We have a choice as a nation between two futures. I want to live in a future where everyone pays their fair share and we build a country where we invest in the potential of each American. Paul Ryan proposes large tax breaks to the wealthy and deep cuts to continue shrinking opportunity for the middle class.

Paul Ryan is not reforming welfare. He is advocating for only the wealthiest among us at the expense of everyone else.

I think the media has been rushing to promote Paul Ryan without presenting a balanced and factual analysis of the damage he is proposing.

Paul Ryan is proposing a new, additional $265,000 tax cut for each millionaire. This breathtaking handout is taking place on top of the failed Bush tax cuts, which Ryan wants to permanently extend.

These new tax giveaways open a large hole in the budget due to the lost revenue. We are talking about $10 Trillion dollars lost!

Let’s put it this way- when you give away $10 Trillion, some people are going to take the hit.

Ryan’s tax schemes leave a hole that he wants to close by destroying Medicare as we know it, scrapping Pell Grants and financial aid, leaving our infrastructure to crumble, defunding women’s health, taking away services and care for our veterans. It is heartless and shameful.

Let’s look at how the Ryan budget breaks down:

Under Ryan’s budget, everyone loses. We could talk numbers all day but let me give you some consequences of this proposal. Seniors would face an increase of $6,000 a year in their health care costs, and will pay an additional $44 Billion to pharmaceutical companies when the donut hole is reopened. 38,000 teachers could lose their jobs and 166,000 students lose their work-study opportunities and ability to pay for their education. This is just the tip of the iceberg. 400,000 Americans could lose their housing voucher. We would lose over 4,500 federal agents that fight crime and patrol the border. For small business owners as I was, 4 million of us would lose tax credits allowing us to provide healthcare to our employees.

All this information is to make a simple point. Paul Ryan’s budget is not a serious or well-reasoned plan. It is a purely political, selfish, lopsided, and downright dangerously irresponsible proposal. I believe the best way to describe this budget is Robin Hood in reverse!

I am running for Congress to make sure Paul Ryan, and all the far-right dittoheads who follow his advice, know that the American people want to see a new direction in our Congress.

I think we need to protect the middle class and not let the rug get pulled out from under people. The danger of this is so great that it cannot be ignored.

We have had 25 months of economic recovery. The recovery is fragile, and we are making progress despite the best efforts of House Republicans. We have seen no leadership from Ryan. We have seen obstruction, misinformation, and the half-baked policies I have discussed above.

I know we can’t afford to continue the gridlock and the failure in Washington, and I am asking for help from any American that can help to do so. Sign up to volunteer, keep up with our email updates and also follow the news at www.robzerban.com or on Facebook.

We have a lot to do, and I hope you will joining me in this effort to fix the large problems facing us all.

Sincerely,

Rob Zerban

Congressional Candidate

