Fact Check

Paul Ryan Refuses to Tip Elderly Black Waiter

Did Rep. Paul Ryan refuse to tip an elderly waiter at a Washington-area restaurant?

Published April 8, 2013

Claim:

Claim:   Rep. Paul Ryan refused to tip an elderly waiter at a Washington-area restaurant.


FALSE


Example:   [Collected via e-mail, April 2013]


This is being circulated on Face Book and I am curious to know if it's true.
 

Rep. Paul Ryan refused to tip an elderly waiter today at a Washington-area soul food restaurant. According to witnesses at Auntie Ruth's Bistro in Northeast D.C., Ryan stiffed his server on the grounds of "personal austerity" and proceeded to tell the 72-year-old man to "get a real job."


 

Origins:   On 8 April 2013, the Daily Currant published an article stating that Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman who serves as House Budget Committee Chairman, had refused to leave a tip for an elderly black waiter after dining at a Washington-area restaurant:



According to witnesses at Auntie Ruth's Bistro in Northeast D.C., Ryan stiffed his server on the grounds of "personal austerity" and proceeded to tell the 72-year-old man to "get a real job."

When Ryan attempted to leave the premises without paying any tip at all, [waiter James] Anderson politely asked Ryan if he was satisfied

with the service.

"Listen, I was satisfied with the service," Ryan explained, "but I'm not paying you a cent. You know why? Because you're a taker. I've already paid for my meal. I've spent the money I'm legally obligated to spend — and here you are begging for more.

"Why don't you go out and get yourself a real job? Get an education and then go be an engineer or something. Don't sit around doing shitty jobs your whole life and then expect me to pay for your bad decisions.

"You don't like the fact that you work a minimum wage job? Tough. You should have used your parents' inheritance money to get a college education instead of wasting it on booze and women."'


By the end of the day links and excerpts referencing this article were being circulated via social media, with many of those who encountered it mistaking it for a genuine news article. However, the article was just a bit of political humor which satirized Ryan's political stances on economic issues (such as his proposed "austerity budget").

As noted in the Daily Currant's "About" page, that web site deals strictly in satire:



The Daily Currant is an English language online satirical newspaper that covers global politics, business, technology, entertainment, science, health and media.

Q. Are your news stories real?

A. No. Our stories are purely fictional. However they are meant to address real-world issues through satire and often refer and link to real events happening in the world.


Last updated:   8 April 2013

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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