Mitt Romney’s Fifteen Percent

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The four remaining Republican presidential candidates debated in Florida Monday evening, although only two of them really spoke. Those two were Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Mitt attacked Newt, Newt attacked Mitt, both accused the other of lying, it was extremely boring until Mitt Romney reminded America that he has a 15% tax rate.

My eyes narrowed. Fifteen percent? Wait a minute. I jumped up, ran to the living room and asked my husband what our tax rate is. He answered “Twenty eight percent, everyone pays about that.” Everyone, it seems, except people like Mitt Romney.

My husband makes a good living, but he makes nowhere near six figures a year. My writing is not paying much, yet, hopefully someday, but we pay more in taxes every year than Mitt Romney, and so do most Americans. I’m guessing a lot of people watching the debate Monday were surprised that Romney thinks people will be pleased to learn he pays less taxes than 95% of the country. I sure was.

This is what I don’t understand. There are conservatives who are middle class. There are conservatives who qualify as the working poor. Did their eyes narrow when Mitt Romney announced to the nation that he pays less taxes than they do? Did they leap up from their chairs and couches and dig through last year’s tax forms, only to find that they paid over ten percent more in taxes than a multi-millionaire? Are they wondering at this moment what the hell happened?

I would wager no. I would wager that this was the reaction of the “fringe”:

“Well, good for him! He pays his taxes, not like those illegals and those welfare mothers and those lazy liberals who just take MY money and don’t work. Unions are the problem, Obama sucks and I hate black people.”

Understand that I believe there are conservatives in America whose eyes narrowed. But they are not the majority. The majority are the folks so far right that the left turn signal in their car doesn’t work. Those patriotic Americans think it’s just peachy that Mitt Romney, who owns multiple luxury homes, and who shoved his dog into a luggage carrier for a 12 hour drive and who is worth millions and millions of dollars pays less taxes than NINETY FIVE percent of this country. Why? Because he’s a conservative who hates Obummer and loves zygotes.

Mitt Romney wants to take the capital gains tax to zero. Do you know how many people in this country make enough money to give a rat’s ass about the capital gains tax? About five percent. I know we don’t. We have a certificate of deposit, a small college fund for our son and two savings accounts. That’s it. No stocks, no municipal bonds, nothing. Just basic savings and one CD. We don’t care about the capital gains tax, and neither do 95% of Americans. Including conservatives.

Fifteen percent. That’s obscene. That’s the problem, in a nutshell. Mitt Romney should not pay less in taxes than my family, or your family or your neighbors. Mitt Romney should pay more, because he makes more. And yes, Mitt Romney should be proud of his wealth, and in that pride, should realize that it’s “We the People”, not “I, the Person”, pull his head out of his ass and pay more frigging taxes.

I believe in the end, this will be between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. I can’t fathom Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul just doesn’t have the spark. Newt, who was fined $300,000, no matter how he spins it and Mitt Romney, so rich he thinks 15% is enough, and so out of touch with America that he believes he should never pay more. Fifteen percent is not enough, not when most of us have so much less and pay so much more.

About Post Author

Erin Nanasi

Erin Nanasi is an avid underwater basket weaver, with a penchant for satire and the odd wombat reference.
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Robert
12 years ago

Don’t forget that is ‘at most’ 15%, you still have no idea how much he made or how much in has win the Caymen Island ‘TAX HAVEN’, post office box, company worth ‘er’ maybe billions.
So let’s be honest here, he more likely paid between say 5% and 10% taxes on his earnings including his tax haven investments.

12 years ago

The problem is with a tax code that allows the most powerful to pay a lower percentage.

Unfortunately money is power.

I shouldn;t gripe too much as most of my income is from investments but this shows capital gains need to be out on a graduated scale as regular income taxes are.

In the end, if tax “reform” does ever happen somebody is going to have to see their taxes go up since spending won’t be cut. I wonder what the tax rates of all those employees that Romney created at Dominos Pizza are paying?

The man is truly dishonest and pathetic. I wonder when he and Gingrich are going to write their book on how they made sure Obama was reelected.

Anonymous
12 years ago

I’ve already seen some comments:

“See? He paid $6 *million* in taxes – and those lazy welfare mothers pay *nothing*” and “That’s his right because he *earned* that money”. and “He also gave $7 million to *charity*”

The spin is that he actually pays *more* than you or I – because they choose to look at the dollar amount, not the percentage.

Two questions I want answered:

How many jobs did he create with his ‘savings’ as a ‘job creator’?

and…did they ever stop to consider that we might not NEED so much for charities if people were actually paid a *real* ‘living wage’ and not taxed more than the rich?

Anonymous
12 years ago

Love this! But then, I have never embraced Conservative viewpoints in American Politics. Author does not understand how ordinary Conservatives would not find this insulting/demeaning/unjust/confusing …
Dear Erin, their fear of changing the status quo and their fear of “other” (Gay/Moslem/Mexican/Chinese/Black…) takes precedence over any rational thinking. Fear is what drives these hardworking honest Americans to vote Republican. Wish it were not so. You zeroed in on the main topic … with great clarity, example, relevance and humor. Hurray!

Erin N.
Reply to  Anonymous
12 years ago

BINGO!

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