David A. Rice feels like Mitt Romney wrote him off.
The 61-year-old has always been a values-based voter, generally votes Republican and could be a key vote in the swing state of Florida. But he's also among the 47% of Americans that Mitt Romney said don't pay income tax and rely on government support.
"There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney says in a clip from a secretly filmed private donor meeting in May, which was first posted on Monday afternoon. "There are 47% who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing."
Romney's '47%' – Washington's tax-break obsession to blame
Rice says he is working part-time and doesn't pay taxes because he can't find a good job. And the fact that Romney wrote him off in those comments is frustrating.
"I am insulted. I support you and you just wrote me off with the 47% who pay no taxes. In that group are those who cry every time they use food stamps; people who would trade them in a minute for a real job. In that group are Christians who shudder at the thought of voting for abortion and gay rights," he wrote in an iReport. "You have strengths that appeal to the demographic you just wrote off ... use it! In the middle of rich supporters you cannot afford to write off a huge group with a careless word."
The 61-year-old said that he has been forced once or twice to take food stamps - and unlike what Romney contends in his comments - he maintains it was not something he was proud of or hopes to ever have to do again.
"It really hurt me," the iReporter told CNN. "It was not something that I wanted to do, I did it because I didn't have a job."
Rice says he didn't think it was right for Romney to lump every low-income person into the same group.
"Not everyone who takes food stamps is a food stamps junkie," Rice told CNN. "There are people who think the government owes them a living and that the government ought to take care of them and be their momma and daddy all their life. That doesn't apply to everyone."
It all left Rice a bit uneasy.
Which leads to the big questions swirling around the Romney campaign: How much damage will Romney's comments do to his chances for winning the election? Were his comments a big enough gaffe, combined with previous missteps, to really dent his campaign? Were his comments just the brutal truth others don't want to hear? Will it sway the votes of Republicans, independents or the undecided?
Rice says he'll still be voting for Romney because of the candidate's social views. But he knows it may not be the same for others.
"I think it was a mistake on his part because he insulted a lot of people who he needs to vote for him," he said.
CNN asked our readers on Facebook what they thought about the remarks and more than 71% said Romney was wrong and should apologize. Twenty-four percent of readers who answered our unscientific poll said he was right, and it was something someone needed to say. Just about 4.5% felt that Romney was right but shouldn't have phrased the remarks the way he did.
Nevin Sanli, from Los Angeles, California, said he is in the 47% and Romney's recent remarks, as well as other gaffes, have sealed his decision to vote for Obama.
"I never took a penny in help or government assistance money or otherwise. I own two businesses, and all I have been doing, along with my business partners, is creating jobs. I am not a victim," Sanli said in response to the CNN poll on Facebook. "I worked hard and built it all from scratch and I pay a lot of taxes. I am not as rich as Romney, but I sure pay a much bigger percentage of my income in taxes than he does. I find his remarks to be un-American, shocking and insulting."
And definitely unbecoming a president, he added.
"Elitism, silver-spoon arrogance and outright divisive statements, with undertones of racism, cannot be attributes of an American president," Sanli wrote.
For his part, Romney has stood behind the comments from the secretly recorded video. They were an honest reflection of his campaign's message, he said.
"This is a message I'm carrying day in and day out and will carry over the coming months," Romney said on Fox News. "This is a decision about the course of America, where we're going to head. We've seen the president's policies play out over the last four years."
Kristopher Daughtrey agreed with those tough words and took them to show that Romney won't shy away from the truth and will stick to his convictions.
"I applaud Romney for his remarks. He's the only one willing to not sugarcoat it. I'm not a huge supporter of either party, but at least Romney has the guts to speak out frankly about it, instead of Obama, Congress, and other politicians trying to justify their actions constantly or running away with their tail between their legs," Daughtrey said. "If you're going to be president then you need to have the backbone to walk the walk and not just talk about it."
Jason Asselin, an iReporter from Iron Mountain, Michigan, is an independent who says that he generally votes for the best candidate, despite their affiliation, though he likes the ideas and stances of the tea party.
While Asselin is normally a critic of Obama, he said Romney's comments really angered him because he doesn't pay taxes, but it isn't because he doesn't want to.
