Paul Ryan's Plan: Anti-Poverty or Anti-Poor?

Rep. Paul Ryan released his "anti-poverty" blueprint yesterday – and how radical was his proposal?  See how the Center for American Progress explains it:

…Ryan can't have it both ways.

For the past four years, Rep. Ryan has set forth budgets that get approximately two-thirds of their cuts from programs that help low- and moderate-income families. His most recent iteration [turns] Medicare into a voucher, cause more than 40 million people to lose their health care coverage, kick up to 10 million people off of nutrition assistance.. These savings would go toward financing new tax cuts primarily for millionaires and large corporations.

Rep. Ryan new proposal…cannot be separated from his most recent budget proposal, in which 69 percent of his nearly $5 trillion in cuts over 10 years comes from programs helping low- and moderate-income families.

…proposing to consolidate multiple programs…Rep. Ryan is opening the door to block grants—an approach that has historically resulted in cuts to key components of our nation's safety net... What's more, block-grant programs are by design less effective as countercyclical tools—that is, they are less able to respond to increased need during down economies, with dire consequences for both families and the overall economy.

There's a key principle that any poverty policy reform must adhere to in order to be taken seriously: First, do no harm. Proposals to reform the safety net should not exacerbate poverty and inequality, and unfortunately, that's just what Rep. Ryan's overall recommendations would do. Converting the most vital pillars of our nation's safety net into block grants—regardless of what name Rep. Ryan chooses to call them—would be nothing short of disastrous for millions of struggling families and for our economy at large.

The devil is in the details. It remains to be seen whether Rep. Ryan has abandoned his plans of balancing the budget, or whether his reforms are actually a wolf in sheep's clothing.

It's no wonder the media has been reporting this:

The Guardian: Paul Ryan's radical poverty plan: scrap welfare and divert money to states

Salon: Paul Ryan's "insult" strategy: Why his anti-poverty contract is so grotesque

The Washington Post: The big problem with Paul Ryan's new poverty plan

The New Republic: Who Is the Real Paul Ryan?

Salon: Paul Ryan's Anti-Poverty Plan Is Paternalistic

The Nation: Paul Ryan's Faux Populism Isn't Going to End Poverty or Reduce Inequality

Center for American Progress: The Ryan Budget in Sheep's Clothing?

Mother Jones: Paul Ryan's Anti-Poverty Plan Would Cost Billions to Implement. Will GOPers Go for That?

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Chairman Ryan Needs to Play It Straight on Poverty Programs

Center for American Progress: Ryan Poverty Proposal Will Exacerbate Poverty and Inequality

ThinkProgress: Paul Ryan's New Poverty Proposal Would Have Government Micromanage Poor People's Lives

The New Republic: Paul Ryan and Ayn Rand Just Got a Divorce

The Washington Post: Paul Ryan's poverty plan attacks the wrong problem and comes up with the wrong solution

So what's his real motive?  Well, The Nation said it best: "Ryan is [only] worried about solving his own problem: an association in the public's mind with the failed messages of the 2012 Romney-Ryan campaign."  Instead of advertising his personal fiction and flawed ideas, he should get really serious about addressing Americans' essential concerns.