惊讶：牛仔和百万富翁米特 · 罗姆尼的收入免税 47 ％
大卫 · 霍西 /“ 洛杉矶时报 ” （ 2012 年 9 月 19 日）
米特 • 罗姆尼（ Mitt Romney ）在虚构的宇宙中， 47 ％的美国人谁付出就没有所得税是懒汉鞋，无能的烧伤和福利王后谁都会投票给奥巴马总统在 11 月。 在现实世界中， 47 ％有工作的穷人，新失业，残疾人，老年人，退伍军人， 4000 名百万富翁和全国最大的图标，美国牛仔。
几年前，我帮一些诚实的牛仔上了一个大牧场附近的白硫磺泉，山移动的牛群。 的牛仔在年底的早晨，母牛和小牛母亲，告诉我他们喜欢的生活，他们生活 - 广阔的土地，广阔的天空，天照料牲畜，甚至在各种硬盘和无休止的工作 天气。
其中的牛仔说，他知道他永远不会致富，他和他的妻子住在一个很小的租住的房子与他们的孩子，他们可能永远不会有比这更。 但是这已经足够他。 他有没有兴趣成为一个企业家，风险资本家或者华尔街之王。
根据劳工统计局的牛仔，平均年收入为 25,000 美元左右。 里根总统的领导下通过的税法，旨在帮助美国人的绵薄之力，让他们的收入的税收减免。 因此，每年 30,000 元以下的中低收入阶层的人都可能付出很少或根本没有收入税。 这涵盖了大量的牛仔。
他们偷懒了吗？ 没有，没有人比牛仔更强的工作热情。 一个愿意工作并不能保证富裕，但。 在罗姆尼的 47 ％，不屑于数以百万计的勤奋，补偿不良的人及其他以百万计的退休民间劳苦他们的生活。 但是，富有的捐赠者去年五月的一次演讲中，罗姆尼说，他甚至不会试图赢得这 47 ％的选票，因为他们 “ 对政府的依赖 ” ，并认为 “ 有权享有医疗保健，食品，住房。 “
这些意见显示，它变得更加明显，罗姆尼的人，他渴望带领他的理解有巨大的差距。 他说，虽然他被送入线由兰德狂热者和 Rush Limbaugh dittoheads 的工作人员，并没有任何线索，他们是如何误导他。
罗姆尼的 “ 笨拙 ” 这个最新的证据震惊可信的保守派评论员，比如布鲁克斯（ David Brooks ）和比尔 · 克里斯托尔。 林博，当然是欣喜若狂的共和党总统候选人提名，他在毫无事实根据的世界。
可悲的现实是，罗姆尼是错了另外一件事：有很多的人当中 47 ％的人将票投给他的 - 不只是百万富翁已经找到了逃避所得税。 工薪阶层的人，特别是已经下降为共和党的 “ 收回美国 ” 同性恋，非法移民，宝宝杀女权主义者，税收疯狂的自由派和谁是不是真正的美国的总统。 他们觉得四面楚歌，希望罗姆尼将在自己的身边。 但是他如何能成为他们的冠军时，他甚至不知道他们是谁，他们如何生活？
如果罗姆尼看到了一个真正的牛仔，他认为这是服装晚上在乡村俱乐部 。
Surprised to know: Cowboys and millionaires are in Mitt Romney's income-tax-free 47% |
September 19, 2012 , 5:00 a.m.
In the imaginary universe of Mitt Romney , the 47% of Americans who pay no income tax are loafers, shiftless bums and welfare queens who will all vote for President Obama in November. In the real world, that 47% includes the working poor, the newly unemployed, handicapped people, the elderly, veterans, 4,000 millionaires and the nation's greatest icon, the American cowboy.
A few years ago, I helped move a herd of cattle with some honest-to-God cowboys on a big ranch near White Sulphur Springs, Mont. At the end of the morning as the cows and calves mothered up, the cowboys told me how they loved the life they lived -- the broad land, the wide sky, the days tending animals, even the hard and endless work in all kinds of weather.
One of the cowboys said he knew he would never get rich; he and his wife lived with their kids in a tiny rental house and they would probably never have much more than that. But it was enough for him. He had no interest in being an entrepreneur, a venture capitalist or a king of Wall Street.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average yearly income of a cowboy is around $25,000. Tax laws that were passed under President Reagan aimed to help Americans of modest means by giving them an income tax break. As a result, working people in the income strata below $30,000 a year are likely to pay little or no income tax. That covers a lot of cowboys.
Are they slackers? No, there is no one with a stronger work ethic than cowboys. A willingness to work does not guarantee affluence, though. Among the 47% that Romney disdains are millions of hardworking, poorly compensated people and other millions of retired folk who labored all their lives. But, in a speech to wealthy donors last May, Romney said he would not even try to win the votes of this 47% because they were "dependent on the government" and felt "entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, to you-name-it."
With these comments revealed, it becomes even more obvious that Romney has vast gaps in his understanding of the people he aspires to lead. He speaks as though he is being fed lines by a staff made up of Ayn Rand zealots and Rush Limbaugh dittoheads and has no clue how they are misleading him.
This latest evidence of Romney’s obtuseness appalled credible conservative commentators, such as David Brooks and Bill Kristol. Limbaugh, of course, was ecstatic to have the Republican presidential nominee join him in a world without facts.
The sad reality is that Romney is wrong about one other thing: There are plenty of folks among the 47% who will vote for him -- and not just the millionaires who have found ways to evade the income tax. Working-class men, in particular, have fallen for the Republican call to "take back America" from gays, illegal immigrants, baby-killing feminists, tax-crazy liberals and a president who is just not truly American. They feel embattled and hope Romney will be on their side. But how can he be their champion when he does not even know who they are or how they live?
If Mitt Romney saw a real cowboy, he'd think it was costume night at the country club.
[For the Record, 6:20 a.m. Sept. 19: An earlier version of the text in this post referred to conservative commentator Bill Crystal. The commentator's name is Bill Kristol. Also, an earlier version of the cartoon had a misspelling -- "you're hand," which has been corrected to "your hand."]
Original source: Cowboys and millionaires are in Mitt Romney's income-tax-free 47% on Los Angeles Times Exclusive
