Paul Ryan has had a rough year and it keeps getting worse. Not only did he take a verbal beating from President Obama recently (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ_QshAn2Gs&feature=youtube_gdata), then Budget Director Peter Orszag points out the silliness of Ryan’s “alternative budget(term used lightly)” . In case you are not seeing the theme here, let me help. When someone challenges any of Ryan’s quotes or ideas they do not hold up to scrutiny. That being said, Ryan was quoted recently in The Stateline News(http://www.communityshoppers.com/), in an article about how to bring back the economy touting tax cuts once again.
“This country, and southern Wisconsin, always have had a manufacturing-based economy, so we need to give our businesses incentives to grow and stay in America. Instead, our business are taxed at the second-highest rate in the world.” Congressman Paul Ryan.
Since Margaret Plevak did not do any fact checking in her “reporting”, allow me. As a quick aside, I am not sure why she would ask Ryan about how to fix the economy anyway. I can only assume Brittney Spears was unavailable, but I digress. I am going to assume that Mr. Ryan has been too busy campaigning in New Hampshire to actual read the papers or do any research. So I am giving him the benefit of the doubt when he makes such outrageous statements that he is just ignorant and not outright lying to his constituents. Had he not been speaking at Tea Parties, he could have taken the time to read the following.
- “Goldman Sachs effective tax rate is 1%”
(http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/01082010/watch.html)
Goldman Sachs received BILLIONS in tax payer funded bailout money, and then paid a 1% effective tax rate. In defense of Goldman Sachs though, if they paid their fair share of taxes they might not of been able to pay $100 million in bonuses(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/31/goldman-sachs-may-give-re_n_443889.html). CEO Blankfein himself makes over $40 million dollars last year, not counting bonus. Again, in his defense, he deserves every penny as he is “doing God’s work.” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6907681.ece
- Republican senatorial candidate, and local businessman, Terrance Wall, has paid NO(as in zero(as in NONE)) state income taxes in 9 out of the last 10 years. (http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt_and_politics/blog/article_5f6b6794-0cfb-11df-82c2-001cc4c002e0.html). How much did you pay in the last ten years?
- Most Companies Pay No Federal Income Taxes. GAO Study also finds 68% of Foreign Companies in U.S. avoid paying corporate taxes. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/12/national/main4342535.shtml). 2 out of every 3 companies in the US, regardless where they are headquartered, pay NO(as in zero(as in NONE)) corporate taxes. Collectively they account for TRILLIONS of dollars of sales, and for the opportunity to do business in America, using our roads, courts, schools, etc… and paid 0 dollars in taxes.
I am not sure how much you can cut from 0, but maybe the congressman can use voodoo. I hope in the future before anyone calls upon Mr. Ryan to be an “expert” on the economy that he actually takes the time to do some research . I doubt he will apologize for his blunder, but if Mr. Ryan still insists on parroting the Americans for Prosperity talking points in complaining about our “high corporate tax rate” he can remember the famous words of Dean Wormer “zero point zero!”
PP, welcome to Blogging Blue!