American history, as told through the two Romneys
The political debate continues to be dominated by questions involving GOP nominee Mitt Romney and his financial history, more particularly his refusal to release any tax information other than his 2010 return and an estimate of his 2011 taxes.
The decision to withhold the information has begun to perplex even conservative pundits such as William Kristol (”It’s crazy”) to George Will (”He must have calculated that there are higher costs in releasing them).” In many cases, unflattering comparisons are being drawn between Romney and his father, George, who as a candidate for the GOP nomination in 1968 began the modern practice of tax disclosure by releasing 12 years of his returns.
While that debate rages, I thought it might be interesting to study what we know of the two Romneys not for what it might tell us about their character, openness, etc., but about the time and place in which each man lived.
Take a look at the thumbnail financial descriptions posted on the right. The younger Romney, as a passive, non-working investor now drawing upon his success at Bain Capital, collected income in 2010 amounting to 439 times the median household income of his fellow Americans.
His father, during a 12-year period in which he mainly worked as chairman and president of American Motors, earned an average annual income that was 44 times that of the median household income of his fellow Americans. Adjusted for inflation, his average income of $247,743 in 1965 dollars would be $1.7 million today.
In the ’50s and ’60s, a period considered the economic heyday of a free and capitalist post-war America, George Romney paid 37 percent of his income in federal taxes.
By 2010, Romney’s son paid a total of 13.9 percent of his income in federal taxes, this in an America that is supposedly well on its way to becoming a socialist state, with a confiscatory federal government intent on stealing the wealth of its highest earners.
Reality, in other words, directly contradicts mythology, but with little apparent effect. The fact that the “socialist” meme not only survives but thrives despite its obvious absurdity is, I would argue, testimony to the perception-altering power of propaganda. Or as the elder Romney might put it, a case of brainwashing.
– Jay Bookman
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645 comments Add your comment
Verbal Kint
July 17th, 2012
7:53 am
Stands – take a look at this analysis on our tax system from someone that’s way smarter than you
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2012/07/progressivity-of-taxes-and-transfers.html
stands for decibels
July 17th, 2012
7:56 am
check google.
VK, I did awhile ago, I get that it’s a movie character.
Hey, some jokes work, some don’t. This is where we work on new material when we’re waiting for SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS.
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
July 17th, 2012
7:56 am
Bad week for Romney by ” hacking him”……….and no Obama bump. Very telling. It ain’t selling. Even the holy lib grail NY Times say’s move along, nothing to see here. Romney is doing the rope a dope on this guy. Let him take all his shots, spend all his money…………then BAM. This ain’t John McCain. Hang on.
TaxPayer
July 17th, 2012
7:58 am
It’s common sense for most, cons obviously excluded, that those that take the most should pay the most. Yet, it never fails, a con will pop up and proclaim that those that make the least are the problem and their solution is to tax the poor. Pauper’s prisons seem to appeal to the new GOP. They surely yearn for a return to their good old days when they profited from peonage.
Verbal Kint
July 17th, 2012
7:59 am
“VK, I did awhile ago, I get that it’s a movie character”
Then why are you talking about the wrong vowel. Is that your idea of new material?
TaxPayer
July 17th, 2012
8:00 am
Verbal,
Show me Romney’s tax returns and I’ll let you know what laws he broke, stretched, skirted, etc. I’m waiting.
stands for decibels
July 17th, 2012
8:00 am
no no no. that’s not how you sell stuff in blogland, VK. You say “a guy who is way smarter than ME.”
and I’m familiar with his argument already. it’s but one metric, (one which I’d already read about), and while I have no problem with people genuinely asking “hey, isn’t this a kind of progressivity?” I don’t buy it.
It asks us to view these transfer payments in a vaccuum, as if legislation affecting workers’ rights, and a suppressed minimum wage, and God-knows-how-many-other factors, don’t matter.
Verbal Kint
July 17th, 2012
8:01 am
TaxPayer said:
“It’s common sense for most, cons obviously excluded, that those that take the most should pay the most”
Take the most or earn the most? Please clarify. If it’s “take the most”, then from whom are they taking?
Jm
July 17th, 2012
8:01 am
Taxpayer 8 don’t hold your breath
stands for decibels
July 17th, 2012
8:01 am
Is that your idea of new material?
well yeah. new for me. I didn’t say the new material was necessarily *funny*…
Verbal Kint
July 17th, 2012
8:03 am
Taxpayer – Romney released last year’s return so get analyzing.
Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Mitt Romney’s super secret tax returns | Hotspyer – Breaking News from around the web
July 17th, 2012
8:03 am
[...] Jay Bookman at The Atlanta Journal Constitution: In the ’50s and ’60s, a period considered the economic heyday of a free and capitalist post-war America, George Romney paid 37 percent of his income in federal taxes. [...]
