Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan began the budget conference by laying out in no uncertain terms what was not going to happen:
"Taking more from hardworking families just isn't the answer. I know my Republican colleagues feel the same way."
Wow. So Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid cuts are off the table? Not exactly. In fact, not at all. What Ryan was declaring off the table has little to do with "hardworking families," in fact:
"So I want to say this from the get-go: If this conference becomes an argument about taxes, we're not going to get anywhere."
Oh. The "hardworking families" who aren't going to be asked to give more are in fact major corporations currently benefiting from tax loopholes—that, after all, is the main place Democrats would be looking for added revenue. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and the hardworking families that rely on them are very much on Ryan's chopping block. Just as they always have been.