RELEASE: How the House GOP’s Budget Would Affect Communities of Color and Spur More Income Inequality

March 21, 2012

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Contact: Laura Pereyra
Phone: 202.741.6258
Email: lpereyra@americanprogress.org

Washington, D.C. — The Center for American Progress today released analyses of the proposed House budget plan revealing that communities of color would be disproportionately affected and it would make it harder to grow the middle class spurring more income inequality.

If Rep. Ryan gets his way, the nation will never make a full commitment to solve major social problems and in many ways we will take giant steps backward to a time when there was virtually no safety net for those falling on hard times. What’s more, in this plan the middle class comes up short—and communities of color end up bearing the brunt of the pain.

Communities of color have been hit hardest by this recession. Unemployment levels in the African American community, while slowly improving, are still almost double that of whites, and the Hispanic unemployment rate is also unacceptably high. What these communities need is a budget that promotes job growth at home. Unfortunately for them, the House plan does nothing to actually promote job growth for the middle class. Included instead are incentives for companies to move their jobs overseas and cuts to programs such as Pell Grants, K–12 education, and job training.

To read how the Ryan budget would cause more pain for communities of color, by Daniella Gibbs Leger, click here.

To read how the Ryan budget would worsen social problems and does not represent America at its best, by Joy Moses, click here.

To speak with CAP experts on the topic, please contact Laura Pereyra at lpereyra@americanprogress.org or 202.741.6258.

See also:

• The 6 Key Failures of the House Republican Budget Plan by Michael Linden
• New Ryan Plan Is Austerity on Steroids by Heather Boushey
• Latest House Republican Budget Threatens Medicare and Shreds the Safety Net by Topher Spiro
• New Ryan Plan Would Harm Our Most Vulnerable Citizens by Melissa Boteach and Katie Wright (CAPAF)
• New Ryan Budget Disinvests in America by Adam Hersh and Sarah Ayres
• Shortsighted Education Cuts in New Ryan Budget a Giant Step Backward by Diana Epstein
• Ryan’s Secret Plan to Shift the Tax Burden Onto the Middle Class by Seth Hanlon
• Latest House Budget Plan Adds to Federal Deficit by Michael Linden
• If Ryan Gets His Way on Poverty by Joy Moses
• Ryan Budget Pads Big Oil’s Pockets with Senseless Subsidies by Daniel J. Weiss
• Middle-Class College Dreams Take Serious Hit Under Ryan Plan by Julie Margetta Morgan
• House Republicans Assault Social Security by David Madland and Christian Weller

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