost their jobs when General Motors shut its Janesville plant in 2008. Child poverty has risen sharply in recent years. In Ryan’s hometown of Janesville, 50 percent of school children are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches. Similarly, the HealthNet free clinic in Janesville has faced a 77-percent jump in the number of people seeking healthcare between 2008 and 2010. Most tragically, Janesville has experienced a near-doubling in suicides over the past two years. “We were seeing a lot of them who had just lost their jobs or were unemployed and couldn’t find work,” coroner Jenifer Keach told the Janesville Gazette in March. “For a lot of people, right now, financial pressure is just huge.”

With his district in need of new family-supporting jobs and social services, Ryan claims that his budget plan will unleash economic growth—although nearly two-thirds of the cuts would fall on poor families, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/7303/mr._ryans_neighborhood

[Historic NY]

1. He so cares about his district.........doesn't he. .

[BR_Parkway]

2. It kills me that the messaging has been such that the word "entitlements" doesn't connect

with the average person that yes, they are "entitled" to these things because they paid for them their entire working life - and any monetary problems with the budgets are because Congress spent money on other things and borrowed the money we've all paid in for this insurance.