Paul Ryan’s Most Shameless Lie Ever

[applegrove]

Paul Ryan’s Most Shameless Lie Ever

By Jonathan Chait at NY Magazine

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/02/paul-ryans-most-shameless-lie-ever.html

"SNIP..................

Shamelessness is the primary feature of Paul Ryan’s public persona (the secondary feature being a woundedness he displays when his shamelessness is pointed out). Yet it is possible that nothing in Ryan’s long and distinguished career in the field of shamelessness has ever exceeded his comments in yesterday’s New York Times on the Obama budget. Ryan’s complaint is that Obama’s economic policies have exacerbated the gap between the rich and the poor. “The Obamanomics that we’re practicing now have exacerbated inequality,” he claims. “They’ve exacerbated stagnation. They’re made things worse. The wealthy are doing really well. They’re practicing trickle down economics now.”

What gives Ryan’s comments a veneer of plausibility is that income inequality has increased continuously, punctuated by a few short reversals, for more than three decades. Economists have extensively studied and debated the cause of rising inequality for years, clustering about multiple theories: the decline of labor unions, technological change, the growth of finance, and so on. None of the theories blame Obama’s economic policies.

We also do not yet know at this point whether the current recovery will produce the sort of rapid growth that lifts incomes in the middle and bottom, like the economy did at the height of the 1990s boom, or whether it will fail to do so, as happened during the previous recovery. It is worth pointing out that, comparing the previous two economic cycles, the one that followed the economic policies advocated by Ryan at the time, the Bush recovery, yielded stagnant incomes for middle- and working-class Americans, while the Clinton recovery, the one that favored higher taxes on the rich, bitterly opposed by Ryan, yielded much greater success. This contrast does not prove that the Democratic agenda necessarily produces stronger growth than the Republican agenda, but it certainly undercuts Ryan’s belief that the opposite is true.

What can be proven beyond a doubt is that, even if underlying economic trends have increased inequality, Obama’s economic policies have reduced it sharply. The stimulus included tax cuts for low-wage workers, and the Affordable Care Act was financed in part by higher taxes on the rich. Back when conservatives were lambasting Obama for stealing hard-earned money from the rich and handing it out to the unworthy poor, rather than pretending to worry about inequality, they were happy to make this perfectly clear.

....................SNIP"

[applegrove]

1. Cause something to happen then get public to judge your victim on it. Typical psychopath.

[Botany]

10. + 1

Just like W's war helped to create ISIS and now the repugs and "our liberal media"
are wondering how President Obama will respond to the problems made by ISIS.

"Paul Ryan, the zombie-eyed granny starver ..... " C. Pierce

[bjobotts]

15. Roll back the Reagan tax cuts on billionaires. make voting mandatory

Problems solved

[Botany]

17. how about raising the minimum wage?

n/t

[Cha]

22. Yes, Charlie Pierce had Paul Ryan's number from the get go.. "Zombie-eyed Granny Starver".. freaking

Ayn Rand lover.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

2. Lyin' Ryan?

[bjobotts]

14. Only repubs take this guy seriously.He's a joke.A failure at economics

Paul Krugman mocks him for his stupidity and demonstrates the complete fallacy of his economic babbling and how much it results in failure. A condescending liar who thinks he is above the rest like when he did a photo op at a soup kitchen after it was closed. A real creep who should just stay at home and suck on his silver spoon rather than insult those who are credible and know what they are talking about.

[ErikJ]

27. The other Paul

[DearAbby]

3. Yeah, that "Makers vs Takers" bullshit, has come back to haunt little Eddie. nt

[applegrove]

4. but people forget stuff like that. Many don't have great long term memories. And sure as ****

faux news will not be reminding them.

[Major Hogwash]

5. Ryan is a douchenozzle.

I can't believe that idiot is a member of Congress.

[LiberalAndProud]

6. What alarms me is this trend for the GOP to take ownership of Democratic talking points

and turn them on their head.

I suspect political strategy, and it might be a successful political gambit. Make no mistake. The GOP has exactly zero interest in income equality, but they'll be happy to exploit the issue for the upcoming election.

The fearful part is that the majority of the public will be all too willing to believe the lie.

[Octafish]

11. As long as neither Party does anything about them, all is well...

...for the swells who call the shots in Wall Street on the Potomac.

[blkmusclmachine]

7. OMFG - HILARIOUS

[H2O Man]

8. Recommended.

I must say, however, that he is merely warming up: in the next 16 months, he will continue to build upon his whooper-lies.

[Martin Eden]

9. DU Rec for the truth!

Ryan is a-lyin pants-on-fire!

[A Simple Game]

12. It's not Ryan's lie, it's the Republican lie. The Democrats need to start taking control

of these issues and stop letting the Republicans take credit for any possible fixes. We all know any Republican fix will just make the problem worse. The Bush tax cuts are what accelerated the inequity and we all know the Republican solution will be more tax cuts.

[underpants]

13. This guy is a joke

I've sat in presentations where it was clear the speaker had no clue what he/she was talking about. Ryan is that

[Scuba]

16. K&R

[The Wizard]

18. Republicans

Lying without compunction is in their DNA. It's a form of mental illness.

[GreatGazoo]

19. This is a standard strategy from the Right -- lie your ass off

Basically take criticism that is directed at the GOP and reverse it. "GOP hostile to women" becomes 'look at how mean the Dems are to breadbag lady!' "GOP fosters inequality and stagnation" becomes Ryan's latest BS.

Without context or two-sided debate they are free to say whatever. They do focus groups to see what people want to hear then they say it, true or not.

[Major Nikon]

20. It's not a lie if he believes it

There comes a point when you realize they aren't just acting stupid.

[Enthusiast]

21. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch!

Paul Ryan is such a lying asshole.

[Cha]

23. I believe it's called being a world class

sociopath. Do they teach that at the knee of Ayn Randism or is it innate?

[Dont call me Shirley]

24. Fuck You Paul Ryan.

[butterfly77]

25. These people don't seem to understand that...

they are not dealing with the same people in America that they have dealt with in the past. People have been beat down,broke down,lost their jobs,homes,families among other things a frankly don't give a damn.

The republiCONS and some so called Dems have destroyed many lives in this country and others but,they continually want to step on everyones back'.

I say keep it up motherfuckers and you will get more than you bargained for because there are a larger majority of people in America who feel that they have nothing to lose and your pen won't be mightier than the sword. Comfortable mfkers!...

[ProudProg2u]

26. These kind of stories

Always get a laugh... Google "Gandpa Bush Heroin Trade"...Never gets much air, but like most repubs .."They earned the money the old fashioned way" Out-rite ripped old people life savings off or corrupted passed laws to favor themselves, or involved in the drug trade ect, Then they have the cojones to point finger at working poor people it's just frigging DISGUSTING...!!!

[blackspade]

28. Ryan is a fucking liar.

As usual.

[libodem]

29. .