Connect the Dots

A couple aspects of the Ryan budget plan would result in cuts to the safety nets such as food stamps, welfare, and other services for the needy that would total $4.3 trillion dollars. At the same time the Ryan plan would also give tax cuts to the wealthiest of Americans in the amount of $3.3 trillion dollars. In interviews selling his plan, Ryan has said repeatedly that the reason for cutting the funding for the poor is that over time, this funding has increased proving that is does not work. While one might accept the logic of that argument, there is also the argument that tax cuts for the wealthy also did not work. The “job creators”, while creating jobs in countries in Asia did not create jobs for Americans. In fact, since the “job creators” began receiving tax cuts in 2001, 54,000 manufacturing businesses closed or left the country and over 8 million Americans actually lost jobs. (At the same time, 4 million jobs were created by businesses listed on American stock exchanges in other countries so the job creators did create jobs!) One might also argue that instead of creating jobs, the “job creators” used the tax savings to buy stock, invest in hedge funds, buy tax exempt bonds, and create more wealth for themselves but did not create jobs. Perhaps that is the reason why there is a need for increased safety net funding. Rather than creating jobs, the tax cuts resulted in more people needing help from the safety nets. One cannot help but wonder if Ryan will ever connect those dots.