Paul Ryan: Prevent the Poor from Staying Poor

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From the Wall Street Journal: “Demolishing Paul Ryan” by Daniel Henninger

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304356604577337922580242292.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

About Paul Ryan:
"In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, he said that in fact the Catholic Church’s “social magisterium” had informed his House budget. One goal of that teaching, he said, is to prevent the poor from staying poor. Nor, he added, should individuals become lifelong dependents of their government. "

“A person’s faith is central to how they conduct themselves in public and in private. So to me, using my Catholic faith, we call it the social magisterium, which is how do you apply the doctrine of your teaching into your everyday life as a lay person? To me, the principle of subsidiarity . . . meaning government closest to the people governs best . . . where we, through our civic organizations, through our churches, through our charities, through all of our different groups where we interact with people as a community, that’s how we advance the common good. By not having big government crowd out civic society, but by having enough space in our communities so that we can interact with each other, and take care of people who are down and out in our communities. Those principles are very, very important, and the preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenants of Catholic social teaching, means don’t keep people poor, don’t make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life. Help people get out of poverty out onto a life of independence.”👍
 
As New Jersey’s Governor Christie recently remarked:

“The country is in danger of becoming a “paternalistic entitlement society” where people sit on the couch, “waiting for the next government check.””

He warns of the danger of keeping the poor poor. 👍
 
jwakja said:
Education goes a long way also.
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As I understand it, every child in the US is able to attend school for free for up to 14 or 15 years, and if they are very poor, be fed up to 2 meals/school day.

Now, I don’t know about other states, but in my state, there is a 4-year college which every student who completes an AA degree at a community college can attend for two more years for free. There are programs in place to help low-income students afford the community college.

Moreover, my children, who are attending these colleges, get excellent guidance in the area of finacial aid from that department.

So I am confused about what you are saying–it seems like you think that poor people cannot get an education? Or are you talking about another country?
 
Mr. Ryan’s budget resembles Catholic teaching like a doughnut resembles an accordion, and the Catholic bishops have made this clear in recent letters.

Because the Republican Party has become the pro-life party in recent years, many Catholics and other Christians have quite understandably decided to throw in with that party, and the Democrats have, in the meantime, done everything possible to alienate people of faith. Unfortunately, this has created a situation where Catholics have either felt the obligation to accept other Republican positions that are quite obviously in conflict with Catholic teaching, or have unconsciously assimilated those positions. The Republican position regarding the poor and working people is a prime example of this.

Mr. Ryan requires his staff to read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, who was an atheist, and founded the philosophy of Objectivism, which embraces a kind of social darwinism. Mr. Ryan’s budget makes a great deal of sense within the context of Objectivism, but it is not possible to be both a Catholic and an Objectivist. Indeed, the Satanism founded by Anton LaVey, the author of the Satanic Bible, is really nothing more than Objectivism with ritual, a fact that LaVey acknowledged. “I give people Ayn Rand with trappings,” he once said. An interesting article on this appeared in First Things, and can be found here.

But Mr. Ryan is in the Republican mainstream. Mitt Romney has endorsed his latest budget proposal.

So what is a conscientious Catholic to do? Do we go with the Republican Satanists or the Democratic Moloch worshipers?

Fortunately, an alternative is developing. A small group of people are trying to begin a Christian Democratic Party for the United States. Christian Democratic parties were originally inspired by Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, and can be found as major parties in Europe, Australia, and Latin America. In the U.S. this is a very small movement for now, but anyone who is interested in helping to develop a party that will be completely consistent with Catholic teaching should look into it. The website can be found here.
 
JackQ said:
Mr. Ryan’s budget resembles Catholic teaching like a doughnut resembles an accordion, and the Catholic bishops have made this clear in recent letters.

Because the Republican Party has become the pro-life party in recent years, many Catholics and other Christians have quite understandably decided to throw in with that party, and the Democrats have, in the meantime, done everything possible to alienate people of faith. Unfortunately, this has created a situation where Catholics have either felt the obligation to accept other Republican positions that are quite obviously in conflict with Catholic teaching, or have unconsciously assimilated those positions. The Republican position regarding the poor and working people is a prime example of this.

Mr. Ryan requires his staff to read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, who was an atheist, and founded the philosophy of Objectivism, which embraces a kind of social darwinism. Mr. Ryan’s budget makes a great deal of sense within the context of Objectivism, but it is not possible to be both a Catholic and an Objectivist. Indeed, the Satanism founded by Anton LaVey, the author of the Satanic Bible, is really nothing more than Objectivism with ritual, a fact that LaVey acknowledged. “I give people Ayn Rand with trappings,” he once said. An interesting article on this appeared in First Things, and can be found here.

But Mr. Ryan is in the Republican mainstream. Mitt Romney has endorsed his latest budget proposal.

So what is a conscientious Catholic to do? Do we go with the Republican Satanists or the Democratic Moloch worshipers?

Fortunately, an alternative is developing. A small group of people are trying to begin a Christian Democratic Party for the United States. Christian Democratic parties were originally inspired by Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, and can be found as major parties in Europe, Australia, and Latin America. In the U.S. this is a very small movement for now, but anyone who is interested in helping to develop a party that will be completely consistent with Catholic teaching should look into it. The website can be found here.
Click to expand...
Two Bishops criticized Paul Ryan’s budget, and they are entitled to their opinion but I think this is an issue that Catholics can have a diversity of opinion about.

If you do not stop spending, and cut some things, such programs for the poor will be worse off in the future.
 
Thanks, JackQ for the First Things article. More people should read it. I am sending it to several of my friends.

As to preventing the poor from staying poor - there ae NO quick answers. But there are clear areas that need to be constantly addressed.
  1. Parenting skills. One would think that parenting is a natural skill. It is not. Frustratation leads to apathy not love. Men need to be taught that they must protect and provide for their woman and children. Men must be held accountable for the success or failure of their families. Work to improve men and we solve a whole hot of problems. There is no good that can come from an unwed birthrate of nearly 40%.
  2. Education. Those who know, go. Those who don’t, won’t. I rarely, if ever, see anything in the news that explains how people are working to reduce the 25% high school drop out rate in America. 25% drop out. In some groups in certain areas it is higher. Charter schools are an attempt to address this but their results are all over the board. Parent must care about their kids’ education and social promotion must stop. Much more tutoring needs to be done.
  3. A renewal of real religion. Frankly I was shocked at the results of a recent Wall Street Journal Question where 57% (9,600) said they had No Faith and just 27% (4,600) said they had Great Faith and regular participation. Hard to think the “poor” respond to the Wall Street, but it is easy to see that societal leaders do. Without Faith, one does tend to become selfishess and uncaring. So government programs that sound good do not work and money is wasted.
The simple TRUE message that needs to be taught AND applied is:

God First. Family Second. All else third.

It seems a large part of our society and government want to do away with God and replace the family with government programs. No surprise that all else is breaking down.
 
This thread is now closed. Please remember that discussion of particular politcial parties or candidates is not allowed on this forum. Thank you for your cooperation.
 
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