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Monday, July 23, 2012 | 2 a.m.
During the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968, candidate George Romney, then governor of Michigan, was questioned about his taxes for the previous couple of years. He provided not just the past couple of years of tax returns but the previous 12 years.
His son Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has danced around the issue until he could not dance any longer. He has provided just last year’s tax return and continues to split hairs and avoid any questions about providing more, as his father had done.
If he has nothing to hide, I suggest that he provide the past several years of tax returns. Everyone knows he invests in other countries to avoid paying taxes here. Let’s get this part over. It’s the last waltz.
If Romney's tax returns are important , then so are Obama's college transcripts.
If you are going to insist on one, then insist on the other for the very same reason.
I would be curious to see both, but then I remember that at least a few of our Founders were known (and respected) smugglers. I also know that it is a time-honored tradition for programmers to lie like a big dog when applying for a job, hoping to learn fast enough that it won't matter and knowing that they will get fired if they don't.
This is a case of sauce for the goose and the gander, nothing more.
Let's see the anointed one's college day records. Mitt has shown enough. Give the Left an inch, and they keep harassing. Not interested in any more tax returns. He's given enough.Move on and defend the Obama record. That should be enough of a challenge Sam.
Agan a diversion that has nothing to do with the economy (1.9% growth) and jobs (23% underemployed).
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A review of Obama WH staff shows that for the various WH millionaires have similar accounts which includes multiple overseas accounts which are not illegal and Swiss bank accounts which are not illegal. In fact When business is done overseas it is customary to have a foreign bank account.
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Obama knows the details of Romney's taxes and accounts because the IRS has report to Obama on his tax returns. The IRS has not found any audit issues. Twenty years of Romney returns were vetted by the the FBI for McCain during the 2008 election.
Plus Obama signed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act passed by Reid and Pelosi in 2010. This is a reporting act with huge fines associated. Obama hire another 800 IRS agent to enforce it. Romney has not been fined by Obama so everything is okay.
We know that Obama is using IRS audits and Labor Dept audits to harass large donors to Romney like Frank VanderSloot who donate to a Romney PAC and was singled out in Obama campaign attack ads. Obama's use of the federal government to attack people on his enemies list is chilling.
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By law it is illegal for the President to target individuals on paying their fair share of taxes.
Yet Obama is demanding that Romney put out more than his 2010 and 2011 (est) tax returns.
Now the income that Romney has mostly comes from his 401k account from years at Bain. This information has not change year after year after year. What Obama wants to prey on are the holding within the 401k account in an attempt to publicly embarrass.
Romney is losing this political battle. He needs to show his returns. Should have done it last year. The longer he waits the worse it is.
When he returns from his trip abroad, probably the first week of August, he'll announce his VP choice. He should simultaneouly release the tax returns.
Like the 2010 return he disclosed, partisan Dems will balk for awhile over tax rates and income and then peter out.
American voters don't care. Unless Romney doesn't release the returns. Then, the questions remain what is he hiding. He's hiding that he's rich and successful. If IRS didn't find anything wrong, and I presume they would know, Romney is squeaky clean. If nothing illegal and immoral, Romney did what all informed US taxpayers do. Pay the least possible under the law.
CarmineD
So putting tax returns out is not a requirement to run for office
Only 17 of 535 members of congress have released their tax return
Nancy Pelosi has not.
Harry Reid has not.
Shelley Berkley has not
Nancy Pelosi on the news last week said no way would she release them
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Obama has the results of the IRS audits and there is nothing illegal and Eric Holder has not found any reason to investigate Romney
Obama has the results of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act audits and there is nothing illegal and Eric Holder has not found any reason to investigate Romney
Future:
It's a long standing practice for those running for president. Mitt's father started it. Blame him. Mitt skirted the issue during the debates. Mitt said I didn't always agree with my father and chuckled. Tough. This isn't an issue for disagreement, unless of course Mitt want the Dems to win on this.
CarmineD
"He has provided just last year's tax return and continues to split hairs and avoid any questions about providing more, "
Not quite true letter writer. When Romney's staff released the 2010 return, Romney said that the 2011 return was not filed because he filed for an extension. IRS grants an extension to August 2012 automatically for the asking PROVIDED the taxpayer estimates and pays the taxes owed. Romney did and said he would release the 2011 when he files with IRS.
CarmineD
The longer Willard refuses to show his tax returns the more it feeds suspicions that he's hiding something.
C'mon Romney, show us how you've used every offshore tax shelter and every loophole in the book to avoid paying the incredibly low Bush trickledown tax rate of 13.9% which is only available to the country club elites who have no real job and perform no actual work.