Brosephus™
July 17th, 2012
8:04 am
boy howdy, wouldn’t it be cool to find out that Obama only got into that fancy Ivy League school on account of quotas and set-asides?
You mean, I could have gone to Harvard just because I had more melanin than most of their school population??? Man, I should have read my “How To Be Black and Get Yo Benefits!” handbook when I was born.
stands for decibels
July 17th, 2012
8:05 am
Mitt, far as I can tell, has done nothing but run for President since 2007.
I guess that’s what makes his secretiveness regarding his tax returns all the more galling.
I mean, he’s running for President, for Pete’s sake. Has been all this time. And now he (well, his apologists, anyway) act all butthurt and complain about how unfair it is to be scrutinized like that?
WTF did he expect?
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
July 17th, 2012
8:06 am
“Those that make the most should pay the most”………already happening……When Washington needs more cash, other than China, they go to the producers. Where will all these folks not working ( the ones that want to work) get a job, from welfare participants? Don’t think so. Jobs come from the private sector. They need fair taxes, fair regulations and consumer confidence to hire. The President doesn’t have a clue. He thinks jobs come from giving speech’s. He say’s everyday He’s working hard for jobs and the American people………Really? All he see’s is a person on entitlements is a vote.
TaxPayer
July 17th, 2012
8:06 am
Take the most or earn the most? Please clarify. If it’s “take the most”, then from whom are they taking?
The tax code makes no distinction. Taxes are to be paid on all monies obtained by any means with certain exceptions.
bman
July 17th, 2012
8:07 am
Stands .. .. On that, I agree. Maybe he never thought he would get the nomination?
TaxPayer
July 17th, 2012
8:08 am
Verbal,
Mitt’s daddy told his son that one year’s tax return is not enough. I’m waiting.
Mitt Romney's "Son of Detroit" Op-Ed
July 17th, 2012
8:12 am
Mitt Romney recently wrote an op-ed, in the op-ed he claimed to be a “son of Detroit”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh9XCC45jw4
stands for decibels (SfBA)
July 17th, 2012
8:14 am
Man, I should have read my “How To Be Black and Get Yo Benefits!” handbook when I was born.
You coulda picked up a free copy at the Librul Plantation Sto’.
Maybe he never thought he would get the nomination?
Possibly.
Or maybe he thought Team Obama were as wussy as Romney had claimed in “No Apologizin’ to Rag-Heads”, or whatever he called his book.
It’s just me, but I do think Team Romney seems a little out of their element at this very moment; they don’t seem to be responding to the attacks very well. And no, I don’t imagine this state of affairs will remain in place for long. I always thought Romney would mount a tough campaign.
TaxPayer
July 17th, 2012
8:15 am
Does anyone else think it odd that another blogger would post as a small time con man while expressing his support of the GOP. Well, on second thought, never mind.
stands for decibels (SfBA)
July 17th, 2012
8:18 am
Anyone else wonder if Mitt bristles at comparisons to Dad?
MiltonMan
July 17th, 2012
8:23 am
“Why are you so interested in Obama’s transcripts? Is it education envy?”
I guess you forgot how idiotic you libs were about constantly bashing Bush because he was a “C” student at Yale.
Resigned Sigh
July 17th, 2012
8:24 am
Jay,
It was good to see you “go there” regarding the propaganda. The biggest problem we face is anger-porn (i.e. talk radio), which is designed to poke, poke, poke the frustration in much the same way sexual pornography is used to poke a different part of the brain. We’re out of balance – the rich are using their extraordinary power to gobble up more and more.
Look at those parroting the right-wing talking points right here – “He is comparing George Romney’s income tax to Mitt’s capital gains tax. Mitt has already paid income tax on that money,” says Robert. Are you kidding me? No, he hasn’t – that’s utter nonsense. Investment income has become the great new tax dodge, allowing for incredible accumulation of wealth for those connected.
What’s even more amazing is how these same posters are the first to cry about the deficit/debt. Does it ever occur to any of them that as the middle gets pushed DOWNWARD, more government services will be required simply to sustain livability?
One last point: If you simply take the 1980 minimum wage ($3.10) and multiply it by the value of a 1980 dollar ($3.57) you come up with a MINIMUM WAGE north of $11 now. But we can’t have that, because having 44 times the average income isn’t enough for today’s titan. No, no, it has to be 400-500 times the average. Capitalism cannot survive without a thriving middle class.
Don Abernethy
July 17th, 2012
8:25 am
I assume you would like a government more like North Korea??
MiltonMan
July 17th, 2012
8:26 am
Mitt’s Dad >>>>> Obozo’s dad
Verbal Kint
July 17th, 2012
8:26 am
“The tax code makes no distinction. Taxes are to be paid on all monies obtained by any means with certain exceptions.”
