The Republican vision of America is one in which 99% of us are condemned to be feudal serfs
By louisehartmann
Republicans in Congress unveiled their vision for America today – and if they succeed, the 99% of us are condemned to live like serfs. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, himself a multimillionaire, released his blueprint budget for fiscal year 2013 – which includes massive cuts to food stamps, student loans, Medicaid, and Social Security. The budget also dismantles Medicare as we know it – transforming an insurance program into a voucher program, leaving millions of senior citizens on their own to deal with for-profit health insurance companies.
And in a nod to the Republican Party’s super-rich members like himself, Ryan proposes enormous tax breaks for the 1% - lowering the top income tax rate from 35% down to 25%. According to the Tax Policy Center – Ryan’s budget would give $3 trillion in tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans – all paid for by cutting spending on education, healthcare, and Medicare. Congressman Ryan said about his budget, “It’s up to the people to demand ... a choice between two futures. The question is which future will you choose?”
That is the question indeed – will we choose the future in which a middle class can thrive again in America like it did for 50 years after the New Deal until Ronald Reagan blew everything up? Or – will we choose Paul Ryan’s path to an Ayn Rand dystopia, in which only the super-wealthy can go to good schools and see doctors, and everyone else is left with what trickles down from the tables of the rich?
Comments
#2
Congreasemen Paul can produce a negative vacuum on the penil appendage. Due to his complete philosophical bankruptcy.
#3
Progressives commentators commit malpractice every time they let anyone mention Social Security and, to a lesser extent, Medicare in the same breath with budget deficit. If SS were repealed tomorrow, it would make zero difference in the federal deficit because SS is fully funded by the FICA tax which would disappear with the program. Similarly, 60% of medicare funding comes from premiums paid by recipients and by dedicate taxes that would disappear if the program were repealed. The cost of Medicare to the general fund is actually less than the interest on the national debt!
Any attempt ot balance the budget by cutting back these programs is a blatent attempt to steal the trust funds which contain over-payments to these systems that were paid in over the last 30 years. Essentially a default on a debt our country owes to it's own citizens.
For a real look at the causes of the deficit, take 11 minutes to view this video: http://youtu.be/z3zB7uezBZ0
#4
It's madness, sheer madness.
#5
It feels at once....more of the same ANNNNND tragically worse. I'm incredulous how this craziness can keep regurgitating throughout Washington. I'm not a Christian, but these people call themselves Christians?? Have they read ANYthing of Christ's teachings? Like that WONderful scene in Woody Allen's Annie Hall (I think) where Marshall McLuhan pops into a movie line and forcefully discredits some pompous jerk who's misquoting him, wouldn't it be cool if Christ could come back (awww c'mon, not for second coming reasons..) and just sit all the conservatives down and tell them what he realllly believes?
#6
Don't forget to clean the 99% toilet screws with their toothbrushes, ya'll.
How about this- all contractors or day laborers on a residential property ask to use the bathroom at least once in the day. That way they will never know if the servants or work people are doing things with their tooth brushes.
#7
Thom,
A great clip that you played on your radio program today on Theodore Roosevelt’s 1913 speech for a Living Wage:
Teddy Roosevelt, 1913: We stand for a living wage
http://www.bluestatepost.com/news_138.htm
Here is Theodore Roosevelt’s addressing all of the American Workers who can’t find a job, laid off American Workers; American Workers relegated to part-time employment for the lack of full-time employment, and discouraged American Worker who have given up looking for employment:
An excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt: The Rough Riders/An Autobiography:
"... his labor - was a perishable commodity; the labor of to-day - if not sold was a perishable commodity; the labor of to-day - if not sold to-day - was lost forever. Moreover, his labor was not like most commodities - a mere thing; it was part of a living, breathing human being."
#8
Mr. Hartmann,
If I understand it correctly, JP Morgan is essentially bankrupt as of late 2011 so to kick his bankruptcy can down the street he steels form MF Global and since MF Global and JPM had brokered a massive deal together they knew MFG was also on the verge of its own bankruptcy. To make things worse before the MFG bankruptcy the Ceo Mr. Corzine ripped off the depositors that had restricted accounts. As we well know this is because I’m breaking this into sub-atomic particles this act is a single electron on the top of the mountain of bankster fraud recently executed on the world.
So my question is: Are there no other Attorney General’s like Eliot Spitzer (granted he had shortcomings) but he did his job! He prosecute many of the 1%er criminals known as the executives in the corporate scandals with tenacity beginning with Enron in 2001.
Sincerely, Daryl Torres
#9
As a Declaration of War on "We The People," Ryan's petulant proposal is quite clear. It's also quite clear that increasingly large numbers of informed citizens, "patriots," have chosen to no longer put up with this REPUBLICAN/TEA-PARTY, rich man, extremist crap. It's called The Occupy Movement and it's our best chance to reclaim Democracy and freedom.
#10
Just listen to Mitt Romney:
He's already speaking like an aristocrat -- He's acting strangely like an aristocrat -- He is stiff like an aristocrat -- He lives in a separate world like an aristocrat
Monarchy / aristocracy is: A few idiots rule masses of immature fools. Let's not vote like a bunch of immature fools in November!
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
At Mondragon - both the mountain and the cooperative city - in Spain (written about in "Threshold" book)
From Screwed:
"Once again, Thom Hartmann hits the bull’s eye with a much needed exposé of the so-called ‘free market.’ Anyone concerned about the future of our nation needs to read Screwed now."
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From Screwed:
"I think many of us recognize that for all but the wealthiest, life in America is getting increasingly hard. Screwed explores why, showing how this is no accidental process, but rather the product of conscious political choices, choices we can change with enough courage and commitment. Like all of Thom’s great work, it helps show us the way forward."
Just finished watching some of Adam Curtis' documentaries. If anyone here wants to see how some of those in power have come to exercise their power over the last century I highly recommend looking them up on You Tube: The Living Dead; The Century of the Self; The Power of Nightmares; The Trap. These series span many of the policies and policy makers from the the time of WWI to present day. All are well worth the time to watch, and after watching them you can understand how Ryan can make the proposals he's making and believes he can get them through. The leaders of both the Left and Right have been playing a game of manipulating the masses for their gain, and as a result have done more to make a rigid social structure that is making upward social movement near impossible. Ryan's policies are more of a naked display of this arrogance masquerading as a way to improve the common man's life.
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