Can we stand back and pause a short minute to take in the spectacle of a man who wants to be President of The United States, who wants us to seriously regard him as a paragon of the American civic ideal, declaiming proudly and in public that he has paid his taxes at a third of the rate normally associated with gentlemen of his economic benefit.
Stunning.
Am I supposed to congratulate this man? Thank him for his good citizenship? Compliment him for being clever enough to arm himself with enough tax lawyers so that he could legally minimize his obligations?
Thirteen percent. The last time I paid taxes at that rate, I believe I might still have been in college. If not, it was my first couple years as a newspaper reporter. Since then, the paychecks have been just fine, thanks, and I don’t see any reason not to pay at the rate appropriate to my earnings, given that I’m writing the check to the same government that provided the economic environment that allowed for such incomes.
I can’t get over the absurdity of this moment, honestly: Hey, I never paid less than thirteen percent. I swear. And no, you can’t examine my tax returns in any more detail. But I promise you all, my fellow American citizens, I never once slipped to single digits. I’m just not that kind of guy.
God.
This republic is just about over, isn’t it?
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Anyone who believes that Romney and Ryan are the answer are not paying attention and were likely in a coma from 2001 to 2008. Their remedy for our economic challenges is more of the same trickle down nonsense that has left this country 16 trillion dollars in debt.
They propose to crush the lower and middle classes while giving the very wealthiest among us even more tax breaks. Since the days of Reagan, the wealthy have been lobbying for (buying) and receiving tax breaks to the extent that clueless entitled trust fund kids like Mitt Romney can run for President while he tells us how little tax he has paid with a smirk on his face. Our massive debt has come largely from those tax breaks and the slush fund that is our denfese department. And now we have a Presidential candidate that proudly states how he is part of that problem.
Thanks to David for adding his voice to the public figures who are speaking out about this insanity.