Tag Archives: Paul Ryan

By ThinkProgress War Room on Apr 13, 2012 at 4:38 pm

A Budget to Benefit the 1 Percent

Tax Day is coming up on April 17, so it’s worth remember who will pay more in taxes under the Ryan-Romney Republican budget — the poorest Americans — and whose taxes will be cut in dramatic fashion — the very wealthiest Americans.

If the percentages aren’t shocking enough, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the Ryan-Romney budget would give each millionaire a $265,000 tax cut on top of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, which it of course also extends.

It should also be noted that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) has promised to close trillions in unspecified tax loopholes, which would likely result in tax increases for millions more middle class Americans than are depicted in this chart. We can’t say for sure, however, because Ryan refuses to name a single one of the loopholes he’d close.

IN ONE SENTENCE: Instead of ending Medicare in order to slash taxes on millionaires, it’s time to pass the Buffett Rule so millionaire start paying their fair share.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed

Gallup finds overwhelming public support for the Buffett Rule.

General election in a nutshell: President Obama wants to increase his own taxes, Mitt Romney wants to lower his own.

Ron Paul may finally get a chance to defeat the Federal Reserve after all.

For the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, “religious liberty” means being able to discriminate against gay people.

American taxpayers are subsidizing dirty coal development to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.

One result of the tough economy is more job diversity on television.

Bank of America proves how heartless they are. Again.

Why the Buffett Rule is more than just a gimmick.

A city the size of Chicago that doesn’t have a sewer system.

Other recent Progress Reports

Apr 12, 2012: Mitt Romney’s Pledge to the 1%

Why is Mitt Romney Making Pledges to a Washington Lobbyist? We’ve previously told you about the 1% Pledge — a pledge run by Washington superlobbyist Grover Norquist that the vast majority of Congressional Republicans have taken. Instead of merely pledging to uphold the oath they take to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” these […]

Apr 11, 2012: GOP War on Women, Mitt Romney Edition

Equal Pay for Equal Work? Romney Will Have to Get Back to You Even as top party leaders, including Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, continue to denounce the GOP’s very real war on women as a “fiction” “manufactured” by Democrats and the media, Republicans continue to add more fuel to the fire. The Romney […]

Apr 10, 2012: Rick Santorum’s TOP TEN Attacks on Mitt Romney

The Primary Is Over, But These Attacks Will Live On Late this afternoon, Rick Santorum announced that he was suspending his campaign, effectively handing the Republican nomination over to Mitt Romney. A top aide to the former Pennsylvania senator told reporters that Santorum and Romney agreed to meet in the near future, and Romney sent out […]

Apr 9, 2012: NEW VIDEO: President Reagan Backs the Buffett Rule

Even the Gipper Wanted Millionaires to Pay Their Fair Share Last fall, when President Obama debuted the Buffett Rule — the simple idea that millionaires and billionaires should pay at least the same tax rate as middle class workers — we climbed into the wayback machine and found a video of President Ronald Reagan decrying “crazy” […]

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Stand UP for Medicare … Sherrod Brown

04/10/2012 Nativegrl77

I’m proud to call myself a progressive. I know what our community has achieved over the years on behalf of working families. And I’m proud to stand with fighting progressives like you any day of the week.

Click here to sign this important petition.

But there’s never been a more important time for fighting progressives to stand together than right now. Medicare — one of our proudest achievements and a critical element of seniors’ economic security — is under attack.

Click here to stand with fighting progressives and help defend Medicare!

This isn’t the first time Republicans have tried to pass the Ryan plan, which would end Medicare as we know it and leave seniors out in the cold when it comes to health insurance. But the far right only has to win this fight once — we have to show that we’ll always be there to defend this important pillar of American society.

By signing my petition, you won’t just be helping to defeat this latest Republican attack on Medicare. You’ll be sending them a clear signal that fighting progressives like you and me will always be there to fight back whenever Republicans threaten the economic security of American seniors.

The far right is determined to get its way sooner or later. They think it’s just a matter of time before our coalition cracks and our defense of Medicare weakens. They’re willing to try as many times as it takes.

We have to show them that we’ll never waver in our defense of Medicare. Please sign my petition today — let’s see how many fighting progressives we can put together to show the GOP that our coalition is stronger than ever.

It’s not enough to win this fight once. We have to make a strong enough statement that it resonates for years. We have to show Republicans that Medicare will always have defenders in the fighting progressives of America.

Click here to sign this important petition.

Thank you,

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Reject the radical Republican budget … Democrats.org

04/05/2012 Nativegrl77

Yesterday our President had a few choice words for the radical Republican budget championed by Rep. Paul Ryan. He called it “so far to the right it makes the Contract with America look like the New Deal.”
From Medicare to Social Security, health care to education, the GOP is ready to cut to the bone some of our most basic government services — while not asking for a dime more from the wealthiest Americans.
President Obama called it what it is: “A Trojan horse… Disguised as deficit reduction plans, it is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country.”
This isn’t just Paul Ryan’s budget — it’s also Mitt Romney‘s platform.

