Thursday, September 7, 2017

Ryan, RoJo, Walker embarrass selves, WI on same day

They said it couldn't be done, and they were wrong: Three leading Wisconsin Republican elected officials on separate issues went public and embarrassed themselves and an entire state:

*  GOP US House Speaker Paul Ryan stumbles a bit when asked by The New York Times what is the minimum wage in his home state of Wisconsin. It's clearly not on his memorized talking point list of business tax rates and overseas comparison, etc.

(Big hint: it's the $7.25 Ryan finally pulls out of the air, a rate frozen there by Scott Walker who simultaneously believes it's a living wage and a "lame" concept.

Update: this discussion takes place at about the interview's 30-minute mark and it's interesting to note that Ryan strongly endorses the Earned Income Tax Credit as a way to boost pay for the working poor - - and this is the very program which the GOP-led Wisconsin budget-writing committee just cut by $20 million.

Ryan relentlessly pushes his ideologically-based plan to use the tax code to jump start the economy through business-friendly changes.

Voodoo economics on steroids. If his plan needs 60 votes in the Senate, it goes nowhere without many changes for which Democrats would have hold firm.

*  Not to be outdone, US Senator Ron Johnson voted "no" on emergency funding for Hurricane Harvey-damaged Texas and Louisiana. The measure passed the Senate with 80 "aye" votes cast by more informed, sane and humane Senators, including plenty of Johnson's fellow Republicans.

*  And, yes, there was Scott Walker in this special Badgerland trifecta, tweeting out self-serving but misleading information to paper over and distract from his deep cuts to public education in Wisconsin.
  1. We’re planning to invest more money than ever before in K-12 classrooms & our students’ futures. Welcome back to school!

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