So now Mitt Romney divides 310 million Americans into two classes: the makers and the moochers. He believes government benefits for individuals cultivate dependents. He says that 47 percent of all Americans are moochers living off government entitlements. If you are a retiree who receives Social Security and Medicare, you are a moocher. Even an Iraq war veteran who goes to the VA is considered a moocher.
On the other hand the “makers,” like him, are individuals who alone create jobs without any government assistance. In fact, it is government regulations that shackles the makers. He proclaims that unfettered “free market capitalism” built our country. Only the jealous criticizes these rugged individualistic “makers” and therefore seek division by class warfare.
Long ago while watching too much Perry Mason, I learned the accused should always examine very closely the motives of the accuser. Mitt Romney, who was born on third base and believes he hit a triple, repudiates the real moochers. According to many reports, 50 percent of the U.S. corporations making a profit of $500 million or more, paid no corporate income taxes. In fact, the nonprofit Public Interest Research Group report, “Loopholes for Sale,” identified 30 U.S. corporations whose cumulative profit was $164 billion from 2008-2010 and who paid no corporate taxes while they collected $10.6 billion in tax rebates.
Dubbed the “Dirty Thirty,” these same corporations spent $467 million of your rebate money to lobby Congress, most of the money going to Republican congressmen. Yes, Republicans do have a reason for declaring that fact-checking will not influence their message!
In addition, do Romney and too many other Republicans speak with a forked tongue? Examine the numerous contradictions in their analogy. If individuals receiving government benefits cultivates dependents, why do corporations who receive larger amounts of government assistance not create dependents? If the “makers” alone create jobs, how can I-73 create 29,000 jobs in our area? Is South Carolinian’s $1 billion incentive to the Boeing Corporation free market capitalism? If government is the problem, not the solution, why do corporations race to our government for a bailout when they grossly mismanage? If trickle-down economics works (tax cuts for the wealthy creates jobs), why have the Bush tax cuts led to the widest gap between the have-yachts and the have nots since the Great Depression?
Just as a skillful magician’s legerdemains provokes amazement, Mr. Romney’s accusations compels many to wonder!
The writer lives in Myrtle Beach.
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