Millennial co-founder Christopher Hale has a new article at Crux. He writes:

In an August 2014 Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Ryan apologized for using the language of “makers and takers” in the past to describe the relationship between the rich and the poor:

The phrase gave insult where none was intended. People struggling and striving to get ahead — that’s what our country is all about. On that journey, they’re not “takers”; they’re trying to make something of themselves. We shouldn’t disparage that.

Ryan has acknowledged his language problem. Now he has the opportunity to acknowledge his policy problems.

The Catholic Church is right on this issue: We cannot balance the federal budget on the backs of the poor. While Ryan is right to be concerned about the effectiveness of federal programs, he must acknowledge the fact that programs like SNAP are effective at getting people out of poverty.

It’s time for Ryan to fulfill his promise to “wipe the slate clean,” set aside the old way of doing things, and create policies that serve the poor and the excluded.

He has asked the American people to pray for him, and we should. We should pray most especially that he takes Pope Francis’ words to heart and becomes a politician “who is genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor!”

The full article can be read here.