MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: 2015 Ryan Budget

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCHULTZ: Ryan comes out as offensive and inappropriately categorized black men struggling to overcome generations of discrimination. The Congressman claimed that his comment has nothing to do with race.

Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, member of the Congressional Black Caucus in that meeting today with us tonight here on the Ed Show. Well, Congressman let see, generations of men not even thinking about working. There`s a culture that is developed. Did he address that in this meeting tonight Keith?

REP. KEITH ELLISON, (D) MINNESOTA: No. I didn`t hear him addressed it. But the fact is he offered the same perspective that he continues to offer which is lower taxes for big business, cut the Social Safety Net and say that high national debt is the biggest problem. That is what he repeating. He said that he`d been on to where to talk to people in areas where their poverty was high and he has a lot to learn and I think he`s right about that. But that`s essentially what he shared with us.

SCHULTZ: I mean was the Caucus expecting an apology or a thorough explanation of just what the heck he is talking about? Because basically his budget goes after the very people that he is categorizing as a culture of not even looking for work.

ELLISON: Well, the point that his budget basically goes after the poor, cuts taxes for the wealthy at the expense of the middle and working classes, that point was very well made in the meeting. And also the point was made that look, you know, the Black Caucus has valuable ideas about how to really reduce poverty.

It was also brought out that about 61 percent of the poorest counties in America are actually represented by Republicans. And so that, you know, it actually is a republican business to help address poverty. And in poverty that is not necessarily racialized.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

ELLISON: We know that disproportionate number of people of color face poverty. There are lot of white people are in poverty too. In this point it was made. There were not commitments that Mr. Ryan, just sort of a exchange of views with no real plans to go forward in a cooperative way. Because as he did say, look we are ideologically highly divided and -- but we`ll look for ways we can agree where we can and that`s going to how it is.

SCHULTZ: Was he looking for ways? Was he really looking for ways on how to help people in poverty?

ELLISON: What I was looking for is for him to say. "Look, I don`t want to do a lot of talking, I want to do a lot of listening what do you all think, we need to do to address poverty and.

SCHULTZ: In an asset.

ELLISON: No. That never came up. What I got is, you know, my ideas not speaking -- him speaking.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

ELLISON: .it was that we should cut taxes and we should cut the social safety net because we have to cut the debt. And that`s pretty much where he was coming from. A number of people talk about his budget.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

ELLISON: .in the devastation it would make on the very communities he
claims he want to help. But in terms of him accounting for his inaccurate, a factual claim that generations of urban men don`t want to work. No, he never did really attach that and certainly did and apologize for it.

SCHULTZ: I just want to point out that a major study conducted by Columbia University shows that the U.S poverty rate decreased over the past half century. Thanks to Safety Net Programs, programs.

ELLISON: Right.

SCHULTZ: .that Ryan thinks that people who want to protect, you know, that he wants to cut from the budget the Safety Net. And he says that those people are wrong. Quickly, he just -- you`re in two totally different camps with no common ground on this, is that correct?

ELLISON: That`s what it appears to me.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

ELLISON: In fact he wants to cut the -- what he called marginal tax on poor people to make them more incentivize to work.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

ELLISON: And if everybody doesn`t want to work, Americans want to work, all Americans, all colors want to work, that`s something he needs to learn.

SCHULTZ: Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, good to have you with us tonight Keith, thanks so much.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source