Oh Boy! Secret Ryan Tape: He describes Social Security & Medicare as “collectivist” & “socialistic.”

[kpete]

-- Ryan describes Social Security and Medicare as “collectivist” and “socialistic.”

It is impossible to summarize these statements without sounding like a breathless conspiracy theorist. Here’s what Ryan says. Don’t trust my bullets. Read the transcript. Don’t trust my transcript, listen to the audio on the Atlas Society site.
http://www.atlassociety.org/ele/blog/2012/04/30/paul-ryan-and-ayn-rands-ideas-hot-seat-again
(Just scroll to the bottom of the text about Ryan (above), and you'll see a grey icon of a speaker and an arrow. Click on the arrow and the audio will play. The grey audio player is located directly above the golden star rating.)

Ryan describes Social Security and Medicare as “collectivist” and “socialistic.”

Ryan’s strategic plan: privatize Social Security and Medicare in order to convert people from “collectivism” to believers in a “capitalistic individualistic” philosophy. So that there will be “more people on our team” who “won’t listen to” Democrats.

Ryan’s acceptance of Pinochet’s Secretary of Social Security José Piñera’s similar program of Social Security privatization as a “moral revolution” that made Marxists into capitalists who started to read the Chilean equivalent of the Wall Street Journal. Ryan is overheard, “Yeah” “That’s right.”

For Ryan “defined benefit” programs such as Social Security and Medicare are problems in themselves. This isn’t something he saves for gatherings of the Ayn Rand Society, such concerns about “dependency” are scattered throughout his Path to Prosperity—again hidden in plain sight. This transcript doesn’t so much reveal a secret, as highlight a clear theme in his policy rationale that is always present, but in more public settings subordinated to his prophecies of fiscal apocalypse. Thus, it is no surprise his budget cuts the safety net and radically reshapes Medicare first and addresses the deficit later.

......................................

In the published transcript Ryan states that like Rand, he views all political and policy questions as battle between individualism and collectivism.

(2:38) In almost every fight we are involved in here, on Capitol Hill, whether it’s an amendment vote that I’ll take later on this afternoon, or a big piece of policy we’re putting through our Ways and Means Committee, it is a fight that usually comes down to one conflict: individualism vs. collectivism.

FULL TRANSCRIPT:
http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&entry_id=5368
http://www.alternet.org/hot-news-views/paul-ryan-social-security-collectivist-socialist-system-must-end

[mr_hat]

1. But were there strippers?

Sounds kinda complex for the msm to convey.

[tanyev]

2. Didn't stop Ayn Rand from collecting them in her later years.

[whathehell]

3. Didn't stop HIM from collecting Social Security when his dad died, either

I understand he used it to put himself through college.

[geardaddy]

42. Right. He built it.

Same thing Krispy Kreme said about his dad. "My dad used the GI Bill to put himself through Rutgers."

Idiots.

[Ken Burch]

13. Like everyone else who followed her, she said, essentially "it's ok when I do it!"

after which, she ran off to have the Early Bird meal at the Galt's Gulch Denny's.

[AzDar]

27. Made me LOL ...

[jsr]

4. His intent is clear:

Give Social Security and Medicare to his masters on Wall Street.

[Blue Idaho]

5. Ryan nothing more than an errand boy for the 1%.

He will do his part to destroy the middle class at the bidding of Banksters and Corporate Bosses.

[Vogon_Glory]

6. Ryan's REAL Attitude And Plans For Social Security And Medicare Out In The Open

Paul Ryan's REAL attitude and plans for privatizing Social Security and Medicare are out there in plain sight and the cowardly, lazy, arrogant herd of poobahs and typists who populate the corporate lamestream media and who purport to be journalists aren't going to pay one blamed bit of attention to what a Romney-Ryan/Tea Party win would mean for the millions of 99 per-centers in this country.

Today's lazy, indolent, arrogant corporate media establishment is beneath contempt--not for partisan political reasons but for the simple fact that THEY ARE NOT DOING THEIR JOBS AND REPORTING THE NEWS.

[freshwest]

15. I know where you're coming from, but they ARE DOING THEIR JOBS. They work for these bastids, not us

That's the perspective of the years when the FCC had the Fairness Doctrine, enforced media ownership regulations, and made every station prove with comments from the citizens every year what they had done in the public interest.

Things have changed, their purpose is now only to make profit for the owners, not tell the truth, as they call most of what they do entertainment and opinion, not factual reporting. Resulting in:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/07/31/364678/-Fox-News-wins-in-court

It can be disputed, but considering the number of times FNN has been caught altering both audio and video and the fact themselves for their propaganda, it's close to their practice. In that case, the claim was that the story would cause one of their sponsors to go after FNN in court for harming their business - with the truth.

[Vogon_Glory]

40. Faux Noise Propaganda DOES Work For Them, BUT

I would agree with you that Faux Noise Propaganda DOES work for those people, but perhaps its my lingering idealism that expects something approaching genuine journalism out NBC, CNN, and even CBS and ABC.

[Barack_America]

7. And Ayn Rand collected BOTH!

[rustydog]

8. He took full advantage of SS survisors benefits and NOW thinks it is evil...

Political Dictionary: Hypocrite; See Lyin' Ryan

[Angry Dragon]

9. take his federal benefits from him

no more pension nor medical benefits for him
because the American people should not have to pay for his benefits

[ibegurpard]

10. It paid for his college...

ask him to respond to that...

[Aerows]

11. It paid for his college when his father died

He's just like Romney - climb the ladder to success, then make sure no one else can follow you up it.

[WinkyDink]

26. Except Romney didn't need to climb anywhere.

[ck4829]

12. Poverty and marginalization are not individualism. Period.

[porphyrian]

14. The hits just keep on coming... n/t

[Zalatix]

16. "They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast." - Hotel California

What will it take to turn the public against these guys.........?