"I try paying taxes each year and every year they say we don't make enough, it isn't that I don't want to pay my taxes - they won't take them," he says. "Our government put rules and regulations in place for the lower class of people. It isn't our fault for falling under that. I don't like being called the 47%, I'd like to be called American."
Asselin said he is frustrated that Romney makes assumptions about how he will vote. And he is not alone.
Jeff Zicker, 21, might have been a candidate for the 47% category. He's college-aged, but left college because he landed a job performing with a national Broadway tour. He worked two jobs all through college, and these days he pays all his taxes, which puts him in the 53% category.
“For (Romney) to say his plan only appeals to those who don’t victimize themselves just further proves how out of touch he is with the rest of the American public,” he said.
Zicker is a moderate Democrat who will be voting for Obama this fall.
“I honestly believe that somebody that would say that a large of a portion of Americans, that this group victimizes themselves and tries to appeal to voters in that way, I don’t think that shows that they would be fit in any way to be president," he said.
But others say that Romney is merely beginning a dialogue that many Americans refuse to have. Steven Evans said that he thinks the discussion is an important one as the country moves forward.
"It is time to start a national dialogue on whether we are creating a major dependency class," he said on Facebook. "I am glad to see him tell the truth. Let's decide whether we are going the way of Greece or the traditional USA."
But some believe that having that conversation with only half of the country is problematic.
“It’s not in touch with what America’s values are and what we should be in a country," Zicker said of Romney's comments. "At the end of the day, we’re all connected. What I do affects you economically and socially. We shouldn’t see it as an one-for-all system.”
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It is The Economy, Mr. President. You built it. Your Economy, Mr. President.
Congress had something to do with it. It is called gridlock. Get rid of Congress, we move forward.
Actually, Bobby, he inherited the mess from his predecessor. Admitedly, not everything has worked out as planned but take a look at Congress for the reason why. If you want to bash the administration on bad economic policies, make sure to take into account the resurgence of the auto industry and a 29% increase in new housing starts, both of which practically define trickle down economics, for had either segment crashed, millions more would be in the 47%
Bzzt. You mean the Republican economy? This economy we are in was built by Republicans. Don't you forget it.
Hey Obabots, your boy has been in office almost 4 years, he owns the economy.
Romney was a strong consideration for my vote before this.. But there are several things that I detest about him...
First, I've worked over 40 years, made good money and paid into social security very well, you bet I want every last dime from it, I paid it , it's mine.. If it had gone into an IRA I would have well over a million dollars in there.. Don't blame me because you spent it all on wars.. Second, Romney shut down businesses and took every penny from the employee's pension plan, then calls them losers.. There simply is no forgiving for that.. And last, his years at Bain were all about that company pilfering millions of dollars to go into his pocket, I don't want someone as immoral as Romney to be my president.. He is just disgusting !
i mean at least get your facts correct. this is exactly why the comment was made. ITS TRUE!
Sounds like you weren't going to vote for him anyway, Doug. From what I heard of the tape, Romney wasn't talking about SS – yes, you did work and pay for it. In all fairness, why didn't CNN attempt to get the "missing" minutes of the tape before launching a full blown frenzy on this?
Chicago? How do you know what he pays in taxes? He hasn't shown the returns.
He showed 2 years. The said he would not show 8 or 10 like Obama did. Then he said he went back and looked at his taxes, checked his taxes and he said about 13, he told everyone he paid that. He really did not show the years before the 2.
Romney comes across as financial elite, not an intellectual elite. As for the remark, of course it is FACTUALLY wrong, even in the statistical sense. How many people don't pay taxes because they are too young or too old? Among those, how many are Obama supporters? How many poor people in the South support Obama (the poorest states in the union are solidly Republican)? And of course we all know plenty of billionaires do pay tax, and they certainly don't fall into the 47% category. To cite great physicist Wolfgang Pauli – This is not right. This is not even wrong.
Some of the wealthiest americans pay 0% federal tax.
