House Speaker deletes $1.50 pay rise tweet
US politician Paul Ryan has been mocked after tweeting about how a tax overhaul had boosted a secret..
US politician Paul Ryan has been mocked after tweeting about how a tax overhaul had boosted a secretary's weekly pay – by $1.50 (£1.06p) a week.
Mr Ryan – Speaker of the House of Representatives – posted: "A secretary at a public high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 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."
He also posted a link to an Associated Press news story about how workers were seeing an increase in take-home pay after the controversial tax changes.
The Republican's tweet only lasted a matter of hours however, and was deleted after a flurry of online criticism
Speechwriter for former president Barack Obama tweeted: "As a thank you for passing a $1 trillion corporate tax cut, Paul Ryan received $500,000 in campaign contributions from the Koch brothers, which would probably cover the cost of buying a Costco."
Twitter user Eileen Cody posted: "Excited to learn that #WithABuckFiftyAWeek I can pay off my student loan balance in 339 years. thanks @SpeakerRyan for the assist."
@DesiJed tweeted: "I don't know what's more depressing, the fact that Paul Ryan thought the Costco tweet was good, or the fact that the working class is so beaten down they would be grateful for the dollar and change."
Despite the tweet being deleted, Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat House leader, kept up the pressure.
She tweeted: "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."
The tax overhaul has been criticised by President Trump's rivals as mainly benefitting the rich and big business.
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However, the President and Republicans insist it is a historic measure that helps the vast majority of Americans, including the average worker and the middle class.
Mr Ryan posted other links this week to media reports of how people are seeing more meaningful increases in their pay – some said to be as much as $1,000 (£708).