Brilliant.
curious
July 17th, 2012
8:28 am
I wish I could’ve made a few “C” s.
At least you are admitting you’re just as idiotic as us Liberals.
stands for decibels (SfBA)
July 17th, 2012
8:28 am
midgetlittle people SHEETZVerbal Kint
July 17th, 2012
8:29 am
“Does anyone else think it odd that another blogger would post as a small time con man while expressing his support of the GOP. Well, on second thought, never mind.”
I remember when I was in a barbershop quartet in Skokie, IL.
stands for decibels (SfBA)
July 17th, 2012
8:30 am
and MM, I daresay we liberals spent approximately 1/10th the time obsessing over W Bush’s legacy admission between 2001-2009, as you guys spend fretting that Obama was an affirmative-action charity case.
Headin’ upstairs.
MiltonMan
July 17th, 2012
8:31 am
“The biggest problem we face is anger-porn (i.e. talk radio),…”
Yes, much, much more a problem than 8+% unemployment, unsustainable debt, shortage of skilled professionals, etc., etc.
talk radio = freedom of specch. If you don’t like it, change the Bill of Rights pal.
MiltonMan
July 17th, 2012
8:33 am
“At least you are admitting you’re just as idiotic as us Liberals.”
Please step out of your fantasy land & pinpoint exactly where I admitted this.
Verbal Kint
July 17th, 2012
8:34 am
“Investment income has become the great new tax dodge, allowing for incredible accumulation of wealth for those connected.”
Question for you: Is it legal? If not, please explain. Otherwise, you are simply guilty of wealth envy with a statement like that.
You mention the minimum wage. Is that what the middle class should be striving for, making minimum wage?
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
July 17th, 2012
8:34 am
Report out this morning stating that 2 million jobs will be lost is Bush Tax cuts expire. The winch Patty Murray has no problem with that. It’s all political bull. It’s 85 billion dollars a year IF rates go up, or 81/2 days of operating the government. This is nothing but class war fare. Cut the rate to 25% and watch ALL THE DAMN HIRING !
MiltonMan
July 17th, 2012
8:34 am
Even the lib Golden child Bill Clinton stated that Mittie’s work at Bain was “stellar”.
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
July 17th, 2012
8:38 am
You only have to look at interest rates to see where this Obama economy stands. The next stop for the Fed is free money. The clues are everywhere.
Speed Racer
July 17th, 2012
8:40 am
@stands for decibel: Does not matter what % of wealth they hold. If we were starting a society and you made $100,000/year and I made $10,000/year, it would be “fair” for us to contribute the same % to support the society. Wouldn’t it? Let’s say 10% tax. You pay $10,000 and I pay $1,000. Equal sacrifice. Otherwise, I have to look you in the eye and tell you, “You need to pay more than me even though we both live in the same society.”
curious
July 17th, 2012
8:45 am
MiltonMan
Appears you’re obsessing over Obama’s transcript as much as we obsessed over Bush’s.
Since we’re idiots for our obsession, you must be an idiot for your obsession over the same thing.
Maybe you’re in fantasy land.
TiredOfIt
July 17th, 2012
9:00 am
It’s interesting to watch the Dems do to Romney what he did to the other Reps candidates during the primaries and then he cries foul.
Donovan
July 17th, 2012
9:02 am
Thanks once again for that rousing campaign speech. Based on the obvious observation that Bookman can’t inspire anyone about Obama’s record, he takes the low character road oh his minders. Pathetic and low class. Is that all you slimey Democrats can come up with?
You hypocrites demand transparency in Mitt’s world, but support a radical who has sealed any and all information about his own life. Until your empty suit opens up his life, Mitt has no reason to undress in front of you hypocrites.
Femogiga
July 17th, 2012
9:06 am
Thank God for the Internet for allowing every Tom think and Harry to spout out nonsense. Let us dissect the logic here. The last comment said he has already paid income tax on the gains.absolutely clueless.do not talk about what you have no knowledge about. It almost like saying ” why am I paying sales tax when I have already paid payroll tax. The fact is that during George Romney heydays the capital gain tax was 48% . Capital taxes were levied to capture the portion of income that is not from regular employment because the wealthy were channelling most of via the capital route and thus avoiding paying the taxes.
joe
July 17th, 2012
9:17 am
American History as told through Obama:
Grow national debt by 5 trillion, bow to every foreign leader, cower to the Russians and Iranians, Hang Israel out to dry, pee off the Christians, bend over backwards for the islamists (terrorists), ignore our constitution, ram obamacare down our throats (even though most don’t want it), take God out of anything public and the military, surround himself with communists, etc, etc etc.
I’m sure ya’ll can come up with more…feel free to add to the list.
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9:30 am
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