Contributed by
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Most people don’t know just how bad Romney’s VP choice is. So we made
this list of 10 things to know about Paul Ryan. Read it, then share it
with everyone. The future of America is on the line—from a woman’s right
to choose to our economy.
A MoveOn original. Paid for by MoveOn.org Political Action.
10 Things to know about Paul Ryan
1. His economic plan would cost America 1 million jobs in the first year.
Ryan’s proposed budget would cripple the economy. He’d slash spending
deeply, which would not only slow job growth, but shock the economy and
cost 1 million of us our jobs in 2013 alone and kill more than 4 million
jobs by the end of 2014.[1]
2. He’d kill Medicare. He’d replace
Medicare with vouchers for retirees to purchase insurance, eliminating
the guarantee of health care for seniors and putting them at the mercy
of the private insurance industry. That could amount to a cost increase
of more than $5,900 by 2050, leaving many seniors broke or without the
health care they need. He’d also raise the age of eligibility to 67.[2]
3. He’d pickpocket the middle class to line the pockets of the rich.
His tax plan is Robin Hood in reverse. He wants to cut taxes by $4.6
trillion over the next decade, but only for corporations and the rich,
like giving families earning more than $1 million a year a $300,000 tax
cut. And to pay for them, he’d raise taxes on middle- and lower-income
households and butcher social service programs that help middle- and
working-class Americans.[3]
4. He’s an anti-choice extremist.
Ryan co-sponsored an extremist anti-choice bill, nicknamed the ‘Let
Women Die Act,’ that would have allowed hospitals to deny women
emergency abortion care even if their lives were at risk. And he
co-sponsored another bill that would criminalize some forms of birth
control, all abortions, and in vitro fertilization.[4]
5. He’d dismantle Social Security.
Ironically, Ryan used the Social Security Survivors benefit to help pay
for college, but he wants to take that possibility away from future
generations. He agrees with Rick Perry’s view that Social Security is a
“Ponzi scheme” and he supported George W. Bush’s disastrous proposal to
privatize Social Security.[5]
6. He’d eliminate Pell grants for more than 1 million low-income students.
His budget plan cuts the Pell Grant program by $200 billion, which
could mean a loss of educational funding for 1 million low-income
students.[6]
7. He’d give $40 billion in subsidies to Big Oil.
His budget includes oil tax breaks worth $40 billion, while cutting
“billions of dollars from investments to develop alternative fuels and
clean energy technologies that would serve as substitutes for oil.”[7]
8. He’s another Koch-head politician.
Not surprisingly, the billionaire oil-baron Koch brothers are some of
Ryan’s biggest political contributors. And their company, Koch
industries, is Ryan’s biggest energy-related donor. The company’s PAC
and affiliated individuals have given him $65,500 in donations.[8]
9. He opposes gay rights. Ryan has
an abysmal voting record on gay rights. He’s voted to ban adoption by
gay couples, against same-sex marriage, and against repealing “don’t
ask, don’t tell.” He also voted against the Hate Crimes Prevention Act,
which President Obama signed into law in 2009.[9]
10. He thinks an “I got mine, who cares if you’re okay” philosophy is admirable.
For many years, Paul Ryan devoted himself to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of
selfishness as a virtue. It has shaped his entire ethic about whom he
serves in public office. He even went as far as making his interns read
her work.[10]
If there was ever any doubt that Mitt
Romney’s got a disastrous plan for America—he made himself 100% clear
when he picked right-wing extremist Paul Ryan as his running mate.
Paul Ryan is bad for America, but we can’t beat him if Americans don’t
know everything he stands for. Share this page with all your friends.
Sources:
1. “Ryan’s Budget, Robin Hood in reverse,” Economic Policy Institute
2. “12 Things You Should Know About Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan,” Think Progress, August 11, 2012
3. “Ryan Budget Would Raise Some Taxes; Guess Who Gets Hit?,” Off the Charts, April 12, 2012
“Middle class could face higher taxes under Republican plan, analysis finds,” The Washington Post, June 19, 2012
4. “Statement on Mitt Romney’s Selection of Rep. Paul Ryan for His Vice-Presidential Running Mate,” NARAL, August 11, 2012
“Paul Ryan’s Extreme Abortion Views,” The Daily Beast, August 11, 2012
“Paul Ryan Sponsored Fetal Personhood Bill, Opposes Family Planning Funds,” Huffington Post, August 11, 2012
5. “12 Things You Should Know About Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan,” Think Progress, August 11, 2012
“Ayn Rand would have HATED Paul Ryan,” Daily Kos, August 12, 2012
6. “Pell Grants For Poor Students Lose $170 Billion In Ryan Budget,” Huffington Post, March 27, 2012
7. “Ryan Budget Pads Big Oil’s Pockets with Senseless Subsidies,” Center for American Progress, March 20, 2012
8. “Koch brothers have Paul Ryan’s back,” Politico, August 11, 2012
9. “Paul Ryan as VP Matches Mitt Romney on Homophobia,” The Advocate, August 11, 2012
10. “Paul Ryan And Ayn Rand”, The New Republic, December 28, 2010
