I agree with you poobah with your point on churches. My point about then was directed at having a pastor lead a group of protestors wanting the government to spend more to take care of the poor when he should be emploring his congregation to give more to solve the issue. Churches should be the answer but that is a hard issue to regulate so there is no easy answer.

Unfortunately I feel like people aren't willing to give anymore so you have to take (taxes) in order to have forced giving. But to those you are taking from it doesn't feel good. A gift freely given is a blessing.

Macdaddy - "If your family was on the verge of bankruptcy, would you go get a new credit card and spend more money you don't have?"
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No, I would get a job to bring in more revenue. I would also look where there are sensible cuts to be made in my personal budget.
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The country needs to do the same. Increase revenue and make sensible cuts.

Imagine that. Thee left fringe is silent on the first dem budget put forth in four years was rejected by a bi-partisan vote in the house.

MacDaddy, you've branched off into other aspects of this issue and some of your points I would agree with. Without getting into the other aspects, I would reiterate my point that you can not say churches are the answer out of one side of your mouth while saying churches, for whatever reason, are failing to supply the answer. Churches clearly are not the answer. Churchgoers are not voluntarily stepping up to the plate and solving the issue. And this is not an issue that we should expect, or rely on, churchgoers to solve.

Poor Paul, being reviled like this. I'll bet he'll go home and cry in his $300 bottle of wine. Sniff, sniff!

Poobah: Maybe people don't fully tithe their portion, because so much is being taken out in taxes?? I don't think that is a good excuse, but seriously taxes are way too high. For some of the wealthiest in our area, which i would consider making $300k+ they effective tax rate including state taxes can approach 56% of their income! I know your response will be "how can live on $135k? how horrible!", but the reality is why is so much of their proportionate income being used to pay for programs that aren't working???

People are not getting out of poverty, but we are allowing people to remain in it. That is the problem. These programs are now referred to as entitlements as if it is something people have earned and can demand. Well the simple economics show just the opposite.

You can't spend your way the country has the past 10 years and continue to thrive, someday the debt will catch up and then what? Within the next 2 years just paying the interest on our national debt will be over $1trillion a year! that is crazy!!!! It has to stop and cutting spending is the only way.

If your family was on the verge of bankruptcy, would you go get a new credit card and spend more money you don't have? If you are a sane person, no. So why as a country who is represented by the citizens do we think this is ok? or the norm? It's not working!

Wake up people before it is too late! Don't keep hitting the snooze button.

YEP-ANOTHER LYING MONEY HUNGRY RERUBLICAN!!!LETS NOT WORRY ABOUT THE MIDDLE, HARDWORKING FOR PENNIES CLASS, OR THE AGED, OR THE VETERANS, OR CHILD'S EDUCATION!!!!SOMEDAY HE WILL HAVE TO ANSWER TO HIS MAKER---WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE I ASK????!!!!!!

Money trees---now there's the answer! Frankly I wish the election had turned out differently so that we would have someone else in the White House who would take a fresh approach to getting people back to work. He would NOT have asked for increased taxes to solve the problems of our country. I'm a realist however so I'm tred down this rocky road with the current disappointing president. Ugh. Keep up the fight, Paul Ryan.

Macdaddy - "I am opposed to taking more of my tax dollars to fund bigger programs"
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How about keeping them the same size? We currently are having problems helping the vuneralbe with the status quo. Ryan and friends want to cut it, thus making the situation worse.
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Yes, it would be nice for churches and non-government organizations to fully help the needy, but currently they aren't for whatever reason. So, are you saying we should just ignore these fellow citizens? Where is your commitment to the betterment of society as a whole?

MacDaddy said, "...private organizations can handle the entire need of the wealthiest country on earth and we shouldn't have to raise people's taxes to do it.".

That is not consistent with your prior statement that, "The real irony is how many Christians do not tithe 10% of their income to the church, yet expect the government to do the "Christian thing" and take care of the poor." Please remember that while 76% of Americans identify as Christians, only 4% identify as believing in some other religion (Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) So this is obviously a shortfall of Christian churches of such a magnitude that non-Christian churches could not possibly compensate for. You have little "faith" in the government's ability to handle the issue, yet it's only an issue because the organizations you feel should be handling the issue -- churches -- have failed to do so. I suggest that your "faith" in churches is wrongly placed.

Poobah: Obviously atheists and those not Christian are allowed to help those. I know that is one of the tenets of Islam to take care of the poor. My point isn't whether to give the money to a Christian Church, but that private organizations can handle the entire need of the wealthiest country on earth and we shouldn't have to raise people's taxes to do it.

If people, and again I am falling on Christians because so many claim to be Christian in our country yet don't live it, actually stepped up to the plate and gave like they are suppose to the organizations they believe in. There wouldn't be an outcry for the government to take care of the less fortunate. I believe this is the larger point of the Republican party and the other side is saying they are trying to be less compassionate, but in reality it is not the role of Government, especially if we are a capitalistic society to be in the business of taking care of others.

