You've no doubt heard that Mitt Romney has finally (sort of) produced his tax returns. Well, I say, 'no doubt' - but you could well have missed the news, being buried released, as it was, on Friday afternoon, aka during the 'Friday News Dump'. The return revealed that multi-millionaire Romney paid just 14% in tax.
But what you might have missed is that back in January of this year Romney said:
"I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more."
And in July, in the midst of pressure which led up to last week's revelation, he restated this position:
"I don't pay more than are legally due - and frankly if I had paid more than are legally due, I don't think I'd be qualified to become president. I'd think people would want me to follow the law and pay only what the tax code requires."
Really, Mr Romney. Really.
Well, I don't know about you, dear reader, but I'm inclined to think that a man who pays only what is legally due is rather less qualified to become president. Because such a man appears to be solely looking after himself and lacking in both compassion for others and a sense of duty to society as a whole.
This defence - that as long as one is behaving within the law, everything's morally fine - was, of course, the one cited by Jimmy Carr and his supporters when it was revealed that he'd used the K2 tax avoidance scheme. In fact, according to The Times, Carr actually said:
"I pay what I have to and not a penny more."
Which is odd - because it's not like Carr to steal other people's jokes.
I don't care if paying 14% on an income of $13m or keeping your money in offshore accounts is legal, it doesn't mean it's moral or beyond reprehension. But hey, what do I know?! Because clearly it's the law which provides Mitt Romney with his moral framework.
Which presumably means we can look forward to all the following morally-dodgy-but-perfectly-legal events taking place if Mr Romney becomes president of the United States. In fact, to use his defence, if he didn't do them, we don't think he'd be qualified to become president:
Four Entirely Legal, And Thus Perfectly Acceptable, Things Mitt Romney Could Do In Office
Call in sick when he's not really ill
Morally reprehensible because it involves lying - BUT NOT ILLEGAL.
Cheat on his wife
Immoral? Almost certainly. Illegal? No, siree!
Lie to the American public
Not illegal as far as we know, unless he does it under oath. In which case, he just needs to talk like a lawyer.
Call a police officer a 'pleb'
Again, frowned upon - but ironically, the police officer in question can't arrest you for saying it. Well, not if you're a middle-class, middle-aged man. If you're an 18 year-old lad, it's quite a different matter.
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As the saying goes: Let ye who hath no no stye in his eye (or something like that) cast the first stone. Bye-Bye pebble beach!!
Yet whilst Mitt-the-Glove could be a comedy act on his own, he easily leans toward ethically distancing himself from his less ethical (but still legal) tax accountants.
Maybe i's a twist on Nelson's words when applying telescope to his blind eye:"I see no styes!!"
Does he stick to Biblical law?
Does he stick to Christian principles to care for others?
Go read the NY Times article, 'Michael Barbaro, 'After Romney Purchase, Profits Then Layoffs,'November 12, 2011.
Even HuffPost ran article asking if Romney ran a bankruptcy ring. If you research Dade-Behring Ampad, you may come to the conclusion he did.
If you can conclued what he did wasn't stealing, please explain why it isn't? It may have been legal but it didn't mean it wasn't stealing.
Scripture, which he claims is his compus, 'Thou shall not steal.'
'Root of all evil is the love of money.'
There was a lot of evil done in the Dade-Behring deal to a lot of people including the American tax payer; the vendors, including banks money was owed to; and the people's lives who worked for Dade. Chapter 11 only pays portion of what is owed.
Of course the head of Dade that went along w/deal -- got paid millions is happy.
After taking out loans against company that went to pay himself and investors instead of going into R&D to get new product to market, Dade's research and product was worth billions to Siemens. Once out of Bain's hands, Dade turned a profit quickly.
Is anyone figuring out this company -- its employees didn't have to suffer at the hands of Romney so he could make millions?
For the full disclosures, I sincerely hope romney will not be elected. But this is definitely NOT an argument in his defavour in my mind...
So by Mitt's own qualifications that he set for someone, he's not qualified to be president.
He boxed himself into a corner.
When Mitt and his buddies were checking out Paul Ryan for the spot on the ticket - Ryan was required to provide ten years of tax returns for the Romney team and four years ago when Mitt wanted to become John McCain's running mate, Mitt provided 12 years of returns to McCain and his staff. I guess Mitt wants us to trust him and Ryan but he clearly didn't trust Ryan in the first place.
The documents are in the post?
“the 'Friday News Dump”
I’d give it seven days if I were you.
"I don't pay more than are legally due - and frankly if I
get in, who do you suppose will be reworking those very laws?
“a man who pays only what is legally due”
needs to reread the operating manual for the ideology, of which he is a serving maintenance engineer.
“his moral framework”
Do unto others, before they can do unto you. Motto of Billy the Bain, fastest asset stripper in the West.
"Things Mitt Romney Could Do In Office"
Legitimately assert: I did not play sax with that woman?
Also, the biggest issue is his tax returns prior to 2010. He is the first presidential candidate in decades to release only two years of tax returns and there is reason to believe that he paid little or no tax during the crash of 2008.
These facts, combined with the fact that he lied about his tax returns when running for governor of Mass, suggest that he cannot be trusted and is probably hiding something that would have an impact on his electability.
I know you're a comedy editor, but there's much more to the story than whether he paid the minimum required by law.