[Myrina]

17. The GOP Motto: "You're on your own" ....

... Needs to be a bumpersticker, along with images of some of their most infamous corporate-welfare-whores who, obviously, were NOT "on their own".

[RC]

18. Section 8. of the United States Constitution

Section 8.
"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and PROVIDE FOR THE common defense and GENERAL WELFARE of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;..."

How is Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid not providing for the General Welfare of the United States? Are not the citizens part of the general Welfare mentioned in the Constitution? If not, what is?

[WinkyDink]

19. There will not be gates high nor secure enough for this traitor to hide.

[fingrinn]

20. Universal declaration of human rights

Article 25.

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

I guess in Shitt Romneys world 47% are not human.....

[livetohike]

22. Welcome to DU!

[livetohike]

21. This week keeps getting better and better for us.

Thanks for posting this I cannot wait for the Biden - Ryan debate.

[IDemo]

23. I can't quite figure whether we're running against Milton Friedman

or Joe McCarthy. They both appear to have surpassed Reagan in the eyes of the repubs.

[RevStPatrick]

24. Yeah? So what?

Social Security & Medicare ARE “collectivist” & “socialistic.”
What's the problem?
We are social animals.
It would be weird if we DIDN'T have things like this that were “collectivist” & “socialistic.”

It's all about finding the right balance between individualism and collectivism.
These ranting loonies on the right act like they all want to live like Kevin Costner's character in Waterworld.
And they might if we don't stop burning fossil fuels.

Only problem is... those idiots don't have gills...

[Hestia]

25. Here they come again with the 1960s meme "socialism" and "collectivism" as if they are dirty words

Yes, both system are "collectivist" and "socialist" - and.so.what. - all insurance is collectivist. We need to stand up for words sometimes and re-own them.

[Blanks]

39. I agree.

The national forests in Idaho that I went fishing and hunting on when I was young; owned by the federal government. How many republicans who like to hunt and fish; do so on government land.

I lived in Kansas for 16 years around the Manhattan/Junction City area (near Fort Riley) where the Army Corps of Engineers constructed flood control dams that are used extensively by red staters as a 'gathering of socialists' to water ski and fish at the government teet.

There isn't anything wrong with socialism; these people from the reddest of the red states need to understand that they are among the biggest beneficiaries of socialism.

We just need to let them know that they are. Because so many of them are such simpletons.

[elbloggoZY27]

28. Oh! Woo Woo

Here is a guy getting free Health Care as a Congressmen and wants to destroy Social Security and Medicare. Bet a Buck that there are folks at both of these Programs who will vote for the guy in November.


This guy is definitely not Vice Presidential qualified.

[MADem]

29. And the hits just keep on coming! NT

[Blue Meany]

30. For a for-profit system, Chile's appears to be pretty good.

Health care and insurance are cheap, because of price reulation. It woud be a step-up from what we have here.

[reformist2]

31. By now most Americans are smart enough to know that "defined contribution" means shit.

[speedoo]

32. I have to say this.

This fucker has to be destroyed, politically speaking.

His language reminds me of the language used by Goebbels, Hitler and that gang in the early days of the Third Reich.

[meow2u3]

33. The Ryan attitude towards Social Security summed up on 2 sentences

Last edited Thu Sep 20, 2012, 11:05 PM - Edit history (1)

1. Deny to others what he benefited from himself.
2. Bite the hand that feeds you.

That's the repuke philosophy in a nutshell.

[Omaha Steve]

34. K&R!

[socialist_n_TN]

35. From Worker's Power on Paul Ryan.......

http://www.workerspower.net/paul-ryan-makes-his-return

And we ARE socialistic and collectivist.

[cr8tvlde]

36. The Atlas Society? April...this year? Does Ann know? One down...one to go.

Oh, the burden of the plebeian audio, visuals and the internet. Can't wait for one to put together a Requiem for Stupid...to music.

Miffed Mitt, Angelic Ann, Lyin' Mr. Ryan ... America, meet your Wannabe Team.

I'll go with the classy first team...Barack, Michelle, Joe and Jill.

[JDPriestly]

37. Reminds me of Bush's "ownership society." And then there was Bush's problem to put people

who had not previously qualified into their own homes (and mortgages).

Remember how that turned out?

Here is, according to Alternet, Ryan's statement:

I would like to have more people on our team who are owners and believers in the individualist capitalist system than on the other side, and if every worker in this country becomes an owner of real wealth, of seeing the fruits of their labor come and materialize for their benefit, then that’s that many more people in America who are not going to listen to likes of Dick Gephardt and Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, the collectivist, class warfare-breathing demagogues.

http://www.alternet.org/hot-news-views/paul-ryan-called-ending-social-security-speech-ayn-rand-fans

Remember when Bush spoke of the "ownership society." Remember when he wanted to privatize Social Security. Remember when Bush bragged about how many people were buying houses. It was an illusion. His idea of an ownership society means that 47% of us are owned by a small percentage of the other 53%.

[JoeyT]

38. He's right that they're collectivist and socialistic.

It's thinking that collectivism and socialism are bad things that makes him a screaming asshole. Same goes for Rand.

[reformist2]

41. Ayn Rand's poisonous ideas are going to kill the Republican Party.

The good news for Dems is that Ayn Rand's ideas are the *last* thing Repugs will renounce. Atlas Shrugged is their Bible.

[duhneece]

43. If we're going to simplify...aren't all questions between selfishness and compassion

political, social, religious questions echo the argument between first born and later born-I was here first & I don't want to share...sometimes, it's "I was born priveleged and I don't want to share."

[Tx4obama]

44. K&R n/t