Mitt Romney’s comments on the 47% of Americans who don’t make enough money to pay federal income taxes shows how out of touch he is with the lives of average people.

 

 

First of all, the 47% of people who don’t pay federal income tax that Romney refers to are by and large workers who make less than $20,000 (but still pay the Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes), seniors whose Social Security benefits are so low that they are not taxed, people with disabilities, and students. These 47% are not government dependents or entitlement seekers as Romney would have us believe.

 

The working poor, who live paycheck to paycheck, are anything but lazy or entitled. In fact, most of these workers would join a union today to improve their standard of living if given the chance. However, Romney has publicly stated that he would support Right to Work (for Less) laws and oppose the Employee Free Choice Act which would undermine the path to achieving a middle class life.

 

An entitlement is when corporations making billions of dollars in profits every year pay nothing in federal income tax, but Romney doesn’t see it this way. The flaws in Romney’s logic are numerous and troublesome. To paint the American people with such a broad and cynical brush is not a quality that suits our nation’s President. We need a President who believes in fostering opportunities for upward mobility and recognizes the legitimate struggles of working families trying to achieve a middle class lifestyle.