A. Stephens, a student at Bowling Green:
"It's his business, but it's also our business, too, because we're going to be trusting him with everything we are as a people. It would be nice to know why isn't all his money in the United States. Why aren't all of his investments staying in the United States paying for jobs in the United States?"
Mitt Romney apparently wants us to believe everything he tells us about himself as an article of faith without bothering us with any meddlesome details. The man has changed his views on just about everything else over the years. Maybe he'll change his mind about releasing more tax returns too.
Put 'em up, Willard Mitt Romney. The American people deserve to know. In order to make a learned political decision.
I'll carry it one step further. I not only want to see every single tax return since he was eighteen, but I want to see his wife's also.
Especially after that "you people" total arrogance and snobbish statement she made.
After release of the tax returns, then we will KNOW the extent of Romney's foreign policy knowledge. Because it will reveal Romney's knowledge of the financial institutions in the Grand Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Ireland, Switzerland and Luxembourg. Not to mention his vital assistance to the job employment figures for China and other countries he outsourced American jobs to.
But until then, I expect to see this Romnesia continue. He don't want anyone to see what he's really about and how he conducted predatory business at Bain Capital up to when he quit in 2002 (2002, not 1999...it's been proven he was still double dipping with that and the Olympics back then).
In other words, he has made a decision to hide it. Not some of it. ALL of it.
Forget about Romney's tax returns. Why deliver him a golden moment to show his truthfulness, on a silver platter? What is it about his bloated bank accounts that we don't already know? It is one thing to adopt a 'smiling personality', and another to have the empathy for ordinary people. How many hundreds of millions of dollars he possesses is academic.
Romney's 2010 tax returns show he took a $77,000 deduction for his wife's dressage horses.
Good grief, a $77,000 tax deduction for dancing show horses? Reminds me of a local cocktail server who took a $5000 deduction for her boob job because she claimed large breasts were a job requirement.
No doubt Romney's army of accountants have exploited every nook and cranny of the tax code. No wonder he refuses to let it see the light of day.
I don't know what the big deal is. If there is nothing wrong with Romney's tax returns, then just release the suckers that include any dates being questioned and get it over with. Same for Obama.
Both Obama and Romney should release their transcripts as well.
That should squash the political attacks.
While we are at it, why not make it a requirement so we can avoid this waste of energy, money and time in the future.
I would like to request a new requirement. The selection of Cabinet members at the same time as the VP choice, and that they be revealed at the same time during the convention.
Americans need to be aware of who is going to be making recommendations about policy and giving counsel to the President before the election. We should be voting for the President with consideration of who is part of the team of decision makers.
Now that it appears that Romney has associated himself with people doing business with Chinese gangs http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/0... it looks like he has blood on his hands, likely not enough blood to scare off the tea party zombies, but enough to warrant Barack Obama's re-election. Here is the story:
Mitt Romney founded Bain Capital with the help of wealthy families from El Salvador tied with the right-wing, Reagan administration-backed death squads.
Sources: "The roots of Bain Capital in El Salvador's civil war" (http://www.salon.com/2012/01/20/the_root...) by Justin Elliott, Salon.com
"Bain Capital started with help of offshore investors" (LA Times, 7/19/12) (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/...)
El Salvador video narrated by Tom Brokaw is from the Oct. 10, 1983 "NBC Nightly News" (http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-full...)
Now it turns out he's got past connections to El Salvadorian death squads too. Can Romney stay in the presidential race with new bombshells dropping every day?
So, the fact he doesn't want us to know who he does business with and how he does business is no big surprise, it pales in comparison to building your business with murderers money.
You can't be a good American or a good Christian and vote for Romney. He is tainted.
boftx - "If Romney's tax returns are important , then so are Obama's college transcripts."
You must be kidding, aren't you? How many presidents or candidates released school records?
I find it odd that a presidential candidate can insinuate his opponent, President Obama, is un-American but have accounts in Swiss banks, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and only God knows where else.
I suspect Romney doesn't want to expose his tax forms because, while we all paid taxes since the economic crush of 2008, he didn't. He wrote off millions without paying a single dime. It might not be illgal but it sure as hell is unethical to ask others in the middle class to carry the weight will Romney skates away in his foreign investiments. This is a man who, in no way shape or form, can relate to working class people. This apple has fallen very-very-very far from his father's tree.
Do you honestly believe the Romney tax returns are different than the Obama, Kerry, Pelosi, Reid, returns?
