Dialogue On the Economy and the Budget Between Rep. Paul Ryan and Archbishop Dolan

I just received this article in an email highlighting a worthwhile exchange between Paul Ryan and Archbishop Dolan on the budget  and the state of our economy.

Here is an article from Catholic Advocate by Deal Hudson and Matt Smith:

Since offering his recommendations to cut the federal budget, Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, has been accused by the Catholic Left of destroying Medicare and ending funding of programs to help those in poverty. That none of this is true was explained clearly by Quin Hillyer in “The Catholicity of Paul Ryan’s Budget” published at Catholic Advocate.

Speaker John Boehner, also a Catholic, was on the receiving end of a letter signed by over 70 Catholic academics claiming he, too, was abandoning the poor and destroying the “safety net” of programs mandated by Catholic social teaching. The total lack of regard by these same academics for the settled issues of abortion and marriage has been noted.

But, Congressman Ryan did something that most Catholic members of Congress before him have not done. He took seriously the public debate among Catholics and wrote a letter, dated April 26, to the president of the USCCB, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York.  His letter conveys his respect for the social Magisterium of the Catholic Church and how it can “contribute to the ongoing healthy dialogue about the nation’s budget and the economic foundations that make possible the exceptional generosity of Americans of every faith.”

Ryan’s letter puts his budget recommendations in the context of the world’s economy, underscoring the consequences of ignoring the economic downturn and the growing deficit. The nations of Europe, Ryan explains, by ignoring the problem too long, were forced to make “drastic cuts in benefits to the retired, the sick, the poor, and millions of public employees. Unsurprisingly, this austerity has generated widespread protests, riots, and violence. The social concerns of the Church cannot be addressed under these conditions.”

Ryan warns that the “U.S. has been traveling on a similar path for years,” and that if our nation continues to ignore the need for fiscal responsibility “the weakest will be hit three times over: by rising costs, by drastic cuts to programs they rely on, and by the collapse of individual support for charities that help the hungry, the homeless, the sick, refugees, and others in need.”

On May 18, Archbishop Dolan responded with a letter to Congressman Ryan that begins by stating his appreciation for Ryan’s “continued attention to the guidance of Catholic social justice in the current delicate budget considerations in Congress.” The Archbishop notes his agreement with religious leaders who claim “budgets are moral statements.”

But, where some religious leaders focus entirely on concern for the poor, Archbishop Dolan makes a broader statement:

“Thus I commend your letter’s attention to the important values of fiscal responsibility; sensitivity to the foundational role of the family; the primacy of the dignity of the human person and the protection of all human life; a concrete solicitude for the poor and the vulnerable, especially those who are hungry and homeless, without work or in poverty; and putting into practice the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, here at home and internationally within the context of a commitment to the common good shared by government and other mediating institutions alike.”

Dolan’s inclusion of fiscal responsibility is clear recognition of Congressman Ryan’s basic point that without a sound economy the safety net of programs for the poor, both governmental and private, are put at risk. The Archbishop also points out the importance of human life, a point completely ignored by the Catholic academics who wrote Boehner, and which led all the bishops to urge Catholics in Congress not to pass the health care legislation, now the law of the land.

It’s also significant that Archbishop Dolan writes that Ryan, “rightly pointed out Pope John Paul’s comments on the limits of what he termed the ‘Social Assistance State.’” Dolan explains this by stressing the interrelation of subsidiarity to solidarity, quoting the Blessed John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus (48):

“… the principle of subsidiarity must be respected: a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good. (Centesimus Annus, 48).”

Archbishop Dolan concludes by telling Congressman Ryan that he, along with Bishops Blaire and Hubbard, who wrote a public letter on budget issues, “would be pleased to make ourselves available.”  We at Catholic Advocate hope that Congressman Ryan accepts this invitation, because both the Church and our nation will be the beneficiary of a continued discussion of these foundational issues.

A copy of Chairman Ryan’s letter is available here.

A copy of Archbishop Dolan’s letter is available here.

