comsc US Politics | AMERICAblog News: Robert Reich: Romney, GOP unaware of crumbling middle class
Join Email List | About us | AMERICAblog Gay
Elections | Economic Crisis | Jobs | TSA | Limbaugh | Fun Stuff

Robert Reich: Romney, GOP unaware of crumbling middle class



| Reddit | Tumblr | Digg | FARK

When you are making more money on interest alone in a single year than most Americans will ever make in a lifetime, of course the issue won't resonate. Asking Romney or anyone int he GOP (and quite a few Democrats as well) to understand the problem is asking too much. Romney has led a life of privilege that only the political elite can enjoy so it's not possible to appreciate the challenges that the rest of the country has been experiencing. There are plenty of Democrats that deserve blame for contributing to the problem (radical tax cuts, expensive wars, de-regulation, etc) but it's been the Republicans who have led the charge. Robert Reich:

The real scandal, as I’ve said before, is America’s safety nets are too small and shot through with holes. Only 40 percent of the unemployed qualify for unemployment benefits, for example, because they weren’t working full time or long enough on a single job before they were let go. The unemployment system doesn’t recognize how many Americans work part time on several jobs, and move from job to job. Romney’s budget proposals would shred safety nets even more. According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, his plan would throw 10 million low-income people off the benefit rolls for food stamps or cut benefits by thousands of dollars a year, or some combination. “These cuts would primarily affect very low-income families with children, seniors and people with disabilities,” the Center concludes. At the same time, Romney’s tax plan would boost the incomes of America’s most wealthy citizens, who are already taking home an almost unprecedented share of that nation’s total income. Romney wants to permanently extend George W. Bush’s tax cuts, reduce corporate income tax rates, and eliminate the estate tax. These tax cuts would increase the incomes of people earning more than a million dollars a year by an average of $295,874 annually, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.


blog comments powered by Disqus