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We may all need to sacrifice in order to bring out national deficit under control. But in Ryan's proposals most of the cuts fall on the poor, the elderly and the most vulnerable fellow citizens. The most unfair proposal is to cut the taxes of the wealthy. In the last decade the poor and the middle class have seen their income remain stagnant or drop. News reports have indicated that the wealthy have done very well. The average CEO had a 27% increase in income. Many corporations have made more money then hey have in a long time. GE made over 14 billion and paid no taxes. Exxon Mobil made more money in 2009 than any corporation in history.

And yet Ryan and others want to keep cutting the corporate and top tax rates.[[In-content Ad]]

They claim these are the "job creators". Yet they are not creating jobs. They are sitting on their cash or buying up other companies.

Rep. Ryan and many in the Tea Party claim to follow the philosophy of Ayn Rand.

She was an individualist and professed atheist who promoted aggressive self-interest. In the past conservatives would have nothing to do with her because of her atheism, feminism and pro-choice stance.

Now Rep. Ryan instructs his staff to read her book "Atlas Shrugged".

Her philosophy shows in Ryan's proposals.

Two-thirds of the long term cuts that Ryan proposes are directed at modest and low-income people, as well as the poorest of the poor at home and abroad.

At the same time, he proposes tax cuts up to 30 percent for some of our wealthiest corporations. Think of it: Two-Thirds cuts for families who are already struggling while corporations posting record profits get tax breaks. This is why his proposals are unfair and I would add, unchristian. The prophet Isaiah said this:

"Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims

laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children what will you have to say on Judgement Day, when Doomsday arrives out of the blue? Who will you get to help you? What good will your money do?

(Isaiah 10:1-3,

The Message)

We all can agree that the deficit needs to be dealt with. But how we deal with it is a moral issue. Reducing the deficit by further impoverishing the poor in order to add more wealth to the wealthy is not an acceptable political or moral choice.



Rev. Lawrence Nelson

Backus, MN

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