They are all the same, they provide the loop holes in the tax code for each other, and then point the finger when it suits them. I read an article about Wasserman Shultz and her off shore accounts. What does she want pointers?
Dipstick:
If it came out that Obama had received scholarships from the people Romney did business with in El Salvador Rush and the baggers would be doing the hot dog dance.
They would be unable to restrain themselves.
Hey Mittens, why did you need South American seed money for Bain?
Did you already have offshoring in your veins?
The Sean Hannity puppets keep bringing up Pelosi and Reid's tax returns. They are not running for President. Did Romney's father release his college transcripts? Romney will lose in November for this reason alone. Americans cannot trust him.
Back to the issue which most brainless Americans care about, the fact Obama is Black. Well half Black , but Black ya know? Besides his wife is completely Black so it doesn't matter if Barry is kinda whitish.
So with this understood the fate of Obama rests in the hands of white college students and recent grads. The kids who want to make a statement that they are not racists and love everybody! even half black presidents who work for JP Morgan and Citibank. Besides every spoiled kid under 25 hates their parents and would never vote as they do for Mittens.
So there you have it, what matters this November.
Koolaid drinking liberals are deflecting attention from the poor performance of the anointed one. NO MORE TAX RETURNS MITT!!Let them read the same ones over repeatedy. It's a DIVERSION!!!!Let them roll on the floor and throw tantrums. You will beat Obama without releasing them anyway. Why waste your time and energy?!
First, it's beyond idiotic to equate the tax returns of one of the wealthiest men in America to thirty year-old college transcripts.
If people found out that Obama got a D in Trigonometry 101 thirty years ago, it would not have any bearing on his run for President. Obama is a known quantity. His college transcripts are largely irrelevant, as was his birth certificate.
Second, the Democrats would be smart not to speculate on what may or may not be found in Romney's tax returns. Just demand he release them and let the voter make the call.
Totally agree with you, ksand99.
I strongly believe Romney will not release any more tax returns. Because he IS afraid the voter will make the call. And it won't spell good news for him.
The simple fact of the matter is that the Tea/Republican Party, in their blind rage and hate for President Obama, selected possibly the worst candidate to run at this time.
Especially in this era where the rich/filthy rich have been proven to not pay their fair share of taxes for the past ten years.
And add to that the fact all these claims of "class warfare" thrown out there, don't matter which side of the political aisle they have originated, it turns out they are true. And Romney is their General leading the charge, in hopes to be the Commander-in-Chief of this nation.
So, it is already a known fact. Romney is going to get crushed in this upcoming election. People have had enough and are up to here on politicians who reek of arrogance, feel they can do what they want, hope that spreading propaganda about President Obama is enough to carry them through, and only make efforts to represent the top one percent of this nation, at the expense of everyone else.
Serious people power is comin'. And no amount of Karl Rove's money is gonna change that outcome.
You're gonna see it come election day. And the Tea/Republicans are gonna feel it too. When they find out their party has been totally destroyed and reduced to utter irrelevance for AT LEAST two generations, if not more.
I don't care whether or not Mr. Romney releases his tax returns. Every good businessman has a business plan, but Mr. Romney has no business plan for America. I've listened closely to his economic advisers and they are saying the same kind of things Mr. Obama and his economic advisers are saying -- only Mr. Romneys's are more vague and muddled. Mr. Romney has, under penalty of perjury, said things which cannot be true at the same time. My independent view is that the Republicans ought to go into convention and emerge with another candidate -- and I think the Democrats would be well advised to do the same.
LericGoodman said:
"My independent view is that the Republicans ought to go into convention and emerge with another candidate -- and I think the Democrats would be well advised to do the same."
I ask:
Who would be acceptable to you?
The only reason the Obama camp wants Romney to release all his personal data is to give the Democrats something to zero in on. President Obama has done such a shameful job as President that he needs help from his opponent to skewer himself. Lets just get busy evaluating Mr Obama's economic accomplishments.
What is Romney hiding?
Houstonjac - "Koolaid drinking liberals are deflecting attention from the poor performance of the anointed one."
Not really, I'm afraid of what Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will do the the citzens of this country. Their ideology will destroy health care, Medicare, Social Security and education, by handing more to the 1%. There will come a time when the working class will have very little, the poor will have nothing, and they will, sooner or later, revolt.
In case some of you missed it, the working class has taken a beating at the expense of the wealthy and corporations. A recent report showed we are at the poverty levels that existed in the 1960's. It's taken us 30 plus years to get here and you foolish people who claim they are conservative ignored the problems that put us in this place.
