House Speaker Paul Ryan's Costco tax cut tweet draws taunts — especially from Democrats

Richard Wolf | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan thinks a $1.50 increase in weekly pay makes the Republicans' tax cut a success.

Or does he?

Ryan on Saturday touted via Twitter a Pennsylvania woman's comment to the Associated Press that the extra buck-and-a-half would pay for her annual Costco membership.

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But after being mocked for bragging about that impact, the tweet from the Wisconsin Republican was deleted.

The imbroglio came days after his Democratic counterpart, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, was criticized for likening companies' $1,000 employee bonuses to "crumbs."

The $1.5 trillion tax cut, signed by President Trump in December, includes a permanent 40% tax cut for corporations, a change Republicans say is long overdue and desperately needed to make America more competitive in the global economy.

The bill also lowers tax rates for individuals and families temporarily, while increasing the standard deduction and the child tax credit. But because the bill also kills or limits key tax deductions — most notably reducing the amount of state and local taxes that individuals can deduct on their federal tax returns — the impact on individuals will vary.

Ryan's exuberance about the $1.50 weekly raise set Twitter afire on a Saturday afternoon.

I think Paul Ryan might not know how costco works. Like you still have to pay for the groceries too, not just the membership. https://t.co/AUW8wGqj40 — Ian Salyers (@IanSalyers) February 3, 2018

NEW PAUL RYAN MEME: Throw 6 quarters at him any chance you get! Help the speaker live the dream of a real life Costco membership! — Madison Anderson (@madisonm_a) February 3, 2018

$1.50 is EXACTLY how much Costco charges for its hot dog and soda combo in the food court. So now I definitely wouldn’t be shocked if Paul Ryan used that Koch donation to buy a Costco. pic.twitter.com/NKSSHj7VfC — 🌿lauren (@unsoundedbelief) February 3, 2018

His Democratic opponent in November, Randy Bryce, quickly used it for fundraising purposes:

And other Democrats chimed in:

Paul Ryan doesn't want you to see this deleted tweet where he said that the GOP's trillion dollar plus giveaway to the rich is justified because a secretary got a buck fifty a week out of the deal. pic.twitter.com/7gtoyCB0wh — Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) February 3, 2018