Romney comments- 47% freeloaders?

Rs have spent years cutting income taxes and increasing things like the Child tax Credit. This means fewer people pay income taxes.



So whenever you hear a stat like "47% don't pay income taxes," remember: Reagan and Bush helped build that.



These tax cuts for the poor were partly in order to make further tax cuts for the rich political[ly] palatable.



But now that fewer people pay income taxes as a result of GOP policies, they’re being called lazy and dependent.



And thus the GOP's tax cuts are being used to make a case that the rich are overtaxed and that the less-rich are becoming dependent



Which thus leads to a policy agenda of tax cuts for the rich and cuts to social services for the non-rich.

Most had also benefited from three policies in which government’s role was “submerged,” meaning that it was channeled through the tax code or private organizations, like the home mortgage-interest deduction and the tax-free status of the employer contribution to employees’ health insurance. The design of these policies camouflages the fact that they are social benefits, too, just like the direct benefits that help Americans pay for housing, health care, retirement and college.

The use of government social policies cuts across partisan divides. Some policies were used more often by members of one party or the other. Republicans were more likely to have used the G.I. Bill and Social Security retirement and survivors’ benefits, while more Democrats had taken advantage of Medicaid and unemployment insurance. Overall, 82 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans acknowledged receipt of at least one direct social benefit. More Republicans (92 percent) than Democrats (86 percent) had taken advantage of submerged policies. Once we take both types of policies into account, the seeming distinction between makers and takers vanishes: 97 percent of Republicans and 98 percent of Democrats report that they have used at least one government social policy.

The majority of individuals from households at every income level have used at least one direct social policy. Low-income people have used more of the direct policies than have the affluent: the average household with income under $10,000 per year used four of them, compared to only one by the households at $150,000 and above. But the proportions were reversed in the case of the submerged policies: wealthy families had typically used three of them, and the poor just one.

There were also few partisan differences in how long individuals had benefited. Among policies used by similar percentages of Democrats and Republicans, like the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and tax credits for college tuition, members of both parties received the benefits for the same average amount of time. The same was true for policies that benefited one group of partisans more than the other. For example, although the mortgage-interest deduction was claimed by more Republicans and the earned-income tax credit by more Democrats, both claimed the benefits for two to five years on average. Similarly, Republicans who relied on the G.I. Bill did so for about as long as did Democrats who claimed unemployment insurance benefits.

Where Americans actually differ is in how they think about government’s role in their lives. A major driving factor here is ideology: conservatives were less likely than liberals to respond affirmatively when asked if they had ever used a “government social program,” even when both subsequently acknowledged using the same number of specific policies.

Polls Show Obama Is Widening His Lead in Ohio and Florida
By JIM RUTENBERG and JEFF ZELENY

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For weeks, Republicans in Ohio have been watching with worry that the state’s vital 18 electoral votes were trending away from Mitt Romney. The anxiety has been similar in Florida, where Republicans are concerned that President Obama is gaining the upper hand in the fight for the state’s 29 electoral votes.

Those fears are affirmed in the findings of the latest Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News polls of likely voters in both states, which show that Mr. Obama has widened his lead over Mr. Romney and is outperforming him on nearly every major campaign issue, even though about half said they were disappointed in Mr. Obama’s presidency.

Romney: ‘My heart aches’ for struggling Americans

'I care about the people in America,' he said. 'And the difference between me and President Obama is I know what to do.'

WASHINGTON -- A new wave of polls offer a closer look at the political aftermath of Mitt Romney's comments on the "47 percent," with an overwhelming number of voters responding that they both knew of the now-infamous video of Romney at a private fundraiser and viewed him less favorably as a result. The Republican presidential nominee has been widely criticized for saying that nearly half of Americans back President Barack Obama because they are government-dependent "victims" who believe they are "entitled" to health care, food and housing.

Voters have a mostly negative reaction toward the 47-percent comments at a time when the president appears to be widening his lead across swing states. The latest findings are also consistent with other national surveys taken in the days immediately after the video was widely reported, but paint a more troubling picture of the impact those remarks may have had on Romney's standing with independent voters.

On a national scale, 54 percent of registered voters viewed Romney’s comments unfavorably, while only 33 percent saw them in a favorable light, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll released Wednesday. Fifty-seven percent of independents had a negative reaction.

On a national scale, 54 percent of registered voters viewed Romney’s comments unfavorably

How many flip-flops is one man allowed before he's run out of the 'room'?