Again, it may be just my opinion and you may disagree with me, but I don't like or trust the way my tax dollars are spent now, so that is why I am opposed to taking more of my tax dollars to fund bigger programs, when private organizations do a better job without the interference of "Big Brother" watching. FYI I used private organizations, because they don't have to be churches doing this but organizations that people of any belief will support.

The Church demading that the Government feed the people and meet their needs?
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This pastor apparently has forgotten a thing or two about churches and their role.
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It's not the role of the church to badger the government...
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When I want to help feed the hungry... I give money to my church.. and other churches too... I never give money to the government "willingly" in order to feed the poor and meet their needs.
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Just my worldview

Ryan is still pushing the same old crappy budget voters soundly rejected during the last election. Doesn't he realize the definition of stupid is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Unemployment rises in all 72 Wisconsin counties and some people still think Wanker and his cronies are doing a great job, unbelievable.

Cut your own wages & benefits to show us that you really know how to save money Those in office have no idea how to save Only how to fill their own pockets

The repubs will never accept responsibility for a great deal of the countries debt. But the truth is, that they have gotten us into two needless wars on a credit card, and that is only for starters. We have only begun to see the residual cost of that misstep. They have also run on the constant foolishness, since reagon, that we can constantly cut taxes and have more money in the treasury. We now know how well that has worked. Oh, I forgot! We have to allow more money for the wealthy so they can create jobs. How that works when we have a consumer driven economy is beyond me. Now we have the guv and ryan coming up with more of the same. Sorry I'm not buying it because their nonsense doesn't work. We have nearly fifty years of evidence to prove it.

MacDaddy said, "The real irony is how many Christians do not tithe 10% of their income to the church, yet expect the government to do the "Christian thing" and take care of the poor. NO IT IS THE CHURCH'S JOB, NOT THE GOVERNMENTS! If all Christian's gave their 10% there would be so much money that churches could provide all the programs needed for the orphans, poor, and widows, etc."

You don't have to be Christian to have compassion for those less fortunate than you are. In fact, your comment is an uncanny testament to the LACK of compassion of "many Christians." I'm certain many atheists, agnostics and non-Christians with compassion want to assist those less fortunate but prefer not to channel their resources through Christian churches. Thanks, but no thanks. Make no mistake, ensuring that people have food and shelter IS a government function. I understand that Ryan and you may disagree with that, but we see where the immoral Ryan budget proposal got the Republicans in 2012.

Paul Ryan and Scott Walker are doing a great job. Not all of us are spending all day, every day on here bashing to upstanding public servants. You can not spend more than you are able to pay for....simple.

Go Walker and Go Ryan. Many of us support you wholeheartedly.

Fillet is spelled with two "L"'s.

Walker is the son of a preacher man. Or should we say the devils son.
He is a puppet of the koch brothers who are corporate giants.
Divide and conquer is the republican motto.
Ryan believes in reform to benifit the wealthy and to divide the country into the haves and have nots.
Again, Divide and conquer is the republican motto.
Corporate and wealthy greed are alive in this country.

Question for those that are against spending what we have. Where is the compassion in talking money from future tax payers, borrowing to support increased spending now? How do you reconcile taking a larger slice from government future spending, re-payments on this continued borrowing, and ensuring there will be less money available to these programs in the future?

Paul Ryan says, “Civil public dialogue goes to the heart of solidarity, because it doesn’t divide society into classes. It builds up the common good of all.”
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I agree with him. Then why is Walker trying to stop free speech at the Capital, the peoples house?

Yes, you say the Democrats are the Tax and Spend party. However, the Republicans are the cut programs for the vunerable and cut the taxes party. They are also the fight a war or two and give corporations tax breaks party. All of this spending is unfunded.
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Me, I am for the fiscally responsible... (which aren't most of the republicans).

Macdaddy - First, you are correct, people should give 10% to their church.
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However, as a society we should take care of the poor and vulnerable. Who is the society? We are the society. You and me! We are also the government of this society. Therefore, we as a society/government need to care for our people.
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Yes, Jesus said "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's..." The problem is that the wealthy (people and corporations) aren't giving to Caesar. This isn't their fault, it is the fault of the tax code. They (the wealthy and large corporations) need to give to Caesar just like you and I do.

http://gazettextra.com/photos/2013/mar/1...

Hmmm, yet no story on the supporters of responsible government spending of American tax dollars....

I as a Christian am appalled at their message!

In the Bible, when Jesus was asked about taxes and who they should give money to, He simply says "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's..."

The real irony is how many Christians do not tithe 10% of their income to the church, yet expect the government to do the "Christian thing" and take care of the poor. NO IT IS THE CHURCH'S JOB, NOT THE GOVERNMENTS! If all Christian's gave their 10% there would be so much money that churches could provide all the programs needed for the orphans, poor, and widows, etc.

That is what Jesus taught!

Sickntired, I so agree!

They could have just left a pamphlet like the Jehovah Witness do.
I'm just sayin'...

Gee,that Paul Ryan sure has a bad memory,after his family was helped with ALL that government assistance,while he was growing up,!

Paul Ryan needs to go just like Scott Walker does.
These Republicans just want to make 2 classes, The rich, And the poor.
Divide and conquer is the Republican way.
No wonder this country is the way it is.