With little fanfare, Mitt Romney released his tax returns in the darkness of the night. A lot of people are speculating on the meaning of his tax returns. What do we know? In 2010, he made over $21,000,000. Of that, he paid less than 14% in federal income tax and gave about 17% to the Mormon church.
The other startling thing is that his $21,000,000 were made without lifting his beautifully manicured fingers. The vast majority was from interest, capital gains and dividends. Nice work if you can get it, but his type of income isn’t going to create many jobs.
Maybe I’ve become too jaded to wealth. When I first heard that Romney’s net worth was $250,000,000, I thought, “Is that all? He’s not even a billionaire?” Pfffft!!!!
Then I saw his tax return and for some reason, the number $21,000,000 brought it back home for me. What would Romney’s annual income mean for the average family? Since most people base their income on an eight-hour work day, five days a week, 52 weeks a year, that’s what I’ll assume for Romney. There are 2080 work hours in the average year. That means that Romney earns over $10,096 an hour. Personally, I and the majority of American families would be happy earning the $96 an hour that’s tacked on to that $10 grand, but for the sake of this post, I’ll round down to “just” $10,000 an hour.
In one hour, Romney could pay a year’s worth of mortgage or rent payments for the average family.
In two hours, Romney could buy a lower priced new car.
In three hours, Romney could buy a pretty nice new car.
In four hours, Romney could buy a really nice new car.
In five hours, Romney could pay an entire family’s bills for the year.
In six hours, Romney could pay for a four-year degree, with room and board.
In seven hours, Romney could house 10 apartment dwellers for a year.
In eight hours, Romney could pay cash for a home in some parts of the country.
In a week, he could pay cash for a nice home in most parts of the country.
In a month, he could hire 32 people at wages that would support their entire families for a year.
In six months, he could start a business, create hundreds of jobs with benefits, help turn around a struggling city and provide needed tax money to local, state and the federal government.
In a year, Romney could hire and support 420 people so they could support their own families or he could help bring 2,000 families out of poverty. Heck, let’s let Romney have a good life of his own. What if he only hired 400 people? Do you think he could live on a salary of just 20 times the average American’s instead of 420 times?
I think the problem is the LESS THAN 14% FEDERAL INCOME TAX rate that he paid when the average low/middle class family pays at least 20-30%! Why should he be allowed to have that much lower of a tax rate for doing nothing??? While hard working people struggle day to day to make ends meet and have to pay sometimes twice that rate??? Why shouldn’t he have to pay his full share also??
Also, the average person isn’t going to have $20 million in their 401k’s when they retire to have capital gains tax on. Most would probably be lucky to have maybe a couple $100,000 at most. Since when has the average middle class worker ever retired a millionaire???
It’s about paying their fair share. Why should someone like Romney get tax breaks and pay half the tax rate that an employee on the line at Ford pays, or the cashier at Wal-Mart making minimum wage? If income tax is based on income, then doesn’t that mean that if 2% are making 90% of the money, their income tax should make up 90% of the tax revenue? Like the President said, why should Warren Buffet pay a lower tax rate than his secretary??? And what other president has ever come out and said – I don’t need these tax cuts.? I think that really says something when he includes himself in that equation – not just Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. Even Warren Buffet has said he doesn’t need or deserve the tax breaks he gets. I don’t understand the low and middle class workers who struggle day to day to make ends meet who actually believe that it’s fair that they have to pay more in taxes then the CEO’s of the companies they work for! Those CEO’s are making the money from your hard work, so why should they get the breaks and not you?? I just don’t understand that logic.
It is not about legal vs. illegal, or jealousy, or anything like that. People are allowed to be rich, OK?
What it is about, or maybe better wording is “where the problem lies” is that Romney with that kind of wealth simply is incapable of putting the best interests of Americans first.
It is impossible for someone who makes that much money to understand the impacts of making laws and policies has on normal people.
That money he has is simply growing his pile. His pile of cash gets bigger every year – but it isn’t actually doing anything except making numbers on spreadsheets bigger.
That money is not creating jobs or producIng goods or anything beneficial.
So the point is that Romney should not be elected to a position where we need him to understand the real world impacts of policy, and we should not assume that his pile of money is actually doing anyone any good (other than Romney that is).
no jeff, that kinda money doesnt go as far, will you tell me, where do you earn your 10,000$ an hour?
The ignorance of this comment board on capitol gains is astounding. It should be expected from the young, but the older folks? Come on. When you cash in your 401K and retire, you’ll be happy there is such a thing as a capital gains tax.
I don’t get it. Whats the point? Did he do something illegal? Or are we at the point where jealousy can be turned into demonization and we’re all cool with that? Do we want some loser to run for president? I don’t get it. What Gingrich did with FM is bad, not what Romney legally makes from private enterprise. Its sad that people even look at his wealth this way. We’re in America right?
Let’s be fair. It’s 2012 and 250 million dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to.
Is it just me, or is the numbers that Romney gets doing NOTHING really seem obscene?
It’s not you; it is obscene…not the money, but his attitude…and how high and mighty he seems because of it.