Erika Christakis
August 14, 2012
www.time.com
Americans often tell pollsters they yearn for a
return to the Christian principles on which the U.S. was founded. If so, they
should take a closer look at the Mitt Romney–Paul Ryan ticket. Jesus’ teachings
regarding wealth are nowhere to be found in Ryan’s budget proposal.
Ryan’s proposed tax cuts for the rich would be shouldered by the
working and middle classes. According to Forbes magazine, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center calculated that those earning more
than $1 million would get an average tax
reduction of more than $250,000,
while 50% of people earning $20,000-$30,000 per year would get nothing. Put
another way, under Ryan’s proposed tax plan, the after-tax incomes of the rich
would grow by 12%; those of the poor would increase by less than 1%.
But it gets worse. The estimated $4.6 trillion increase in the
national deficit over the next 10 years as a result of these tax cuts will be
absorbed by cuts to programs that provide economic opportunity to working poor
and middle class, such as Medicare and Food Stamps. Some might argue that
freeing our wealthiest taxpayers to keep more of their own money will allow
them to care for the poor privately and in their own way. Indeed, we have a
long tradition of private philanthropy in the U.S., and religiously affiliated
people are known to be generous — albeit mainly to their own churches. But no
amount of private giving can compensate for such a massive breakdown in the
government infrastructure that gives needy people a helping hand. As Campbell
has noted, the many people receiving food stamps are not lazy ingrates but
full-time employees struggling to make a livable wage and nearly half of all
recipients are children.
