New Shoe Drops: Ryan Disses Social Security, Medicare

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This is on the website of America: The National Catholic Weekly. Back in 2005 Paul Ryan made a speech to the Atlas Society in which he praised Ayn Rand and admitted that he wanted to target Social Security and Medicare to be privatized to reduce government dependency.

This is the America blogger, Vincent Miller:

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.

  • 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.

For the audio file, go to this page, scroll down to the bottom of the post, and click on the little audio icon.

Vincent Miller has transcribed parts of the 2005 speech that were not transcribed before. Ryan really is calling Medicare and Social Security “collectivist” and “socialist,” and he is calling for complete privatization of both.

So if there were any Social Security/Medicare recipients out there who didn’t believe the 47 percent included them, this should clear things up.

10 thoughts on “New Shoe Drops: Ryan Disses Social Security, Medicare”

  1. Before I criticize, I’ll wait for Congressman Ryan to explain his day’s as Comrade Paul X., when he collected Social Security for years back when his father died – kind of like the leader of his little objectivist soviet, Ayn Rand, did before she died.

    But when you thing about it, how can we trust a man to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency when, having already accepted Social Security entitlement money, that moocher has already proven that he drank of that Communist and Socialist communal cup of Kool Aid?

    Doesn’t that make Paul Ryan a dreaded “Fifth Columnist?”

    Or does that just make him one of this countries great hypocrites?
    Yeah – THAT!

  2. The “Atlas Society.” Let me guess; it has nothing to do with maps, or people who have the first clue where the frak they are.

    Also: Pinochet???!!! Seriously?! Pinochet’s regime held up as exemplary. This isn’t a dropping shoe, it’s the Pythons’ 16-ton weight.

    Memo to Paul Ryan: excommunication would be too good for you. Likewise the comfy chair and soft cushions, you horrible, horrible person.

  3. Wow ! ! Someone (or a whole lot of someones) has gone way too far.

    Some people have such strong beliefs in the social part of life (religion, anti abortion, birth control, guns) that they will live (be happy?) in abject poverty rather than accept any part of the FDR/New Deal prescription. But they will happily spend the money deposited in their bank account by the Social Security Administration – and not have a clue as to the irony therein.

  4. You know, Ayn Rand’s philosophy really isn’t that different from Anton LaVey’s. The Church of Satan really isn’t about worship of Satan. They don’t believe in Satan except as a symbol of rebellion and self-indulgence. So on the one hand you’ve got Randians preaching the virtue of selfishness and on the other hand you’ve got Satanists celebrating their own birthday as the highest holy day.

    To me the Church of Satan is at least somewhat amusing, although it gets tiresome pretty quickly. Ayn Rand’s vision, on the other hand, is thoroughly repellent, but they’re both equally cartoonish.

  5. Setting aside the “Pinochet” label, here’s an NYT article on how Chile’s much-touted privatization of social security went. Not too well. People here don’t realize it, but our 401ks operate under a similar conceit: that somehow, complete nobodies are going to be able to invest well enough to provide for their retirement. It’s just more Republican “You’re on your own. Rotz a ruck.”

    What galls me about Ryan (one of the things) is his attempt to distance himself from anything to do with Ayn Rand – when everything he’s done in Congress is nothing but an attempt to implement Rand’s ideas – and his pointing to Thomas Aquinas to smokescreen his real beliefs and actions.

  6. FWIW: Ryan is facing a stiff challenge in WI-01, and in fact is apparently cutting and running from his VP campaign to spend more time in his home district. Like Willard, every time he opens his mouth he digs himself in a little deeper. With any luck at all, he’s retiring from public life shortly.

  8. “His slogan was ‘Yes We Can,'” said Romney. “His slogan now is ‘No I Can’t. He went from the president of change to the president who can’t get change.”

    What’s Mitch McConnell been up to theses days?

  9. I liked the part in the audio file where Paulie had a little slip..he must of thought he was talking to the value voters conference.. He started to say gird and quickly changed it to prepare

    Paulie is a sick puppy..I now see that Romney picked Paulie for more than his Tea Party associated number crunching abilities..He’s the perfect vulture Capitalist henchman. I’ve heard something to the effect that the Catholic Church publicly repuked him for dissing Jesus, and after listening to his Ayn Rand shit I can see why.

    I’m praying that Wisconsin voters have the scales lifted from their eyes and send that effing fraud packing. What a douche bag!

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