Ryan's poverty theory is tricksy--and wrong. "It's true that poverty traps are out there. They just don't snare that many families...Ryan is right that the government should try to fix the perverse work incentives that the welfare state creates for a fraction of poor families. But his report is meant to lay the intellectual groundwork for an overhaul that would more likely result in the same sorts of draconian cuts contained in his previous budgets, all in the name of aiding the needy. If anybody is setting a trap, it's Paul Ryan." Jordan Weissmann in Slate.
CHAIT: Paul Ryan tries to enlist social science to back up his poverty plan. Disaster ensues. "Basically everything in Ryan's report turns out to be wrong. The Fiscal Times contacts a number of researchers whom Ryan cites, and they all report that Ryan knows nothing of their work....Ryan is very good at marshaling faux scholarship churned out by ideologues in the service of talking points, and at convincing reporters that he is an actual policy wonk. Unfortunately, he seems to have convinced himself and undertaken the ambitious goal of reconciling his policies with the work of real researchers. That was a bad, bad move." Jonathan Chait in New York Magazine.
No comments:
Post a Comment