Upon receipt of Archbishop Dolan’s letter, Chairman Ryan issued the following statement:

“I thank Archbishop Dolan for his leadership and guidance on how policymakers can best serve the common good of our nation.  The perilous fiscal and economic challenges facing our country require solutions that reflect our shared values and are rooted in timeless principles.  The House-passed budget – The Path to Prosperity – seeks to strengthen the economic security of seniors, workers, and families, and averts the debt-fueled economic crisis before us.  Our budget upholds the dignity of the human person and is especially attentive to the long-term concerns of the poor.  I hope Americans of every faith and political background will continue in constructive dialogue to address these great challenges in their economic and moral dimensions.  I am deeply grateful to Archbishop Dolan for his inspired engagement in this dialogue.”

Speaker John Boehner (R, OH-08) followed with this statement:

“I welcome Archbishop Dolan’s letter and am encouraged by the dialogue taking place between House Republicans and the Catholic Bishops regarding our budget, the Path to Prosperity. Our nation’s current fiscal path is a threat to human dignity in America, offering empty promises to the most vulnerable among us and condemning our children to a future limited by debt. We have a moral obligation as a nation to change course and adopt policies that reflect the truth about our nation’s fiscal condition and our obligation to future generations, and to offer hope for a better future. Our duty to serve others compels us to strive for nothing less. As Chairman Ryan notes in his letter to the Archbishop, Americans are blessed to have the teachings of the Church available to us as guidance as we confront our challenges together as a nation.”

The Rubber Backbone Award Goes To . . .

There are times when compromise is good and times when compromise is bad.  When compromising occurs one must not abandon principles, they must not push principles to the side like leftover scraps.
After coming home last night from spending a nice evening at the movies I was surprised to find out that the Republicans and Democrats had struck a budget deal. Did the GOP wave the white flag and surrender just like General Robert E. Lee did on this date in 1865?  It seems like we got a mixed-bag where some deals the GOP made were good, and some of the items the GOP caved on.

Well, let's see here... The budget is only $1.049 trillion for the remainder of 2011 fiscal year.  This is ONLY $39 billion less than last year. This country is so close to bankruptcy we are about to fall off of the cliff and this congress is so utterly incompetent and complacent that they think cutting a measley $39 billion is "historic" as Sen. Reid stated.  These cuts are just a drop in the bucket. Congress needs to reverse course on their fiscally insane spending policies and make the tough calls needed in order to save this country from going bankrupt.  Military spending may even be able to be reduced instead of increased from last year's budget.

These jelly fish lacking a spine Congressman caved on eliminating funding to both Planned Parenthood and NPR.  The GOP should have held firm on these two items.  We need to stop letting these radicals who are so in love with abortive infanticide make us play along in their deceitful word games and start calling things exactly what they are so from now on I will be referring to Planned Parenthood as Planned Killerhood.  If NPR really wants to be considered a successful business instead of a news group filled with Left-wing extremists who are reliant on government assistance and can't hack it in the real world then they should refuse to accept money from the taxpayers immediately.  There is absolutely no reason, when this country is on the brink of financial insolvemcy, that the taxpayers should be funding NPR.

The GOP dropped provisions that would have barred the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases and the FCC from implementing "net neutrality" rules.

This is simply inexcusable.  The GOP leadership are a bunch of cowards.  They should have demanded that these provisions be included.

Here comes the good news.  There will be no funds used for the transfer of prisoners from Gitmo to the U.S. mainland.  This forces the Senate to take up or down votes on separate bills to stop funding for the health care law.  The budget deal also bans public funds from being used for abortions in Washington D.C. This re-establishes the school voucher program for low-income families in the District of Columbia.  This creates a mandate for the audit of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which was created via the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law.  

Once again, it's worth repeating, the GOP leadership are a bunch of cowards!  They have failed to lead and stand on principle at a time when it is very important.  The GOP leadership is given the rubber backbone award.

