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| EDITOR'S NOTE: Who pays NO federal tax? The largest single bloc are senior citizens. At least 5,000 millionaires pay no taxes. That figure could include Mitt Romney, perhaps accounting for his reluctance to release his tax returns. |
By Bob Plain in RIFuture.org
Republican candidates
from both Massachusetts and Connecticut came out against Mitt Romney’s
“controversial comments” about not concerning himself with the 47 percent of
Americans that he feels are dependent on government, according to Politicalwire, a beltway blog about
politics. (Here’s my post on the matter from earlier, with the video if you
still haven’t seen it.)
So far I haven’t heard
anything from the Republican candidates running in Rhode Island. I left Dave
Layman, from Brendan Doherty’s campaign, a voicemail. I just now left a message
for Mike Riley, who is running against Jim Langevin.
Patrick Sweeney, spokesman
for Barry Hinckley, said he would email a statement by 3 pm, though I haven’t
gotten anything from my inbox yet.
According to The Hill, Scott Brown, a Massachusetts incumbent who
needs to defend his seat against middle class champion Elizabeth Warren, said,
“That’s not the way I view the world. As someone who grew up in tough circumstances,
I know that being on public assistance is not a spot that anyone wants to be
in. Too many people today who want to work are being forced into public
assistance for lack of jobs.”
And according to the Hartford
Courant, Linda McMahon said,
“I disagree with Governor Romney’s insinuation that 47% of Americans believe
they are victims who must depend on the government for their care. I know that
the vast majority of those who rely on government are not in that situation
because they want to be. People today are struggling because the government has
failed to keep America competitive, failed to support job creators, and failed
to get our economy back on track.”
She actually posted
her statement to her website, but she also has a history with the idea that 47
percent of the population doesn’t pay income taxes. Read the Courant story for
details.
Would someone please
let me know if the GOP congressional candidates from Rhode Island decide to
speak up about this issue? Since both are accused of being too conservative for
Rhode Island, and because Romney’s comments shined a light on what many
liberals and moderates fear most about conservative Republicans, I think we
should know what Brendan Doherty and Barry Hinckley think of Romney’s comment.
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| EDITOR'S NOTE: this chart shows the Top Ten states for non-payers of federal income tax in red. All but New Mexico (which is a toss-up) are also "red" states for voting Republican. The blue colored states have the FEWEST non-payers of income tax. Seven out of ten of those states went for Obama in 2010. Romney's statement about the political demographics and tax payments is FALSE. |
Bob Plain is
the editor/publisher of Rhode Island's Future. Previously, he's worked as a
reporter for several different news organizations both in Rhode Island and across
the country.
