More on Romney's 47% Comment

 

ABC News Photo

 

 

Mitt Romney has attempted to explain away the comments he made at a private fundraiser in May, after a video of his response to a supporter was made public yesterday (see 9/18 blog post).  No matter how he changes his words, the denigration of those who pay no taxes as having a victim’s mentality still rings as sanctimonious and dismissive.

 

Fact checkers busied themselves on determining exactly what kind of people paid no taxes last year.  Readers can find several articles that detail the composition of that group using internet search engines.  This blogger will include a few that might surprise readers who thought only the poor paid nothing.

 

Some wealthy people paid $0 in taxes last year. About 1 percent of the top 1 percent of income earners, those making about $533,000 or more, did not pay income taxes, according to ABC News. That's roughly 13,000 tax filers.  Retirees living entirely on Social Security income figure into the category as well.  People who made no money in 2011 but have paid federal taxes other years belong to that group also.  Yes, some people living at poverty level paid no taxes, but that doesn’t mean all of them behave as victims.  Many work for a living but can't make ends meet on hourly wages.

 

Face it, Mitt, you blew it.  The fact that you were recorded at a private function doesn’t change the fact that you uttered the words.  You just don’t get it, and you probably never will.  You led a privileged life that included private school, college costs paid by your parents and help buying your first home.  

 

Jon Huntsman, who ran as a candidate for the Republican nomination, identified the biggest problem Republicans face in this election. "We're not expanding our demographics. We're not thinking in terms of big, bold, optimistic solutions for this nation, we're doing a little too much pandering. We're doing a little bit too much in the way of pledge signing," says Huntsman. "We've got to get back to the big, bold visionary stuff, where we're not going to pander, we're going to talk about trust deficit, just like we talk about our fiscal deficit."

Great idea, Jon.  Too bad you didn't win the nomination. You're a voice of reason in a sea of insanity.