Refusal to Compromise on Fiscal Responsibility is "Dangerous" and "Unchristian"

Now the Christian Left is accusing Wisconsin's Governor Walker of being a bad Christian because he cut off the unions' means to keep the bottomless pit of money and cushy benefits fund keep on coming - a.k.a. collective bargaining, even though the collective bargaining tactics employed by unions have hurt hard working taxpayers for years.  Diane Butler Bass accused Gov. Walker of being "dangerous" and unchristian" for being unwilling to compromise when it came to fiscal responsibility with regards to the budget.  Gov. Walker's fiscal policy is in fact responsible, pragmatic, harmless and ethically sound.



Then we have Jim Wallis asking What Would Jesus Cut?  Of course he's against the GOP making cuts to both domestic spending and international aid.  He claims that these cuts will hurt the poor and are unfair. He complains about the tax cuts for 2 percent of Americans and the fact that Republicans support an increase in military spending.  For some reason Jim Wallis makes the assumption that the high taxes imposed under Clinton were just and that the lower taxes imposed under Bush were unjust.  Both John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan made tax cuts which spurred job growth and helped many people, including the poor, to obtain jobs.

Hunter Baker tackles Jim Wallis' claim that cuts in spending is a sub-Christian position:

"The implication is that this is obviously a sub-Christian position. But is it? Probably the most essential purpose of government is to protect the life and freedom of citizens. The government achieves this goal through military means. Unless one takes the position that Christianity implies corporate pacificism, then it is unclear the Republicans have blundered according to Christian ethics. Now, match the question of military spending versus international aid and/or domestic spending. Are the latter obviously superior to the former? No. It depends on not only what the stated objective is for the different types of spending, but whether they actually achieve their purposes. To simply state that the Republicans want to bolster military spending while cutting international aid and domestic spending is to achieve nothing at all by way of an indictment."

Here Hunter Baker deals with Wallis' position on taxes and asks " If there is a community need, is it righteous to grab a rich person and employ the power of legal coercion to extract the needed funds?" 


Then, Hunter Baker explains what's wrong with Jim Wallis' redistributionist philosophy: 


"Still another problem with this redistributionist attitude about taxes and spending is that it assumes a zero sum state of affairs. For example, one could assume that the most people would be better off under a system like the old Soviet Union that spread resources out to citizens in a way that prized equality of rations. The United States system didn’t do that nearly as much, not nearly at all. But which of the two systems provided a better life for people? The answer is easy. The United States and its emphasis on liberty did. Why? A more free economic system produces far more wealth than an unfree one. If your equality system produces a little, bitty pie, it may give you a lot of philosophical satisfaction, but it doesn’t do as much actual good for people as the system that prizes free productivity and success over equality." 


No, fair isn't better. It just means equally poor or equally miserable but not equally better off in society.  If so, then Communism would have worked in the past, but the cold hard facts have proven that Communism has always caused lives to be drastically worse rather than better wherever it has been implemented.  At the very least Communism harms.  Communism has also killed many people.  

According to Courtois who wrote The Black Book of Communism here is the breakdown of the number of deaths which have occurred under Communism: 

• 65 million in the People's Republic of China
• 20 million in the Soviet Union
• 2 million in Cambodia
• 2 million in North Korea
• 1.7 million in Africa
• 1.5 million in Afghanistan
• 1 million in the Communist states of Eastern Europe
• 1 million in Vietnam
• 150,000 in Latin America
• 10,000 deaths "resulting from actions of the international Communist movement and Communist parties not in power."

Do federal programs achieve what they set out to do?  Is there government waste or is the money allocated properly and used efficiently?  Well, the Government Accountability Office found wasteful spending on ending homelessness.

From Fox News:

The Government Accountability Office report found that in 2009, federal agencies spent about $2.9 billion on more than 20 programs that targeted homelessness. If that money were to be targeted toward the building of homes, at say, $200,000 per home, it could theoretically produce 145,000 houses.

"Take that money directly and give them sort of a voucher so they can go get housing on their own, or get some mental health benefits," Brian Darling, director of government studies at the Heritage Foundation suggested. "But the way it is now when you have all of these different government agencies administering the same program, you have government waste."