Imagine what would happen if the working classes pulled a "Lech Walesa" and decided not to show at work for a week. All of that nonsense about "no one helped you build a business" would be blown away in a heart beat.
All over Europe and in Canada there was mass rioting reflecting what their citizens understood about international banking. It will happen here as well if we travel on the road of self destruction via austerity.
You can't squeeze blood from a stone without paying the consequences.
I very sure Ann Romney is a wonderful person and mother. I have little doubt she is, but she did open a can of worms referring to Mitt's tax forms by saying, "There are so many things that will be open again for more attack," "We've given all people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life."
That last comment eerily reminds me of "Let them eat cake."
Romney is just hoping whatever he's hiding there doesn't come out before the election. It will come out though, and the closer to the election it comes out, the more damaging it will be.
If he was smart he would release them now so the conversation about them is over before the fall.
I don't blame Ann Romney even a little for supporting her husband. Good on her. I hate it when the baggers harp on Michelle.
Hey, Mittens Howell-Romney...
SHOW US THE MONEY!!!
boftx....
Whoa!
Get real.
You're better than that.
Hey, Red...
I 'member when you were refreeman.
Man, those were the (long-winded, blowhard) days!
Not sure what the law says but I've heard its two years. If it is, and it doesn't require anymore, then if I were Romney I'd give what the law says and not a thing more. No more deflection from current issues. The President should run on his record if he feels that he's done a good job.
gmag39,
Just sayin' this sounds more like a, hmmmm, let us say an activity usually engaged in by males measuring fluid body waste than anything else.
At this point I am even more firmly entrenched in the "None of the above" camp than before because of comments and actions by both President Obama and Mitt Romney.
Why is Romney refusing to show us his taxes for several years? Because judging from what we've seen in his 2010 filing, it's not a pretty sight for a wannabe president. There's the tax shelter swiss bank accounts, a $77,000 deduction for his wife's dancing horse hobby, and to top it off, an overall Bush trickledown tax rate of 13.9%.
Willard pays a lower tax rate than his gardener, manicurist or car elevator installer and doesn't want us to talk about it.
I want to see Obama's college records.
I want to see Berkley's tax records. I want to see how much money they make off that kidney-fixing operation she work her butt off to keep the taxpayer dough coming in.
SgtRock - "I want to see Obama's college records."
Are you a birther?
What has his college records got to do with a tradition that Romney's father started? It was George Romney who released 12 years of tax returns as a presidential candidate in 1968.
As far as idiots calling for Pelosi, Reid, Berkley and others taxes, every person who has a seat in the House or Senate releases there tax returns. If you don't know that, it just goes to show that Fox News misled you and ignorance is truly abundant in this country.
Dear Mr. job creator, busily creating jobs in China, Mexico and any other place that labor has low labor costs and few environmental and worker safety regulations. Please show us your tax returns.
Mitt Romney: Would you go to war to protect his money? Would you send your child to war to protect his money?
VernosB,
I'm gonna to call you on this one: "...every person who has a seat in the House or Senate releases there tax returns."
Please post a link showing returns from the members you mentioned by name; Pelosi, Reid and Berkley. Beyond that, please post a reference to any law that requires releasing actual returns.
A Google search on "Harry Reid tax returns" shows a LOT of links (from biased sources to be sure) saying he hasn't released any, and ones (again biased) that claim Pelosi has refused to release any, ever.
That said, I did not find any links to support your claim.
VernosB,
Before you answer, here is what Politifact had to say about a recent statement by Harry Reid about tax returns, dog catchers and Romney:
"Still, Romney has filed the necessary disclosures for running for president." - http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/...
From the same article: "Our conclusion: Reid was barking up the wrong tree."
As I said elsewhere, this just a bunch of people measuring how much waste fluids they can produce, on *BOTH* sides.
VernosB,
Since you appear to be quick to call people Idiots I think you should know the facts.
This last year only 17 of 535 members of Congress released their more recent tax forms.
The "Norm" for those running for President has been to release 10 to 12 years of tax returns.
Now my question to all the knowing folks here, as any other president or candidate ever been asked for school records or their birth certificate?
I don't know the answer to that one but I am sure someone here can provide FACTS with a link to back up their information.
Dipstick,
Where are you? You bought a smile to my face every day and lots of laugh out loud moments?
vegaslee,
I am not aware of any other person besides Obama being the target of such a public "demand" to produce a birth certificate. I think that everyone has always assumed that it was a requirement in order to file as a candidate.
