by Chris Bodenner
A look at the circumstantial evidence:
[Paul Ryan] sold shares in a number of financial companies including Citigroup, General Electric, Wachovia, and JP Morgan Chase on the same day as then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke held a closed meeting with congressional leaders during the financial crisis. … According to The New York Times, the meeting was held in the evening, which raises significant doubt if any member in attendance would have been able to act on the conversation. Ryan's 2008 financial disclosures, which are publicly available on OpenSecrets.org [pdf], were analyzed by Business Insider (Via The Richmonder).
Even if Ryan did act on secret information gleaned from Paulson et al, it would not have been illegal at the time. But ethically dubious no doubt, and right in line with Romney's legal but despicable 13.9% tax rate. Speaking of which, the IRS just released [NYT] some shocking new info about the taxes paid by the 400 wealthiest Americans in 2009:
Not even Mr. Romney, with reported 2010 income of $21.7 million, qualifies for membership in this select group of 400. But the data provides a window into the financial lives and tax rates of the superrich. Since the I.R.S. doesn’t release data for the tiny percentage of Americans at Mr. Romney’s income level, the 400 are the closest proxy.
And that data demonstrates that many of the ultrarich can and do reduce their tax liability to very low levels, even zero. Besides the six who paid no federal income tax, the I.R.S. reported that 27 paid from zero to 10 percent of their adjusted gross incomes and another 89 paid between 10 and 15 percent, which is close to the 13.9 percent rate that Mr. Romney disclosed that he paid in 2010. (At the other end of the spectrum, 82 paid 30 to 35 percent. None paid more than 35 percent.)
How much did you pay this year?
The Dish 