On Labor Day of this year, Paul Ryan was the newly minted GOP nominee for the Vice Presidency. Ryan was ostensibly chosen for his intellect and his ideas, especially when it comes to the economy, but when confronted on the pressing issue of jobs and pay, all he had to offer was candy. No, that’s not a metaphor. All he had to offer was candy (and a Packer’s schedule). Here’s the exchange with a young voter on Labor Day.
MAN: What should I work for to get a job? Should I work the same wages as in China? Should I have to work for $1 an hour? Is that the competitiveness that’s needed?
RYAN: Would you like some candy?
MAN: No.
RYAN: Would you like a Packer’s schedule?
MAN: What is deregulating gonna do? Should we allow corporations to do whatever they like? Is that the goal?
Here’s the video:
Sure, this voter might have been rude. He might have been intruding on Ryan’s personal time, but it can be argued that there is no personal time when running for office. Ryan has been sold to us as a man with answers and to this voter, he had no answers.
Ryan knows his policies favor corporations at the cost of jobs. He voted against raising the minimum wage. His running mate has cost Americans jobs.
It’s pretty obvious that Ryan was playing it safe. It’s possible that the young man was a plant, but as then candidate, Barack Obama showed us in 2008, even plants deserve a serious answer on issues that impact all Americans.
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