That said, I was surprised to find out that it seems that there is no requirement for the various State officials involved to verify a candidate for office can actually meet the qualifications (i.e. US citizenship) before filing. And I was even more surprised to find out that a US voter does not have standing to challenge a Presidential candidate's Constitutional qualifications in court. If a voter doesn't have standing, then who the hell does?!?
VernosB: July 23, 2012 @11:33 a.m stated:
I very sure Ann Romney is a wonderful person and mother. I have little doubt she is, but she did open a can of worms referring to Mitt's tax forms by saying, "There are so many things that will be open again for more attack," "We've given all people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life."
That last comment eerily reminds me of "Let them eat cake."
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Vernos,
I believe there was a "you" in the last sentence and that it read, we have given all you people... that is what I remember. When I heard it, personally it hit me a different way.
And I agree with you that it does remind me of "Let them eat cake."
Jeff,
I also agree with your comment at 12:56 p.m.: I don't blame Ann Romney even a little for supporting her husband. Good on her. I hate it when the baggers harp on Michelle.
I agree with you as well. I think that support for a husband or a wife is just another way to show their love and commitment for one another.
Sam,
Excellent letter. Thank you so much for writing the letter.
I appreciate everything you do every day.
Have a nice evening!
Sometimes I want to jump in the debate, other times I think it's both easier and more logical to just walk around everyday with a tee shirt on that simply says the simple truth which quite frankly is "all politicians are as useless as teats on a boar."
Bob Jack: July 23, 2012: 2:55 a.m. stated:
Let's see the anointed one's college day records. Mitt has shown enough. Give the Left an inch, and they keep harassing. Not interested in any more tax returns. He's given enough.Move on and defend the Obama record. That should be enough of a challenge Sam.
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With respect, the only anointed one is Willard Romney, who has lived the life of the rich and famous and could not identify with anyone below his economic standing.
Willard has not given enough financial information to the American people and we are ENTITLED to know everything relative to his finances if he is going to be the next President of the United States.
The right has not stopped with the birth certificate for years now. Now, that the left are standing up and speaking out; the right does not know how to handle it.
You know that we are entitled as a people to know all about his financial matters.
Dipstick,
If you are reading this, please know that your comments were very much appreciated. You had a comical way of getting your point across that made me laugh every day. I love to laugh and boy did I have some laugh out loud moments. I loved your passion. I would be writing a comment to you and then poof your comment was gone. I would scratch my head and ask myself, I wonder why they removed that comment and not this one.
Thank you for every day and every moment that you put your heart and soul into standing up for what you believe in. Thank you for all of the laughter. I hope that you are not gone. If you are, may you always be blessed with lots of love, happiness, good health surrounded by good friends and family.
I don't think Mr. Romney needs to show his tax returns. He is a practicing Mormon and everybody knows how trustworthy religious people are. Let's just take his word that he has done nothing financially unethical for the past 6-10 years. Don't forget, he is also a Republican and there is no way any Republican or Democrat for that matter, would ever lie or try to conceal something unflattering from the public.
dukeofdeath,
I find your acceptance of a man at his word a noble quality. I agree, Romney professes the same religious beliefs as Harry Reid, that should be more than enough proof of his character (and Reid's as well) to Democrats and Republicans alike.
He says "I'm honest, I give 10% to my Church". So where was the Mormon front in Baghdad, or am I missing something?
He only gives 13.6% to the Country, because "that's the law". What if the law said 5% to the country, would he still give 10% to his Church? Certainly, he would only pay 5% to the Country AND "not a penny more", because that's the law.
If he pays only 13.6% then no one in this Country should pay any more.
He says he "Loves His Country" but in actions, it seems he loves the Cayman islands nearly equal.
I am not convinced that Willard can identify with and/or relate to ANYONE below his income bracket. Of course, he can represent and identify with the top 1-2% of the American People; those are his people; that is his base. Just because he was a CEO of a company does not mean he is qualified to be the next President of the United States.
Willard is an elitist and there is nothing wrong with that, but if you want to be the President of the United States, you need understand and identify with all income brackets; not just the top tier.
Therefore, one would question how could Willard possibly represent the American People as a whole, "The Middle Class"? The Working Poor? The Homeless Veterans? Struggling Senior Citizens? Willard not one of us; we are the common people; the little people. Financial/social status are all relative. So how can he understand our needs, problems and concerns? The answer is that he cannot!
As you know, life sometimes is all about perception. So, would it be fair to say that Willard's resistance relative to providing tax returns and other information only leads to more questions? There has been a lot of discussion about tax returns, one may question why he won't be the kind of man his father was and turn over his tax returns? He turned over 23 years to John McCain so why the hesitation?
