The 5 Myths That Weigh Down Paul Ryan’s Opportunity Proposal

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The 5 Myths That Weigh Down Paul Ryan’s Opportunity Proposal

by Joel Berg at Bill Moyers

http://billmoyers.com/2014/08/01/the-5-myths-that-weigh-down-paul-ryans-opportunity-proposal/

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Myth #2: The only measure of the success of anti-poverty programs is whether they reduce the use of government programs.

Reality #2: A far better way to measure the success of anti-poverty programs is to assess whether they actually reduce poverty and improve the long-term economic and social well-being of communities, families and individuals.

The Ryan report states: “Our true measure of success is the number of people who don’t need government assistance.”

Ryan and so many on the right decry every government program except the many programs through which they personally benefit. It is relevant to note that Ryan himself collected federal social security payments for two years after his father died, and he has been on government payrolls virtually his entire adult life. Ryan would never say that a declining use of social security or government roads automatically equates to success. What he really means is that success is defined only when poor people need government less.

Moreover, defining the success of a program merely by how many fewer people use it makes as little sense as defining the success of a hospital by how many people leave it – without differentiating between how many people leave it cured, equally ill or dead. Likewise, if people are forced off a government program only to become destitute, hungry and homeless, than the caseload reduction should be deemed a failure.



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