"This is not a budget. This is a cause."
This is how Paul Ryan, Tea Party-backed GOP budget plan author describes their proposal.
Tuesday, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (WI-01) announced the Republican’s budget proposal. It is unbelievably bad - literally. The GOP budget not only repeals the new health care law, it also eliminates Medicare and Medicaid as we know it.
The Republican’s proposal gives millionaires huge tax breaks, but seniors and hard-working families pay more for health care and get less coverage. Paul Ryan’s plan would radically undermine the economic security of America’s middle class. Yet it helps Wall Street-run health insurance companies make record-breaking profits! While the CEOs are paid outrageous sums to deny people the care they paid for and need.
As part of this radical ideological crusade, seniors will be force to clip coupons if they want to see a doctor. It includes huge tax breaks for the ultra wealthy and giveaways to Big Oil companies that are making record profits.
Nowhere in the Republican plan is there any shared sacrifice. There’s no fairness. The big corporations and super-rich are not asked to pitch in. Instead they get even richer while most families are struggling just to make it month to month. This budget would eviscerated programs that everyone in this country depend on. Republicans are attacking the people while pretending to be fiscally responsible!
This budget changes the rules and reshapes this country in a dangerous way. The Republicans and Tea Party backers think they can use the budget as cover to pursue their radical agenda to end Medicare and put seniors’ health care in the hands of Big Insurance CEOs.
But they aren't done with their outrageous demands. They want to do even more to hurt the people!
In this case women specificly - Thursday, April 7, thousands of Americans will descend on Washington, DC, to defend women's health from the extremists in Congress that are determined to roll back access to reproductive health care.
This assault is unprecedented and covers multiple areas. Several amendments have been added to what was already voted on weeks ago in an attempt to push these changes through the Senate. An ammendment that would eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood offers cancer screenings to protect women's health. They offer education, contraceptives and seek to prevent unplanned, unwanted pregnancies. They help those that have been victims or are in hard situations by getting them professional help. Cutting these programs will put more women at risk.
But not one has mentioned how much it costs to raise a child that is placed into the system. No one talks about the many children that wait sometimes without hope for a family to adopt them. Why defund a program that keeps many unplanned pregnancies from happening?
They want to pass legislation that would impose an abortion tax on small businesses who want to provide abortion coverage in health plans. They have bills that would prevent elected officials from using local funds to pay for abortion care for low income and at risk women. This attack on women's rights must stop! Across the nation, people will be standing up for women's health.
Hidden in the budget is more cuts on funding to the Enviromental Protection Agency. This is our one defense against more BP disasters. It's the agency that protects the people by enforcing safety regulations. Protects the environment, the people and our ecology from the "profits before people" greed of these big Corporations. In Pensylvania the water resources are being contaminated due to the coal companies fracking to get at gas reserves. This is causing water to become flamable and not fit to drink. This practice needs to stop!
Already the big Oil Corps are pushing to drill for oil again. Why? With the technology we have right now - technology we've had since 2006 - we could have been using hydrogen for power. We've had the technology to use solar power, wind power and water power! Yet the greed and profit of "black gold" pushes the Corporations - Deep Water drilling has already been given the green light. The guy in charge of the energy commission in D.C. is an Oil Company shareholder. We need the EPA has the funds to function!
Congress MUST hear our voices and know that enough is enough!
Democrats have already ruled out defunding the year-old health care overhaul or to deny Planned Parenthood all federal money. And Reid has said he will not agree to any of the curbs Republicans want to place on the Environmental Protection Agency. Democrats will not just roll over without a fight.
In D.C. this week, hundreds of Tea Party demonstrators rallied outside the Capitol calling for budget cuts and to shutdown if necessary to get their way.
"Shut the sucker down," one yelled, and the crowd repeatedly chanted, "Shut it down."
Is this the America we want to live in? We need to stand up to the bullies on the Hill and take back our rights and our freedoms!
Check out these links:
1. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/04/ryan_budget_preview.html
2. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-06/ryan-s-budget-proposal-would-aid-insurers-a-top-source-of-campaign-cash.html
3. http://www.healthcare.gov/law/provisions/billofright/patient_bill_of_rights.html
4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ethan-rome/republican-budget-plan-de_b_845256.html
5. https://dccc.org/page/contribute/shutdown3?source=040611_si,alld,med
6. https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3056&s_subsrc=110406_rally&JServSessionIdr004=rudkaoryj1.app217a
7. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/efficiencity/index.html
8. http://video.pbs.org/program/1305364341/
(especially this one: Hydrogen Hopes) http://video.pbs.org/video/1335040144
Be a part of history - get involved and make sure the changes that are happening are the ones that you want.
Carpe Diem!