Let’s fight it. Add your name alongside mine to reject the Ryan budget. WWW.democrats.org

Here’s just a few of the things that would happen to Americans with the budget the GOP is backing.
Medicare? They’d throw it out the window, and give seniors a voucher that would amount to the second-cheapest health care plan in their community. Education? This plan would lay off thousands of teachers nationwide, and drastically cut financial aid — actually making college more expensive than it currently is. Investments in clean energy? Cut by a fifth.

WWW.democrats.org
In the President’s words: “Gutting the very things we need to grow an economy that’s built to last — education and training, research and development — it’s a prescription for decline.”

Perhaps even more telling are the things they’re fighting to protect: four billion annually in taxpayer-funded subsidies for giant oil companies that don’t need it; increases in defense spending completely beyond what the Pentagon even asked for; and even more tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires.
So let’s break it down. This budget isn’t for the 98% of Americans making under $250,000 a year.
Who is it for? It’s laden with special interest kickbacks and protections to keep the status quo going for those on top.
Yesterday, the President said he’s going to fight against this budget until the other side starts listening. It’s our job to back him up.

WWW.democrats.org
Send a strong message to Ryan and the Republicans pushing this budget. Reject it outright today:
Thanks,
Patrick

Patrick Gaspard
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Rebuild America Act lays out a vision of a better America for women and their families … Joan Entmacher, National Women’s Law Center

04/02/2012 Nativegrl77

National Women's Law Center - Don't Discount Women: Demand Fair Change Not Spare Change


	Thank Senator Harkin for Working to Rebuild America



	The Rebuild America Act lays out a vision of a better America for women and their families.

Now this is more like it! You and I both know that we’ve had to spend a lot of time playing defense to protect critical programs and hard-won rights. But while we’ve been on the defensive, we’ve also been advocating for policies that lift up and support ALL Americans and that provide a clear path to a better future.
Now our efforts are paying off. Just yesterday, Senator Tom Harkin introduced the Rebuild America Act, which would improve economic security for women and their families. The Rebuild America Act makes investments to promote widely shared prosperity and finances them in a fair and fiscally responsible way.
This type of opportunity doesn’t come along every day. Join us in saying ‘Thank you!’ to Senator Harkin for introducing this important bill!
What kinds of prosperity are we talking about? First and foremost — jobs. The Rebuild America Act recognizes the need for quantity and quality when it comes to job creation. The bill provides funding to help states and localities hire teachers and other public service workers — an especially crucial sector for women, who have lost nearly 70 percent of the public sector jobs cut since June of 2009. It also invests in infrastructure and manufacturing — and increases support for job training and education to expand access to these jobs among underrepresented populations.
And that’s not all. The bill also would increase the minimum wage and the tipped minimum wage, advancing fair pay for women who represent nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers; provide significant new funding to make child care more affordable for families, help states improve the quality of child care, and increase the supply of high-quality programs in low-income communities; give workers access to paid sick days, which could also be used to care for a sick child or aged parent; and improve Social Security benefits. And these critical investments would be financed by ensuring that the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share of taxes and closing tax loopholes.
Please thank Senator Harkin today for standing up for the prosperity of all Americans.
We’ll continue to need your help in fighting defensive battles. In fact, just yesterday, in a nearly party-line vote, the House approved the extreme and dangerous budget introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), which would devastate services vital to women and their families at every stage of their lives and repeal the Affordable Care Act — while giving trillions of dollars in new tax cuts to millionaires and corporations. But we also need to take the time to thank leaders like Senator Harkin who are working to restore an economy that works for everyone and expand opportunities for women.
Sincerely,

Joan Entmacher Vice President, Family Economic Security National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Want to know more? Be sure to check out our new fact sheet on the Rebuild America Act. For more information on the child care and early learning provisions in the Act, check out our more extensive summary.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Jason Rosenbaum, BoldProgressives.org

04/02/2012 Nativegrl77

On Thursday, the Republican-controlled Congress voted for the second year in a row to end Medicare.

That’s what Republicans do when they are in control — vote to end Medicare, wage war on women, and give more tax cuts to the rich. What would a Congress controlled by progressives look like?

Progressive candidates around the country — including Darcy Burner in Washington’s 1st congressional district — answered that question this week. They took the fight directly to their Republican opponents.

Watch the video of Darcy and others in action around the county — and sign their petition holding Republicans accountable for wanting to end Medicare.

Darcy started a petition to her Republican opponent, John Koster, to hold him accountable and to show Republicans in Congress that there is a political price to be paid on the campaign trail.

Darcy collected signatures, and then she worked with Rob Zerban — who is running against Paul Ryan, the author of the plan to end Medicare — to deliver her signatures, along with thousands of others from candidates around the country, to Ryan’s office in Wisconsin!

This is what a progressive Congress in action would look like — activists and organizers like Darcy standing and fighting for the things America believes in, like Medicare and Social Security.

Click here to watch the video of Darcy (and other candidates) in action, and then sign on to their petition — more deliveries are being planned.

Thanks for being a bold progressive.

— Jason Rosenbaum, Adam Green, Stephanie Taylor, and the PCCC team