Paul Ryan’s Fairytale Budget Plan

1. Paul Ryan’s Fairytale Budget Plan By: Jesus Jacquez Keeli Ginsbach Taylor Reiter Josh Rodriguez

2. Background Information • Dwight D Eisenhower (Ike) • President from 1953 to 1961 during the Cold War • Military-Industrial Complex • In Eisenhower’s farewell speech • Armies+ Defense Contractors= D:< • The Fed (federal reserve) • 12 banks control US money • K Street • Center for lobbyists, lawyers, think tanks, advocacy groups, big oil companies, banks, etc. • Vat tax • A European regressive sales tax on everything

3. Background Information • Payroll Taxes • Wages withheld by an employer to pay taxes • Subsidies • Sums of money guaranteed by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business in the public’s interest • Medicaid • Health care for the poor or disabled, especially needy families • Glass-Steagal • 1993 Act that prohibited commercial banks from investment banking • Dismantled 1999 • Protects depositors from additional risks

4. Background Information • Dodd-Frank • Government supervision of the Fed which restricts types of proprietary trading activities allowed by financial institutions • Greenspan-Bernanke • Two chairs of the Federal reserve that created the Federal Reserve policy • Sputnik • Russian satellite launched on October 4th 1957 • Started the space race and America had fears of the Russians getting ahead • Trotsky (1879-1921) • A Russian Marxist who led the Red army and opposed Hitler • He was expelled by Stalin and assassinated in Mexico

5. Background Information • Irving Kristol (January 22nd 1920- September 18th 2009) • Godfather of neo-conservatism • Former Trotskyist • Believes in Leftist policies and social conservatism • Defense Hawk • Pro defense (since the age of Reagan) • Grand Old Party (GOP): Strong on defense

6. Vocabulary (and other technical stuff) • Articulate: Able to convey ones thoughts clearly • Imposing: Impressive • Earnest: Serious • Apostasy: Complete separation from one’s religion, principles, cause, etc. • Coddling: Pampering • Sonorous: Resonant with a rich, full sound • Fiscal: Of public revenues • Cobbled: Put together clumsily • Salons: Gathering of leaders in the arts, politics, etc. • Doctrines: Particular principal of a religion or government • Saddle: To burden

7. Vocabulary (and other technical stuff) • Outlandish: Strange or odd • Saber Rattling: waving swords • Benighted: Intellectually or morally ignorant • Renunciation: Given up voluntarily • Thrift: Economical management • Marginalia: Marginal notes • Quasi-wards: Those who resemble American merchants • Inexorably: Relentlessly • Prone: Likely or inclined • Speculative: Relating to, of the nature of, or characterized by speculation

8. Vocabulary (and other technical stuff) • Decree: Formal order • Mettle: Disposition • Entitlements: Right to guaranteed benefits under a government program such as Social Security or unemployment compensation • Deferring: Put off action • Measly: Miserably small • Discretionary: Subject or left to one’s own discretion • Subsidy: Direct financial aid • Gumption: Courage • Fetish: Something to which one is irrationally devoted • Undisclosed: Revealed • Expenditures: The act of spending or disbursing something, often funds • Crony: Close friend or companion; chum • Calamity: Great misfortune or disaster

9. Persona • Well educated • Works for the New York Times • Republican with Libertarian and Democratic views • Supports the old Republican party but believes in Healthcare, Medicaid, etc. • Older male • Mentions the past like he lived it (and he probably did)

10. Audience • Older • Well educated • Probably politically inclined • The article is found most convincing by those with: • Democratic beliefs • Liberal beliefs • Republican beliefs • Political beliefs • Taco shaped hats

11. Purpose • To Assert/ Prevail • “Mr. Ryan professes to be a defense hawk, though the true conservatives of modern times– Calvin Coolidge, [Eisenhower, etc.]– would have no use for the neoconservative imperialism[…] three decades ago.” Paragraph 3 Sentence 1 • “But the greater hypocrisy is [Paul Ryan’s] phony ‘plan’ to solve the entitlements mess by deferring changes to social insurance by at least a decade.” Paragraph 7 Sentence 2

12. Ar(gumen)t • Explicit Thesis: • “In short, Mr. Ryan’s plan is devoid of credible math or hard policy choices[,] [a]nd it couldn’t pass even if Republicans were to take the presidency and both houses of Congress.” Paragraph 13 Sentences 1 and 2 • Implicit Thesis: • The current Republican party has been diminishing in ethics as well as in policy and measures should be taken in order to avoid being run by a corrupt and ineffective government.

13. Diction and Tone • Extremely elevated and angry • “Republican apostasy[…] have crippled the engines of capitalism and buried us in debt.” Paragraph 2 Sentence 1 • Less elevated but still angry • “Mr. Ryan showed his conservative mettle in 2008 when he folded like a lawn chair on the auto bailout and the Wall Street bailout.” Paragraph 7 Sentence 1 • In short: • He is an angry man • He uses elevated diction, then less elevated diction to prove his points to a broader audience

14. Analysis Being a Republican, Mr. Stockman has no reason to argue against his own political party, and is thus believable in both terms of knowledge and ethos. Appealing to a wide array of educated peoples, he sends his point about the newer Republican party out toward many of the voting population. Writers like Stockman are incredibly powerful during times of election.

15. Discussion Questions • How would Stockman likely feel about President Obama? • How does Stockman differ in opinion from the two major political parties? • What is the irony in the differences between the perspectives of David Stockman and Dennis Prager?

17. Works Cited • Bonner, Bill. "Alan Greenspan vs. Ben Bernanke: the follies of Fed chairmen - CSMonitor.com." The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com. The Chrstian Science Monitor, n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2012. <http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Daily-Reckoning/2010/0412/Alan-Greenspan-vs.-Ben-Bernanke-the-follies-of-Fed-chairmen>. • "Dodd-Frank Financial Regulatory Reform Bill | Investopedia." Investopedia – Educating the world about finance. Investopedia, n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2012. <http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dodd-frank-financial-regulatory-reform-bill.asp#axzz225VhXKaBR>. • "Dwight D. Eisenhower - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 5 Sept. 2012. Web. 6 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower>. • "Glass-Steagall Act Definition | Investopedia." Investopedia – Educating the world about finance. Investopedia, n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2012. <http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/glass_steagall_act.asp#axzz225VhXKaBR>. • "Google-"Define Subsidies"." Google. Google, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2006. <https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=1&tok=Sr_sDtVrpYb8HePfum84rA&cp=14&gs_id=1i&xhr=t&q=define+subsidies&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=define+subside&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=d9c29e11e0fdd1d5&biw=1311&bih=543>. • "Irving Kristol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Kristol>. • "Lobbying Database | OpenSecrets." OpenSecrets.org: Money in Politics -- See Who's Giving & Who's Getting. OpenSecrets.org, n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2012. <http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/index.php>. • "Medicaid-Define Medicaid at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2006. <dictionary.reference.com/browse/medicaid>. • "Sputnik 1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1>. • "The Federal Reserve: Duties | Investopedia." Investopedia – Educating the world about finance. Investopedia, n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2012. <http://www.investopedia.com/university/thefed/fed2.asp#axzz25hyWC7Ko>. • "Value-Added Tax(VAT) Definition-Investopedia." Investopedia. Investopedia, n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2006. <www.investopedia.com/terms/v/valueaddedtax.asp#axzz26gng00xb>. • "Leon Trotsky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky>.