Stupid People, Stupid, Stupid People," he tells us. What the Republicans really mean by "big government" When pressed by George Stephanopoulos about what they mean by "big government," Ryan, who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican, gave this chilling response: "Just as Obama is trying to take over the private sector with regulation, which is killing jobs in America right now, Republicans want to take over the government sector with more regulation so it's killing jobs in America." Ryan's remarks came from the same interview where he said that "We don't want people on food stamps to work for less than a living wage. We have to have fair and just transition for those people. We don't want them to be on food stamps for more than three months. We want to see that they're doing everything possible to get themselves back on their feet. And that's what a safety net is supposed to be for." Ryan's budget proposal did include a plan to turn Medicaid into a voucher program, which would turn the safety net into a voucher program. Obama and Biden have both said the plan would hurt the most vulnerable. So, Ryan's plan is basically to give vouchers to the folks that are already on food stamps. And that's his idea of "fairness"? Here's Ryan's budget (scroll down), including the plan to replace Medicaid with a block grant program. And here's a look at where the money for Ryan's ideas would come from (PDF), including cuts to Social Security and Medicare, which was also another part of his budget. Ryan has been a champion for privatizing Medicare. And his budget would cut almost $600 billion from Social Security over the next decade. He says this would force seniors to "have personal responsibility and save." What "personal responsibility" looks like In Ryan's view, personal responsibility means getting off of food stamps, and saving money by selling off your possessions, and paying off your loans early, before retiring. And Ryan has become an expert on all this because he believes in that gospel. And he's going to bring that gospel into the heart of the Beltway to transform the Democratic Party. That's what he told his supporters in his email. Well, it turns out, a lot of his GOP colleagues think this is a load of crap. Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, chairman of the GOP's campaign committee, called Ryan's rhetoric "nonsense." “He’s making wild assertions,” he told Politico. “The fact of the matter is that we already have a system in place that is able to hold people accountable if they’re able bodied, they’re willing to work and they’re looking to provide for their families.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer ripped the proposal as well. But, of course, Ryan also got support from fellow Republicans. Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah said he was glad Ryan was talking about the topic, which he called "a touchy topic." Rep. Tom Price, a physician, defended the cuts to programs like food stamps and Medicaid. "People have to be careful they do not become a permanent underclass," he said. "They have to be responsible." Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Lamar Alexander and Rep. Marsha Blackburn joined the chorus of "big government" proponents as well. It's telling that they've decided to attack programs that serve the neediest Americans, like food stamps, instead of attacking the giant corporations who have sent record profits to Wall Street while taking record pay increases for doing it. Ryan and his GOP colleagues are going to make it look as if Democrats are blocking jobs in the name of government — when it's actually Wall Street. Corporate profits, consumer spending are on the rise Let's take a closer look at the real story behind America's unemployment numbers: America's corporate profits are soaring, as are consumer spending. Last week, consumer spending reached its highest point in five months, according to The Wall Street Journal, with the help of cheaper gas prices and growing jobs. That's a sign that even Americans who haven't gotten any unemployment benefits are keeping their wallets open. Since the beginning of this year, consumers have been spending at a pace not seen since the end of 2010. Consumer spending rose 2.9 percent in the first quarter of this year, the best since 2008, according to Commerce Department data. And the big reason has been cheaper gas prices. “Consumers’ pockets are getting heavier due to the lower energy prices,” said Chris Christopher Jr., a director at IHS Global Insight. Here's a chart that shows the rise in gasoline prices, and also the number of people on food stamps: “Prices for some staples fell in 2011, such as beef and dairy products,” Richard Curtin, the chief economist of the consumer credit ratings agency, said in a statement. But the number of people on food stamps has plummeted to its lowest point since September, thanks to an improving economy and because the unemployment rate is declining. As jobs have come back, a greater proportion of those jobs have been high-paying jobs, which benefits the country as a whole, not just the rich. CEOs are getting back to work, according to Bank of America's latest CEO survey. Corporate profits and pay are on the rise, too: "The profit margin for US companies in 2011 was its largest since the end of 2008," the Wall Street Journal reported. And that means good news for Ryan's constituents. Those who work for companies with the biggest profits are the ones who are buying products made by the companies that are seeing the biggest profits. A report from Credit Suisse finds that the number of jobs in the manufacturing sector has nearly doubled since 2008, growing a full 11 percent in 2011 alone. That's thanks in part to record-high profits. Manufacturing profits surged 7.1 percent during the first quarter, which was higher than any other sector, according to Morgan Stanley. Even as unemployment is dropping, a small fraction of jobs being created are low-paying jobs. “What you see is a shift away from the jobs that require a lot of education, in higher-paying jobs, which have a more significant amount of education,” said Anthony Chan, director of U.S. economics at JPMorgan Chase. “We are still getting employment levels that are better than before the recession, but the nature of the jobs that we are getting is different.” And a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis finds that higher-paying jobs are on the rise, while low-paying jobs are on the decline: Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Low-wage, low-skilled workers are hurting Even as the recovery is well underway, a growing number of Americans are struggling to find work. We're told by our public leaders that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to find a job, earn a good living, and get ahead. But many Americans are getting left behind in our recovery. Nearly half of the country's children live in poverty — a number that's up since the Great Recession — according to a study from the Brookings Institution. More than 15 percent of children under 18 live in households where someone receives food stamps. And there are 23.5 million children who rely on food assistance. That's nearly twice the number from 2007. This is a big deal because children who live in poverty are twice as likely to live in households headed by a single parent, which is one of the most important indicators of a child's ability to make ends meet. One in four of the nation's elderly live below the poverty line — the highest rate since 1960, according to the National Center on Children in Poverty. And, according to the Census Bureau, 47 million people rely on Social Security to make ends meet. This isn't just an American problem. More and more people are working at low-paying jobs in the U.S. and around the world. That's a lot of pain that Ryan and his GOP colleagues are not talking about. Even the Census Bureau is getting into the debate, even though it doesn't have much to do with the economy, according to The New York Times. The Census Bureau reports that "the number of young men living with their parents and older men living alone has increased significantly in the last few decades." But Ryan and his colleagues aren't going to give credit where it's due — because giving credit to people might be a sign that they're acknowledging there's a problem. The GOP's agenda to kill Social Security Ryan said he was planning to retire at the end of 2014, or the beginning of 2015. Ryan isn't going to do that because he has a lot of work to do to try and kill Social Security. That work involves convincing people like him — young Republicans — that they don't need the social safety net. That's also where he hopes to help the Republican Party, even though, so far, the GOP is fighting him on it.