Presidential candidates are always
rich. The question is whether they made their riches legitimately, are they like Steve
Jobs or Gordon Gekko. Americans have never had a problem with rich presidents.
George Washington was one of the richest men in America. Senator John Kerry is
worth at least $186 million while Senator John McCain is north of $300 million
and George W. Bush has at least $30 million. There was very little discussion
of their wealth during the presidential campaigns. Wealth is seen as a positive
qualification for a president. It speaks of success and we all want our
President to be successful. In Governor Mitt Romney’s campaigns it has repeatedly
been a topic by his adversaries. Texas Governor Rick Perry said “There’s a real
difference between venture capitalism and vulture capitalism” to Fox News in an
interview on January 11, 2012. Governor Perry identified the central question.
It takes a thief to catch a thief.
Governor Romney could turn all this to a positive with policies that would
level the playing field and give the average working stiff an equal
opportunity. Current laws and regulation give preferential treatment to the
rich. Governor Romney enjoys the substantial benefit of carried interest tax rates. His companies received tax credits for off shoring jobs. He could talk
about the corporate rent seeking that cost the middle-class money and opportunity.
The challenge would be creating serious policies, not just populist rhetoric.
Serious proposals would make him a statesman, a visionary leader.
I have visited Governor Romney’s
website (mittromney.com). He states “How will we generate sufficient revenue to
balance our budget without discouraging economic activity …”, he wants to “eliminate
taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains”. Most American’s receive their
money as wages while Governor Romney receives his money as interest,
dividends, and capital gains. This policy will directly benefit Governor Romney
but will make no positive difference to me or my children. Reading Governor
Romney’s website it appears that the objective of his financial policies is to
help Governor Romney. All of this makes the source and method of Governor
Romney’s wealth a legitimate political question.
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