If A CEO from a large company makes 6 million per year, and pays 14% taxes on it , he pays $840,000 per year in taxes , if a fireman makes $45,000 per year and pays 20% thats $9,000 per year yet you scream the rich pay no taxes . Aparently you can't add !!
Mainstream media have been feasting on 47% issue. Romney did not disowned his statement. It was said tactlessly but it's true. He's not as good orator as Obama who can make bad things look good. The issue just kept on rolling. There are other significant investigative journalism that needs attention.
Washington kept saying that the death of Ambassador Stevens was caused by heigthened protest against an anti-Islam video. Well, at least they already changed their stand because it's too obvious. However, Hillary keeps her stand that Ambassador was not in Al Qaeda's hit list. So?. But why the cover up? Why did Washington not able to provide the Ambassador with ample security? Yes, there were private security body guards but not allowed to have bullets (Rules of Engagement approved by Secretary of State).
Meanwhile, anti-USA protest is looming all over the world. OK, let's us just stop saying anything about fundamentalist Muslims. It's ok for them to ridicule us and Ok to ridicule Mormonism, Christianity, Judaism . . .? That's what our government stands for?
ah, so your perport to be just like the Isamo-Terrorist? Maybe we aren't any better then?
The entire tax system needs overhauling. The tax breaks allowing for so many people to not pay income tax should be re-evaluated. I understand people needing a helping hand, but the way it works now. too many people make more money on unemployment than they do with low pay jobs. I say give no more than 1 year of unemployment, then unless you are working, cut it off. NO Exceptions. For those who find jobs, but cannot live on them, take the family income total (minus child support payments, and health insurance costs) and pay the family a minimal amount to bring them up to a certain level where they can live on it. So a family who can only get employed making 10.00 an hour can take that job, and he will get a small subsidy from govt that will bring him up to the $ amount needed to survive. (whatever that part of the country means living wage for that area). Let families continue to collect food stamps if necessary, but tighten the regulations on their use so they are more easily traceable. I'm not sure if thats practical but we desperately need to get people off welfare and unemployment checks before we wind up like Greece.
the federal government doesn't pay for unemployment, the states do. thought you knew that.
Dear LOL...so who exactly funds the states or does it come from money trees?
Your proof of tampering? Is that what you heard on Faux News? Have you seen the tape firsthand or are you just regurgitating what Rush Windbag told you to say?
I don't believe Mr. Romney was speaking about those who are trying to take care of themselves. We have an enormous amount of people who are content to let the government take care of them. Saddly, it has become a way of life for too many Americans. He spoke the truth and shame on those people who have no sense of pride. We have all had hard times at some point and maybe had to have help but when things got better took care of ourselves again.
NOT PAYING INCOME TAXES TOTALLY DIFFERENT GROUP THAN WELFARE. If you know so much about people not paying into or people on welfare what % of these people take advantage of welfare? Name a % that takes advantage. Just like the voting fraud no proof, just allegations.
I simply don't understand you wingnuts. "I don't think he meant people trying to take..." In that 47% you have retired seniors that worked all their lives and paid into social security. You have military. You have people working full time jobs that either don't make enough to pay taxes or have enough loopholes to get out of paying them. Children and dependents. When you boil away ALL of those people in the 47% you are left with about 6-8% of people at are perpetually on government assistance and has not paid into the system. How do you say "47%...but I mean 6%"? No, you don't get to take those comments back and say "I was REALLY only taking about..."
8 out of the 10 states were the majority of people "not paying taxes" are Red States.
Twist the number any way you want. Yes, some fall in and out of the 47% for reasons beyond their control, some are elderly (only about 9%) but those that stay in that number for years and years and decades are part of the problem. You can feel 'hurt' and 'insulted' and any other 'whyyyyyy me' feeling but you CANNOT keep a country going with only half the eligible people (Obviously we exclude those unable to work – the truly disabled and those too young and even too old).
If you fall into this group (not by choice) get over it, find a new skill or get another job or anything else but if you are in this group for more than a few years, sorry it is your problem. You should have MANY skills to fall back on or back-up plans and if you didn't plan oh well, too bad.
