Paul Ryan’s budget proposal: another con job for the rich?

UYGUR: Every day, we find out more and more about how Congressman Paul Ryan`s budget plan takes from the middle class and gives to the rich. The tax poll center has now released a study finding the major tax cuts in Ryan`s plan will decrease revenue by $2.9 trillion over the next ten years. This is a joke. And of course those tax cuts are skewed to benefit the wealthy. Ryan`s extension of Bush tax cuts alone gives people making more than a million dollars average tax cuts of $125,000 a year. That`s an enormous gift to millionaires. They`ve got to be very grateful for the republican politicians that they have bought.

But those cuts fly in the face of public opinion. A recent NBC News/”Wall Street Journal” poll found that 81 percent of people support raising taxes on millionaires. Despite these overwhelming numbers, Republicans are continuing their decades-long quest to cut taxes for the rich. Next week`s cover story on “Bloomberg Business Week” written by Jesse Drucker points out that between 1995 and 2007, the effective tax rate at the federal level for the 400 wealthiest American taxpayers dropped from 30 percent of their income to just under 17 percent. And in 2008 alone, the top one percent of Americans saw their effective income tax rate drop from 29 to 23 percent.

So, the rich have seen massive tax decreases and the richer they are, the bigger the decrease. And Republicans think it`s still not enough. Let`s give them more. And by the way, how do they pay so little?

By taking advantage of a slew of corporate loopholes and tax avoidance strategies gift wrapped for them by earlier republican proposals. As Republicans working really hard to make sure the rich get richer and richer and richer off your hide.

UYGUR: It`s time for the con job of the day. And once again, today`s winner is republican Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Congratulations. He`s on a streak. As we explained last night, his whole budget proposal is one massive con on the American people. He transfers money from the poor and the middle class straight to the rich in the form of tax cuts for the very top brackets. But today we want to focus on one particular part of the proposal that isn`t getting a lot of attention. Ryan claims his budget is about reducing the deficit which just like the republican attack on Planned Parenthood that we`ve been talking about it all day. He`s targeting programs that have nothing to do with cutting debt all.

Instead, Ryan would gut financial reform so that big banks can make more money while endangering our entire economy yet again. Ryan`s budget would stop the FDIC from dismantling failing banks. The banks must be protected at all costs apparently, if you believe the Republicans, even if they`re failing ones. And would also stop the Federal Reserve from overseeing nonbanking firms. Now, that would be firms like AIG that needed a $180 billion bailout because we didn`t regulate them in first place. So, why regulate them now? We`ll just bail them out when they get in trouble, right?

That`s a terrible idea. Now, chair of the Senate Banking Committee Ken Johnson says, quote, “House Republicans` attacks on the Wall Street reform law have nothing to do with cutting the budget and they have everything to do with gutting consumer and investor protections and letting Wall Street run wild all over again.” So, Ryan`s plans to eliminate parts of the Dodd/Frank financial reform bill will actually give much more power to the banks and it actually also eliminates revenue. Get this ticker, according to the nonpartisan CBO, Dodd/Frank will cut the deficit by about $3 billion over the next ten years. That`s reducing the deficit. Now, Raya would get rid of that cost savings and he`d add to the deficit. Why? Because this isn`t about the deficit. Ryan`s budget proposal is one giant welfare program for the rich and the powerful. And the banks are on the top of that list. This particular trick to help their wealthy donors is the republican con job of the day.

BAREFOOT ACCOUNTANT:  As Warren Buffett said:  “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

Need I say more?