It is self-evident that government programs aren't efficient and in fact don't achieve what they set out to do.  Our government can do better with less money.  This government waste needs to stop.  Plus, the assertion that Governor Walker is a bad Christian is absurd.  He is exercising fiscal responsibility which is a good thing.

Sarah Palin Speaks on Various Issues with Judge Jeanine

 I found this video at Motivation Truth of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin speaking on various issues such as energy, terrorism, Libya, Wisconsin, and support of Israel.  She rocked! In my opinion, this was one of her best interviews. 

Obama is Kicking the Can Down the Road but is GOP Kicking Smaller Can Down the Road Too?

The Obama budget is a fiscal joke, or a fiscal nightmare for our future.  The American people sent a message loud and clear to Congress and President Obama on November 2nd and it is obvious that he didn't get it.  


Senator Jon Kyl points out that Obama's budget adds nearly $13 trillion in debt by the end of the decade and the gross debt will reach $26.3 trillion by the end of the decade - which is 107 of gross domestic product.


 Senator Kyl says that: 
"The debt will eclipse the size of the entire economy." 




The United States will have a mega-financial disaster on its hands, which will look much like Greece does today.  


Sen. Kyl states: 


 "That’s a gloomy outlook, and it would be prudent to stop raiding the treasury. But, not in this budget. Under President Obama’s budget, the size of the federal government will nearly double since he took office. Over the next 10 years, the President proposes $8.7 trillion in new spending, with $46 trillion in total spending. Spending in this fiscal year is projected to be a record $3.8 trillion, or 25.3 percent of gross domestic product, the highest spending-to-GDP ratio since World War II!" 


I agree with Sen. Kyl.  This is a gloomy outlook.  This type of financial disaster can be avoided if President Obama, the Democrats, and the Republicans have the will and listen to the American peoples' voices which were spoken loud and clear in the November elections.  


The Obama budget would increase taxes on families, small businesses, and job creators at a time when  our economy is still very fragile.  How does raising taxes on small business owners and other job creators encourage businesses to hire new employees?  Simply put, it doesn't.  It decentivises the job creators from opening up new stores and hiring new employees.  It is a real possibility that their will be layoffs due to Obama's fiscal insanity. With this kind of backwards mentality of penalizing the backbone of our country - the entrepreneurs - in the near future I can see the unemployment rate rising above 10 percent. 


  But, does the GOP get it?

The GOP seems to be waving the white flag of compromise and giving into the Democrats.  Most of what is in the GOP's Stop Gap proposal consists of cuts which were already proposed by Obama and the Democrats.  The GOP is acting very weak and are compromising to avoid a government shutdown.  I am all for a government shutdown.  What has the government done right in the past few years?  The government has expanded like a huge balloon full of helium and it needs to be popped and shrunk down to a much smaller, acceptable size.  The Federal government has invaded our lives, like an invasion of aliens from outer space.  This ever expansive government needs to be reigned in and if it takes a government shutdown to save money and show the Democrats that we want to save or country from fiscal ruin, so be it.  The dynamics of our economy is different than in 1995 and there are more people who are more aware that the United States needs to get its fiscal house in order.  


The GOP didn't even have the will to cut at least $100 billion from the budget, as they pledged to the American people in November.  The House approved $61 billion in spending cuts and the GOP can't even stand on principle and put pressure on the Senate to pass those cuts.  This is unacceptable and makes me furious. We definitely need to boot some RINO's out of the GOP.  These compromisers need to go.  I am sick of the GOP being more worried about their political appearances than solving both our budget and deficit woes.  


So, sadly I have to say that more than a few in the GOP don't get it.  They are indeed kicking the can down the road, albeit a smaller can than the Democrats.  But, this should not be the barometer we use to judge the GOP. They must have had some serious wax in their ears during the November campaigns.  Or, maybe they have had amnesia?  Their actions and words are evidence that we need to remind them consistently and often of the will of the American people and what this country needs in order to get its fiscal house in order.