People who fall on hard times, I get it...we should HELP you for a set period of time to get back on your fee, train you in something to make money and then get back into contributing to society. Does the 47% tell the whole story? No, some legitatemly should not be paying but for those that tack on 'but they cannot afford it' without saying they cannot afford it because they made bad choices in life or are waiting for some industry to return to America or because they didn't plan their lives better, then it's their own fault.
For the others that explain the number by saying "But they pay payroll tax, sales tax, this tax or that tax" ..WHO CARES, I'd like to only pay JUST those other taxes...instead I get the luxury of paying a 28% Federal Income tax rate to allow others to just coast along on my tax-dollar. Yes, that is fair
Elderly make up 16-23% not paying income tax.
But it is okay to take tax deductions from the middle class and give the wealthy tax shelters and tax cuts? Does not fly or smell right.
Simple stat on CNN's objectivity: Romney's 47% comment: CNN front page; Obama's 'Redistribution' comment: ??
Um....we have long long minutes of continuous sentences. These are not soundbites. Because the tape turned off for a minute or 2 does not repudiate his comments. It's not like this is a soundbite taken out of context.
A 13yo girl is riding in the car with her democrat grandmother and her republican father and they are discussing politics . The little girl proudly states that when she grows up she is going to be a democrat like her grandmother. The father knowing that the 13yo dosen't understand the difference just ignores this comment. A few moments later they pass a homeless man on the corner begging for money, the little girl says" daddy lets give him some money" but the father drives on. Later at home the daughter confronts the father after a long discussion with the grandmother saying " i'm a democrat and I believe we should help that homeless man" So the father says " sure darling i'll tell you what to do, mow the yard, rake the leaves, wash the driveway, and weed the flower beds and i'll give you $50 then we can drive downtown and you can give that $50 you just earned to the homeless man" . The little girl thinks for a moment scratches her head and replies " dad why don't we just get the homeless guy to mow the yard, weed the flower beds, and wash the driveway so he can earn the $50 himself?". The dad smiles and says " Welcome to the Republican party!!" . the grandmother still won't speak to him !!
Then daddy why are all the republicans in the welfare states?
If you actually research it, the big majority of people on welfare claim to be democrats no matter where they live , surely your not foolish enoug to believe that only republicans live in republican states, we have our fair share of democrats as well sadly!! 60%-80% of welfare recipients claim to be democrats, amoung the long term unemployed 72% claim to be democrats. the states with the largest population 5 on welfare in order are as follows Vermont,Mississippi,Maine,New York,Massachuetts, Alaska,Rhode Island,Hawaii, Connecticut, West Virgina, Arkansas, Iowa,California, Oklohoma, Tennesse, Washington,Wisconsin so thats seems to be split too me with alot of blue inthe top ten !!
Romney only said what he really thinks of the American people. He doesn't think much about us. His top priority is more and more money and the highest status for himself. Romney is completely wrong for America.
Mistake or truth? Yes. Yes it was.
Both.
The number people who have a net worth of at least 1 million or more is: 3,100,000
- 7000 millionaires who paid zero tax = 3,093,000 millionaires (or more) who pay taxes.
If the population of the US is currently: 311,591,917
x .47% = 146,448,201 – 7000 = 146,441,201 not paying any taxes, who aren't rich.
Leaving 165,150,716 of us middle class to pay for the 47%
Who really is draining the middle class? 7000 people, or 146,441,201 people?
Yes, yes I know that the rich may pay less in overall percentages because of 15% tax on investments, but they pay huge amounts comparatively speaking to our income taxes. And I won't hate or be jealous of those whom are sucessful. Anyone can succeed if they put forth effort (Obama is a millionaire). So what is easier to fix – the tax code? or government handouts?
How about starting with the jobs bill sitting on Boehner's desk for a year?
Wow, you threw a lot of stats out there, seems plausible, Wanna gain some government reform. Require welfare receipients and the unemployed who get checks take a drug test. Bet that would stop 45% of the system users!!!
Who, if anyone, in the White House, the House Senate or The House of Reps would undertake that little piece of legislature. Does anyone else out there feel the same way???
where are your stats on how must of our annual federal budget goes to subisizing Health, Energy and Farms? How much goes to the military and who is racking in the majority of that cash?