Feb. 3 (UPI) — Democrats on Saturday slammed Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., for tweeting about a Pennsylvania woman whose paycheck went up by $1.50 a week, citing the raise as a success of the recently passed GOP tax-reform bill.
“A secretary at a public high school in Lancaster, PA, said she was pleasantly surprised her pay went up $1.50 a week … she said [that] will more than cover her Costco membership for the year,” Ryan tweeted.
The tweet was later deleted after a storm of backlash called him out for being out of touch with the reality about low-income financial situations.
Several Democrats noted on social media that $1.50 per week is not a significant pay bump.
“Paul Ryan deleted his embarrassing tweet of a blatant admission because he and Republicans don’t want you to know the truth: the #GOPTaxScam is a gift to corporate America and the top 1% at your expense,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, tweeted.
Randy Bryce, the Democrat in Wisconsin running against Ryan, took advantage of the tweet, calling for $1.50 in donations to help unseat him.
“Moments ago, @PRyan deleted this tweet after we told him just how out of touch he was. Show Paul Ryan what you think of his tax bill. Chip in $1.50 now to help us repeal and replace Ryan permanently this November.”
“Guess someone told Paul Ryan you shouldn’t go around praising yourself for giving a working person an extra $1.50 a week — because he deleted this tweet.”