Paul Ryan Booed At Town Hall For Defending Tax Breaks For The Wealthy

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/20/paul-ryan-wealthy-tax-breaks/

Earlier this week, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) embarked on a series of town halls across his southern Wisconsin congressional district. Ryan has gained notoriety in recent weeks as the architect of the Republican budget which extends tax breaks for the wealthy and phases out Medicare. House Republicans voted 235-4 in favor of the plan.

During a town hall meeting in Milton, a constituent who described himself as a “lifelong conservative” asked Ryan about the effects of growing income inequality in our nation. The constituent noted that huge income disparities contributed to the Great Depression and the Great Recession, and thus wanted to know why the congressman was “fighting to not let the tax breaks for the wealthy expire.”

Ryan argued against “redistribut[ing]” in this manner. After the constituent noted that “there’s nothing wrong with taxing the top because it does not trickle down,” Ryan argued that “we do tax the top.” This response earned a chorus of boos from constituents:

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Ryan’s constituent is correct to point out that income inequality is accelerating in the United States and tax cuts aimed at the wealthy are exacerbating the problem. Between 1980 and 2005, “more than 80 percent of total increase in Americans’ income went to the top 1 percent.” Indeed, as Ezra Klein points out, the extension of the Bush tax cuts plays a major role in our projected federal deficit. Ryan, who advocates permanently extending the Bush tax cuts, uses the resulting federal deficit as justification for phasing out Medicare and slashing the social safety net.

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