And how can one possibly acquire $100M in an IRA? Why is he refusing to be more transparent about statements made about a Swiss Bank Account, does he have an account or not? What about investments in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda? Does he have them or not? The American People deserve to know who is the real Willard Romney?
So perhaps Willard should enlighten us and:
1) Provide a full COMPLETE copy of his 2010 tax return;
2) Provide the same number of COMPLETE returns he gave John McCain;
3) Tell us about a Swiss Bank Account; does he have them or not;
4) Tell us about any investments in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda; does he have them or not;
5) Tell us if he has a $100M IRA;
6) Verify how long he worked at Bain.
By Kepi,Thank you, Mitt Romney's dad (Gov.George Romney) forged ahead with his tax returns,when he ran for president in 1968.I'm still hoping that Gov.Romney follows his dad's lead.So far the apple has fallen a bit further from the tree.Let's hope it rolled up hill and can still roll back down.
What is Obama hiding? Why does he hide his college records?
Obama's transcripts can't be too bad. Plus, we know that experience trumps transcripts, right?
His career history prior to public office.
"Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004." (from Wiki to be quick)
It is a stupid request and doesn't compare to tax returns.
boftx
You're right!!! If Harry Reid was a liar or a cheater or unethical in any way, he could not have been re-elected so many times. Seriously, would Nevadans be silly enough to re-elect a man who used his office to enrich himself? No! Would Nevadans be so crazy and out of touch that they would re-elect a man who helped advance the businesses of his close friends and left small businesses out in the cold? Of course not! Let's start trusting our politicians again. Since they just s*** all over us anyway, and we keep voting for them, we may as well pretend to trust them.
SgtRock: July 23, 2012 @ 8:35 p.m. stated:
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With Respect,
College records vs. Tax Returns ~ Are you kidding?
PLUS THIS IS OFF TOPIC!
****** CORRECTION ******
SgtRock: July 23, 2012 @ 8:35 p.m. stated:
What is Obama hiding? Why does he hide his college records?
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With Respect,
College records vs. Tax Returns ~ Are you kidding?
PLUS THIS IS OFF TOPIC!
@JeffFromVegas, thank you for the links to the information about Romeny, Bain Capital, and the Salvadoran connection.
So much of what I read is what I know, but I didn't know about Romney/Bain Capital.
My heart is beating rapidly, and I am agast. During this time, I was a Catholic missionary working hard to save the lives of Salvadorans who were not guerillas, but were on lists for the death squads or under real threats.
This often happened because some people found it to their advantage to accuse others of being Communists in order to be rewarded with the property of the accused.
It just causes me such heartbreak to read this, as I remember all the danger, terror, all the brutality, all the inhumanity, and all the crimes of the right wing Arena & its death squads, supported by the Oligarchy.
I remember the decapitations, the bayoneting of babies, rape of women. It was horrible. I apologize for this detail, but there is no way I can express the reality without indicating the facts.
Our government at the time lied and misinformed so badly about what was really happening.
Arena robbed the country dry, sold off the few public holdings to private companies, often multinationals, raped the land, poisoned the water via mulitnationals, and now it is unable to do many things that are needed. That, plus all the gangs and drug cartels have caused so much suffering of a different kind. Like living with the Mafia on your block. You have to pay for protection.
Now, I understand a new chaos has broken out, but I haven't read what is happening in detail yet. I will.
This is the thing that tips me over into voting against Romney, and I will vote! There is no way I want him as President of the US. It is a character and integrity issue for me. The foundations of Bain Capital and Romney's wealth is blood money.
It is an insult that he should be a candidate for President of the US. Money meant/means more than lives. Makes me physically ill.
People can call me what they will, but I have know what happened for a fact. I know that it was without morality, honor, or integrity, and a blasphemy against God!
Money and war: Romney and Netanyahu
"Meanwhile, Romney's relationship with the U.S.-educated Netanyahu dates back decades. Romney and the Israeli leader have a longstanding friendship stemming from their brief overlap in the 1970s at Boston Consulting Group. Both men worked as advisers for the firm early in their careers, before Romney co-founded his own private-equity firm." (AP)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/arti...
Why do I think we will move to another war, this time with Iran?
Sam.....Good letter.
It's hard to tell what, "ETCH-A-SKETCH ROMNEY",
the biggest flip-flopper of all time will do next.
His tax hiding is a HUGE PROBLEM for voters.
