A while back, I remember Romney trivializing the income from his book, stating that it was "a little" or "not much", something like that.

Here's the quote:

Asked a press conference what rate he pays, Romney responded, "What's the effective rate I've been paying? It's probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything. Because my last 10 years, my income comes overwhelmingly from some investments made in the past, rather than ordinary income or rather than earned annual income. I got a little bit of income from my book, but I gave that all away. And then I get speakers fees from time to time, but not very much."

From the same article:

Romney earned more than $300,000 in speaking fees in the twelve months through February 2011, according to financial disclosure statement filed to the government by his campaign. While that income would be taxed at a 35 percent rate, minus deductions, he suggested it is a fraction of his overall income.

That "not very much" was over 300K! I don't know about anyone else, but 300K is a lot to me!

The reason I post this is because I saw a photo shared by two of my Facebook friends, that quoted President Obama as he suggested that if you were successful, it wasn't ONLY because you are very smart, or because you work really hard. He didn't say that those two things don't happen, but he suggests that it takes more - it takes a support system. Your parents, your teachers, your mentors, your clients, etc etc.

While I understand perfectly what Obama is saying, it seems that some people prefer to take it as a slam against them (assuming that they could be classified as "successful", something that might be debatable) and is saying that their own efforts count for little.

THAT'S NOT WHAT HE'S SAYING!!!

I am, however, somewhat offended by a rich guy's assertion that 300K+ is "not much" income, that it is a trivial amount that can easily be given away. Not so.

I don't resent Romney's use of the tax code to legally minimize the taxes he pays. I do resent him telling others that it's totally fair that way, and that it would be even fairer if he and his rich friends could pay even less. Is that what I want representing me in Washington? No way! Yet it seems that people with far less disposable income than I have want exactly what Romney's selling.

I wonder when they'll wake up. I'm beginning to think that they're going to have to be put out on the street with the banks reclaiming their houses and food bankrupting them before they'll realize that something's rotten in the U. S. of A., and it isn't anything that Obama's doing...

Here's the link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57360230-503544/romney-admits-he-pays-lower-tax-rate-than-most-americans/

*****