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Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
In a move critics say would lead the country further down a path of austerity, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Paul Ryan's proposed budget plan on Thursday.
If made into law, the bill would block funding for Medicaid and food stamps, turn Medicare into a voucher system, repeal the Affordable Care Act, cut grants for college students, dramatically decrease research and infrastructure spending, and slash multiple other safety net programs for hurting U.S. residents, all the while lowering the corporate tax rate to 25 percent and increasing military spending.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities's calculations, the Ryan plan gets 69 percent of its budget cuts from programs for people with low or moderate incomes.
"The $5.1 trillion in cuts are of particular interest, not just because they're needed to finance another tax break for the rich, but also in light of how brutal they would be to critical public services," writes Steve Benen at MSNBC.
The budget "will serve largely as a campaign manifesto" for upcoming midterm elections, Reuters reports, as it is not expected to pass in the Senate.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
In a move critics say would lead the country further down a path of austerity, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Paul Ryan's proposed budget plan on Thursday.
If made into law, the bill would block funding for Medicaid and food stamps, turn Medicare into a voucher system, repeal the Affordable Care Act, cut grants for college students, dramatically decrease research and infrastructure spending, and slash multiple other safety net programs for hurting U.S. residents, all the while lowering the corporate tax rate to 25 percent and increasing military spending.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities's calculations, the Ryan plan gets 69 percent of its budget cuts from programs for people with low or moderate incomes.
"The $5.1 trillion in cuts are of particular interest, not just because they're needed to finance another tax break for the rich, but also in light of how brutal they would be to critical public services," writes Steve Benen at MSNBC.
The budget "will serve largely as a campaign manifesto" for upcoming midterm elections, Reuters reports, as it is not expected to pass in the Senate.
______________________
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
In a move critics say would lead the country further down a path of austerity, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Paul Ryan's proposed budget plan on Thursday.
If made into law, the bill would block funding for Medicaid and food stamps, turn Medicare into a voucher system, repeal the Affordable Care Act, cut grants for college students, dramatically decrease research and infrastructure spending, and slash multiple other safety net programs for hurting U.S. residents, all the while lowering the corporate tax rate to 25 percent and increasing military spending.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities's calculations, the Ryan plan gets 69 percent of its budget cuts from programs for people with low or moderate incomes.
"The $5.1 trillion in cuts are of particular interest, not just because they're needed to finance another tax break for the rich, but also in light of how brutal they would be to critical public services," writes Steve Benen at MSNBC.
The budget "will serve largely as a campaign manifesto" for upcoming midterm elections, Reuters reports, as it is not expected to pass in the Senate.
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