Shon says:
Thu, 20th Sep 20127:37 pm 

I think it's very privileged thinking to mention how many people are relying on government assistance in a way that assumes that people enjoy being poor enough to not aspire to anything else (not necessarily a dig at the author but worth noting).

When ever any party talks about how many are on government assistance, they are rarely talking about what they will do to get them off or how they want to make it so they don't need it. They are shaming them. Saying they are lazy. Bringing up the welfare queen trope from the 80s and in the worse cases coding for minorities.

Here's some factoids that all candidates need to know about the 47%, 18%, whatever percent that are on government assistance/impoverished.

WE. DON'T. LIKE. BEING. POOR.

WE. DON'T. WANT. YOUR. MONEY.

NO ONE WANTS TO BE POOR!

But if the options are to starve. Or to suffer. Or to be sick? Then we take it, just so we can survive. Our circumstances weren't always created equal and for the most part as soon as we can get off, we do. But the economy is tanked. Jobs are no where. The older generation is getting sicker and suffering. Education costs are through the roof. And if we want to make it to this "bright day" both candidates are talking about we need help, be it 47% or 18% or all of us.

There is no line of people pushing a Benz or buying a mansion on food stamps or pre-paid medicine. Seriously. There may be some people whose priorities aren't in order. But the same can be said for all classes. Most are really just trying to get by and get out.

For once, I'd like all parties to stop seeing the poor as lazy/stupid people who enjoy being poor so they can mooch (when the reality is we are stigmatized beyond belief for problems that were created generations before us) and to stop seeing assistance as a safety net. START seeing poor as humans. Americans. Who have struggled and want to be middle class ONE DAY (cause it won't happen tomorrow no matter what star we wish on, trust me). Work toward not destroying the middle class. And start seeing assistance as something that shouldn't NEED to exist if elected. Not just something you don't like (cause honestly, f*ck your feelings if you've never been there)

Written as a college student who got here through food stamps, public housing, pre-paid medicine and NEVER wants to go back!

Shon says:
Thu, 20th Sep 20127:40 pm 

And just to clarify: these are the things that candidates have done/assumed through their speech and demeanor. I'm not flaming the author. Just the rhetoric being used on the campaign trail.

Jain43 says:
Thu, 20th Sep 201210:28 pm 

If you rob Peter to pay Paul you can generally count on Paul's vote and that is the policy that Obama is running on. There is nothing wrong with pointing that fact out.

curtis says:
Thu, 20th Sep 201211:18 pm 

I am a 48 year old married white man with seven children. I have gone tax exempt for about four years in a row. Because of my two houses, one a rental and one my primary residence, along with my child tax credits, I have not paid a penny of federal taxes. My income has been about 70k to 85k. I have only paid social security and medicare and yet my federal tax return has been to get back about 3k to 4k each year. How can a system like that survive. I did no pay a cent into the tax system and then was given money that was not mine. That is like paying of debt with another line of credit and still racking up more debt beyond what is alredy owed. Unless the 47% along with the upper crust pay taxes, our nation is going to fail financially. No matter what tax bracket a person is in we all need to pay into the system and my ability to get money from other tax payers without adding to the system is a terrible plan for finantial stability. I have not broken laws or tax laws yet I am a drain on the system. I do not know what to do to correct this problem except to change the tax laws. Now I do believe in welfare programs and if you ask Mitt Romney I think he will also agree with the same. I even know that Mitt’s religion, the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latterday Saints, belives in and has their own welfare progrms for not only helping their church members, but also persons who suffer disaters around the world. Romney never said he did not care for persons who accept help from the government. I believe he cares very much for all people. The truth about welfare or government assistance is that it’s correct use is as a safty net and not as a hammock. Can a child ever find true happiness through self awareness and testing their skills if they are for ever dependant on their mom and dad. Or can they ever make their way from infant to adult if they do not have parents who take care of their basic needs as they grow into maturity? So how far must government assistace go to help the helpless and to what extent does governments assistance weaken, undermine, and distort our citizens sence of fredom and self respect, like a medeling mother who never cuts the apron strings and wrecks the will of her child to make a success of themself and their life? I am not afraid to admit that I have been getting something for nothing and believe not only the 47% of us, if that is a correct percentage, and all us Americans need to agree to all pay a realistic percentage of our income and purchases to pay for our national debts and operational costs. If some are too poor to make it then help them become educated with funding to get them to a level that they can find financial freedom and self respect. I believe Mitt Romney not only has care and concern for the welfare of all Americans, but has a correct vision of the Constituion and the pursuit of happiness. Obama’s vision of the Constitution is lacking in his ability to see the inner power of the individual to create their own success and happiness. The redistribution of wealth under the hand of governmental controlls is neither constitutional nor uplifting to the human spirit. I believe that Romney knows that the power to change lives comes from within each individual and laws to prtect against monoplies and the natural laws of supply and demand build strong economies. The problem we all face now is that American salaries are far above the majority of the world and that creates an environment were outsourcing is profitable. That leaves little incentive to invest in the American economy.t. Tax breaks to the rich cannot create incentive to invest unless the cost of investing in America somhow is equal to the cost elswhere. Tricle down economics can only fuel the economy when the wealthy are willing to invest. Do you have any solutions to bring down inflation in America so that we would be able and willing to accept lower wages and yet still live independantly and equalize our incomes with the rest of the world? This would create more incentive for investors to invest and increase our GDP. That is the constitutional way to pull us out of our slump without falling prey to the idea that big government can tax the rich out of our financial ills. Sincerely, Curtis F

Ell says:
Sun, 23rd Sep 20123:44 am 

I feel like a lot of details were left out of said "fact checking."

47% of American citizens didn't pay federal income tax because the majority of that percentage is comprised of old people (many elderly war veterans) living on social security and the extremely poor (both are legally exempt from paying federal income tax). However, something you left out was the fact that many of these people pay payroll tax, sales tax, and property tax–all of which pay for Social Security and Medicare. These people actually do need food stamps and housing and medicine–otherwise you're looking at a country filled with homeless people that are starving and dying and are incapable of changing their situation. This would result in a huge problem for an administration that wants to downsize the federal government. I personally think it is extremely offensive to openly assume that they are freeloaders. You can check out these statistics at the Citizens for Tax Justice website.

http://ctj.org

Secondly, the one-minute long video, in my opinion, is enough to gather the kind of person Mitt Romney is and what kind of president he aspires to be. I personally don't think any context is required, but the full-length video is all over the place. It's not that hard to find, and you will find, once you watch it, y'all can figure out whether his words were appropriate or not yourselves. It does make sense for him to say these things in private because this speech was given at a fundraiser party attended by wealthy donors for Romney's campaign, and when you're trying to get money from the rich, who better to talk sh*t about than the poor?

Anyway, here is part one of the entire video

http://youtu.be/Ge03Sys8SdA

One more thing: if we want to talk about who's actually shirking away from their federal responsibilities, Romney also just recently released his 2011 tax returns which show that he and Anne only paid a 14% tax rate, while the poor "freeloaders" who didn't pay income tax paid 17%-21% through payroll and property taxes. Not sure if this makes sense to me seeing as the Romney family doesn't seem like they need Medicare or food stamps. Just sayin'.

I see that you're trying your hardest to portray a neutral POV (despite the obvious fact that you've written a couple of articles defending the Republicans), but maybe provide more reliable sources for your readers so they can make more informed judgments on who they want to vote for.

sac longchamp soldes says:
Mon, 15th Apr 20135:53 am 

To anyone who feels those defeats head telephones are worth this money: you are actually bamboozled. Get an important Sony facility monitor dj earphones instead.