How Catholic is Paul Ryan's budget?

Give Congressman Paul Ryan credit for persistence.

The Wisconsin Republican and architect of the GOP's budget plan has spent a month arguing that his party's proposals to cut programs for the needy while sparing the Defense Department and not raising taxes on the wealthy are in line with the social justice teaching of his own Catholic Church.

And for just as long, Catholic groups and theologians — and even the Catholic bishops — have been saying that in fact the GOP plan fails to meet the basic "moral criteria" of Catholic teaching.

Undaunted, Ryan returned to the fray this week. He penned a column on Thursday in the conservative National Catholic Register saying that the House-passed budget reflects "Catholic social truths."

That same day, he visited Georgetown University, the flagship Jesuit school and decidedly hostile terrain for Ryan's strain of economic libertarianism, where he argued for his budget's priorities despite vocal and visible protests by faculty and students.

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George L

Jesus said that we would have the poor with us always, and that we should take care of them, not the government. If we continue on the road that we are going without cuts is everything and goverment, there will be no more good times in America. We as Catholics have a responsibility to give what we can for the poor, and cut government spending, we are heading for a social state which will eventually take all you money as well as your freedom. WAKE UP AMERICA
paulc

I am not a Roman Catholic, but I certainly agree with George L. The freedoms provided by the U S Constitution have improved the living conditions of both poor and "rich." The history of government providing for the "poor" is not very inspiring, either in the US or in other locales.
Despeville

"..in line with the social justice teaching of his own Catholic Church."

To have a solid view of Roman Catholic "social justice" all we have to do is look at South America countries; colonized, influenced and run by Roman Catholics and Roman Catholicism.
- JoJo
  
  The catholic church has been infiltrated by many liberals that have pushed this socialist agenda for so long that people now think it's part of their doctrine.
  - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
    
    Did those "socialist" infiltrated RC before socialism came about? For certainly the colonization of South America and the system instituted there happened long, long before…
msjallen

I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer. Benjamin Franklin, On the Price of Corn and Management of the Poor, November 1766
- Steve03
  
  As Franklin never travelled much in his youth — he got around a lot in later life, but that was after 1766 — one should be cautious about how literally to take his words in the passage you quote. Especially as "On the Price of Corn" purports to be a defense of price-gouging in time of famine . . . A "modest proposal," perhaps? I'm sure Franklin had read Swift.
  When the harvest has failed (which is the situation Franklin addresses in the letter), how will refusing to feed to the starving farmers or selling them food at exorbitant prices encourage them to work harder next year? Dead men can plant no corn, and bankrupt farmers can't afford the seed.
  - msjallen
    
    I am sorry you missed the point that I was making: teach the poor to work instead of handing them money so they continue to rely on taxpayer's money who work for theirs. I believe in helping the helpless as the Bible says but if one can work they should work as the Bible says.
    2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.
    1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own family, and especially for those of his immediate household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
    - Steve03
      
      My quibble was you using Franklin's authority to make a point which may well be the opposite of the one he was making. Both your Bible verses are Paul's instructions about how to deal with members of the Christian community, not how to treat outsiders. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul is specifically dealing with brethren who, believing that Jesus is coming any day now (as 1 Thessalonians seemed to promise), have stopped working in order to watch for it. First Timothy also deals with intramural charity, not dealings with those outside the immediate Christian community.
      Paul had no need to discuss charity toward outsiders, as Jesus had already given guidance in that area: "Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again." (Luke 6:30)
      - msjallen
        
        I believe it has do with a warning against welfare. I disagree with your comment but that is between you and the Lord as it is with what I believe.
      - keyboardshark
        
        @ Steve03:
        
        If you believe that welfare is the solution to poverty, I would challenge you to provide some statistically significant evidence covering at least 50 years of data in which welfare or other government handouts to the poor actually did indeed reduce poverty.
Kenneth

Let's hope that Ryan's budget is for ALL Americans, not just for the Catholics. I am a protestant and would hope that the budget has all of us in mind. I don't agree with all of Catholic teachings and we should be considered.
http://twitter.com/lambsev11 @lambsev11

America's Catholic taxpayers are so rich they can hire the federal Govt to do their charitable works?
- http://twitter.com/goodone121 @goodone121
  
  Ummm…NO. My Mother is a taxpayer, so is my Stepfather (they're married to each other), and they work 3 jobs together, and taking care of 3 kids, while putting me and Stepdad through college, is pretty much draining them dry.
aceituna

We definitely should not hire the government to do what God has commanded us individuals to do!
Evermyrtle

There are many poor Catholics just as there are poor in every other denomination. When the Catholics get to Hell's door they will meet, Baptist, Methodist, Adventist and a few of every other denomination in existence. I will not be the one who is making the decisions but I believe when we get to Heaven's door, that will be a few Catholic there, too. That church denomination will not take your to heaven.
Bobseeks

Number 1, by the world's standards, there are very few poor people in the USA. Poverty in the USA has been re-defined by lieberals to mean that you are "poor" if you don't live in the lap of luxury. Number 2, most of those who really are poor are poor as a result of their own actions – they took on too much debt, they are drug and/or alcohol addicts, they didn't finish school, they began producing children they could not support, they joined unions that destroyed job producing industries, or they are just plain lazy. Number 3, the lieberals have no intention of ending poverty anyway; their intent is to keep a large percentage of people thinking that they are poor in order for the lieberals to use their envy and greed as a power base for the lieberal programs off of which lieberals feed. The fact that many children suffer because the lieberals have a vested interest in maintaining a certain percentage of impoverished people should be considered as a crime against humanity and these lieberals should be charged with that crime.
- Bobseeks
  
  Because governemnt is inefficient and corrupt, the best way to deal with poverty is to end all government programs directed at poverty and then give people full tax credits (rather than tax deductions) for money they donate to well run charities that deal with the poor. This would be more effective and would cut-off the flow of tax dollars to lieberal parasites. .
  - aceituna
    
    Love this answer!