This is just another HUGE PROBLEM that will sink
his campaign.
THANK GOD.
FOUR MORE YEARS FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!
The people who support Mitt Romney have no issues with one hiding money in offshore accounts or outsourcing American Jobs. They also have no problem working 24/7 destroying a country they see as Satanic.
They hate Obama not because he is Black like Herman Cain, they hate Obama because he is Community Organizer Ghetto Black Harvard Grad. But due to their ongoing trouble with being controlled by what they call Political Correctness (whatever that is), they are unable to basically say they hate Obama cause he is licker.
Be refreshing if everybody simply said what they think. Way easier than making bs up like we care about his tax returns. Mittens is a Capitalist so, duh, he is likely a crook and cares not a wit how he makes his dough. If people don't get that then they don't understand what Capitali$m actually is.
"There's the tax shelter swiss bank accounts, a $77,000 deduction for his wife's dancing horse hobby, and to top it off, an overall Bush trickledown tax rate of 13.9%."
I warned you Last Throes that if you posted this falsehood publicly, I would correct you. And I am. While the deduction [legitimately according to IRS] is $77,000, the Romney's actually took $49 for this on the return. Not $77,000. Check your facts before you post untruths.
CarmineD
Here's the link.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/...
CarmineD
"Why do I think we will move to another war, this time with Iran?"
We will before the Nov election. Netanyahu said as much this past weekwend to Chris Wallace. Iran and Syria are allies. Syria admitted to having caches of lethal gas and chemical warfare. Surprise, surprise. If the gas/chemicals get into the wrong hands, and the likelihood is that they will with Assad toppled, Isreal, Syria's neighbor, and the Jewish people are at grave risk. A preemptive strike by Isreal on Iran is logical and in the making, sooner and not later. I suspect this will be the source of discussions between Romney and Netanyahu. Too bad the President has been conspicously absent for the last 3 1/2 years in these matters.
CarmineD
Mitt probably has some China laundered money, some drug money , white-slavery, it's probably all in there. That's why he won't reveal his tax-returns!
Carmine, sometimes you make me laugh.
If Obama isn't willing to jump into another Bush style war, I applaud him.
Romney will probably do the opposite and be applauded for raising the debt at the expense of American citizens when he requires austerity.
Carmine, thanks for that link. Shows how badly we are in need of tax reform on the special benefits & loopholes applicable to those in the upper brackets.
I'm not holding my breath waiting for that kind of reform.
BTW, that $49 was all Romney could get, it wasn't like he could have taken more.
All is not lost, as he can still take that deduction if elected President. LOL
Apparently I am so supposed be more upset by what Romney is doing with his money than what Obama is doing with mine!......liberals really disgust me!!!!
Huff Post Report: "Super-Rich Hold Up To $32 Trillion In Offshore Havens".
"LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Rich individuals and their families have as much as $32 trillion of hidden financial assets in offshore tax havens, representing up to $280 billion in lost income tax revenues, according to research published on Sunday."
"The research was carried out for pressure group Tax Justice Network, which campaigns against tax havens, by James Henry, former chief economist at consultants McKinsey & Co."
"He used data from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations and central banks."
How do offshore accounts better allow a person to pay their fair share of taxes? Of the money made in America, how much is somewhere else? Show the Tax Returns Mitt.
"BTW, that $49 was all Romney could get, it wasn't like he could have taken more.
All is not lost, as he can still take that deduction if elected President. LOL
"
I'll use your words from your post about Berkley. This is not documented so you don't know for sure. He may and/or he may not. Don't put the cart before the horse. [Those are my words albeit plagiarized]. What I find interesting, from the trap you fell in, is your willingness to give the benefit of the doubt to Berkley but not Romney. No response needed.
CarmineD
"Carmine, sometimes you make me laugh."
If you think gas/chemicals striking the Jews, and Iran has the missiles to do it and now we know Syria has the gas/cehmicals, and thereby killing tens of thousands instantaneously, is laughable, cheers.
I applaud Isreal's patience. If I were Netanyahu I would not have waited 4 years to attack Iran.
He has the patience of a saint.
CarmineD
Berkley isn't running for President. So after $100,000 spent on Congressional investigations, Berkley comes out $10,000 ahead and the taxpayer gets shafted again.
Meanwhile, Romney misses the payment of $xxx million in taxes. The POTUS can also prevent investigations into offshore tax fraud by changing the allocation of financial resources of the DoJ. Mitts friends are counting on the same. That's why they pay $50,000 each to have their picture taken with him.
Mr. Heeman:
Have to agree with you. Quote conservatives and you're too partisan. Quote CBO and you're not non-partisan enough. Quote Dems and you're told, they're an anomaly, even if Clinton and Booker. Can't win. First they laugh. Then they scoff. Then they agree. They won't see the light until they feel the heat.
CarmineD
Romney's millions paid in taxes allow half of the US citizenry not to pay any. At least send him a Christmas card if you don't vote for him.
CarmineD
vegaslee - "Since you appear to be quick to call people Idiots I think you should know the facts. This last year only 17 of 535 members of Congress released their more recent tax forms."
If that were true, common sense dictates that taxes would be used as a weapon in opponents campaigns. We hardly ever hear of a politicians taxes unless they are a real issue.
boftx: 2:15 a.m. Not sure any transcripts would be too much interest. Perhaps a curiosity. Might reflect how well one can parrot a professor's concept of social welfare programs funded by government.... But then, I'm not much interested in Mr. Romney's tax returns. I'm an Enrolled Agent and Certified Management Accountant yet I find thick 1040's a bit boring. But hen, I "give credit" that anyone who needs a thick 1040 has the intelligence or has a tax adviser with adequate experience to tax "plan" and minimize one's tax liability.
p.s. Carmine: If Mr. O can endorse T. Geitner who has proved that he refused to pay taxes due or to even report the income on which the taxd was due, why would lawfully limiting Romney's tax liability be of ANY interest or political concern?
Romney says' he would've let GM go bankrupt and now refuses to release his tax return and avoided the draft during Vietnam by fleeing to France. Romney is a traitor!
SunJon says "If he pays only 13.6% then no one in this Country should pay any more."
So SunJon, tell us how much YOU paid?
Romney paid 13.8% AFTER deductions (Total Tax liability divided by Total Income)
So after taking any and all deductions, what was your final Federal Income Tax Rate?
I service my military obligation and was discharged as a Staff Sgt (E-6). I served in the military and was paid nearly nothing for the time during Vietnam. Where was Romney? In France, practicing up to be a Missionary. What went wrong?
In the Huff Post today:
"Commander of the second-largest concentration camp complex of World War II -- Croatia's Jasenovac -- passed away last week and received a burial in his homeland -- in full Nazi uniform, with full honors, and with a Catholic priest officiating."
Nazis gave 10% to their Church too.
RedRocky - "Thanks for 'freudian slipping' the true nature of the hollow liberal distraction of Romney's taxes."
Mitt Romney's taxes are a real issue, what is he hiding?
If the libs have so much faith in the IRS that they want the ACA to be enforced by them, why can't they believe that the IRS has found no irregularities with Mitts taxes?
The libs really are showing their two faces on this one.
Move on.
"p.s. Carmine: If Mr. O can endorse T. Geitner who has proved that he refused to pay taxes due or to even report the income on which the taxd was due, why would lawfully limiting Romney's tax liability be of ANY interest or political concern?"
Ms. Anderson:
Point made and taken. Geithner wasn't the only O Dept Sec/appointee who flaunted not paying their fair share. There's a list.
Another point the CBO makes is that the share of taxes paid by the top 20 percent has gone up over the last 30 years while the share of taxes paid by everyone else has gone done.
The report is titled: "The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2008 and 2009."
It covers the years 1979-2009.
It makes plain and clear that the impression conveyed by the president about what upper-income Amerians pay in taxes does not hold up to scrutiny.
CarmineD
"Mitt Romney's taxes are a real issue, what is he hiding?"
Shh! Shh! He's hiding that he's very rich and successful. Probably worth about $250 Million dollars. Shh! Shh! It's a secret. Don't tell. He want Americans to think he needs the job for the money.
I told Steve Forbes to keep it a secret but every year he publishes a list of the American rich and lo and behold there it is again and again: Mitt Romney. Steve isn't like his father Malcolm. Malcolm could keep a secret.
CarmineD
Truth be told, something rare these days, Romney has been running for president for years. Do you really think he's going to violate IRS laws knowing this. Did the IRS have problems with his returns? I don't think so. The man is squeaky clean. he doesn't have an skeletons in his closet. He doesn't even have a closet.
Romney should and will disclose his tax returns. Just as he did his 2010 and soon his 2011. Then, what will the Dems do and say?
After he does, the GOP will pressure the President and DOJ to show us Americans the Fast and Furious docs. Turn about is fair play. Especially in an election year.
CarmineD
"was paid nearly nothing for the time during Vietnam"
You received hazardous duty pay--tax free.
CarmineD