Romney, God and Mammon
February 10th 2012 23:44
It's official, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is not concerned about the very poor.
"We will hear from the Democrat party about the plight of the poor, and there's no question, it's not good being poor," the perceived frontrunner in the 2012 Republican primary told CNN''s Soledad O'Brien. "You could choose where to focus, you could focus on the rich, that's not my focus. You could focus on the very poor, that's not my focus. My focus is on middle-income Americans."
For once, Romney is being forthright with the American people and I commend the paragon of ideological elasticity for his honesty. But Romney's apathy toward the very poor is precisely what American doesn't need at this juncture in its history. According to the most recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million people lived in poverty in 2010, more than 15 percent of the population. It's also the largest number in the 52 years the poverty estimates have been published.
"2010 marked the fourth consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty," Amy Goodman, co-host of the progressive radio show Democracy Now, wrote.
Romney, like so many of todays Republicans, has trouble discerning the difference between jealousy and fairness. In the all too familiar formula employed by conservatives, the former governor accused U.S. president Barack of Obama of fomenting class warfare for suggesting the rich are not paying their fair share in taxes.
In his victory speech in New Hampshire, Romney said "this country already has a leader who divides us with the bitter politics of envy. ... I stand ready to lead us down a different path, where we are lifted up by our desire to succeed, not dragged, down by a resentment of success. ... We are one nation under God."
Romney reiterated his indifference to the very poor when NBC's Matt Lauer questioned him about his simplistic generalizations about the motives of those who question the practices of financial institutions and other powerful figures on Wall Street. Lauer asked him whether anger at Wall Street is about jealousy or fairness.
"I think it's about envy," Romney said. "I think it's about class warfare. When you have a president encouraging the idea of dividing America based on the 99 percent versus the 1 percent -- and those people who have been most successful will be in the 1 percent ... it's entirely inconsistent with the concept of one nation under God."
I have three problems with Romney's viewpoint. First, most Americans aren't angry at Wall Street figures because they are successful, they are upset because many of them cheated to become successful. Their extreme wealth is akin to the home run kings who got rich and famous during what has become know as Major League Baseball's steroid era.
That being said, Romney's view does contain a kernel of truth. There are people in the top 1 percent who earned their money fairly. These folks shouldn't be demonized just because they happen to reside in the same class as some unsavory characters. Critics who blandly criticize everyone in the top 1 percent should know better.
Second, Romney appears to measure success solely by wealth accumulation. Does he really believe that athletes and actors are more successful than teachers, social workers, cops and firefighters? I would hope not.
The last problem I have with Romney's statement is his willingness to insert religion into the issue. Romney's comments seem to imply that if you think the policies of financial institutions are immoral or, if you think the extremely wealthy should pay more taxes then you are against the idea of one nation under God. That is nothing more than a deceptive strategy to demonize people while ignoring their central complaints.
Politicians like Romney often promote policies that hurt the poor while touting their religious faith as if accepting vast inequality is somehow proof of their strong religious convictions. Sometimes they portray the free market and religion as divine partners destined to live together harmoniously from now until eternity. Faith and Ferraris. Jesus Christ and Ayn Rand. God and mammon.
Don't get me wrong I don't hate capitalism, but a capitalist system (or any system for that matter) devoid of morals and ethics is not going to emulate the teachings of Jesus Christ or any other famous religious figure.
The thing that is particularly annoying about Romney is that he should be smart enough to understand that the issues confronting America are more complex than he makes them out to be. But I will give the chronic flip-flopper the benefit of the doubt and conclude that he just isn't in touch with the majority of Americans. Nonetheless, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see Romney transform himself into the poor's fiercest advocate if his current apathetic stance on poverty is widely rejected by the American people.
"We will hear from the Democrat party about the plight of the poor, and there's no question, it's not good being poor," the perceived frontrunner in the 2012 Republican primary told CNN''s Soledad O'Brien. "You could choose where to focus, you could focus on the rich, that's not my focus. You could focus on the very poor, that's not my focus. My focus is on middle-income Americans."
For once, Romney is being forthright with the American people and I commend the paragon of ideological elasticity for his honesty. But Romney's apathy toward the very poor is precisely what American doesn't need at this juncture in its history. According to the most recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million people lived in poverty in 2010, more than 15 percent of the population. It's also the largest number in the 52 years the poverty estimates have been published.
"2010 marked the fourth consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty," Amy Goodman, co-host of the progressive radio show Democracy Now, wrote.
Romney, like so many of todays Republicans, has trouble discerning the difference between jealousy and fairness. In the all too familiar formula employed by conservatives, the former governor accused U.S. president Barack of Obama of fomenting class warfare for suggesting the rich are not paying their fair share in taxes.
In his victory speech in New Hampshire, Romney said "this country already has a leader who divides us with the bitter politics of envy. ... I stand ready to lead us down a different path, where we are lifted up by our desire to succeed, not dragged, down by a resentment of success. ... We are one nation under God."
Romney reiterated his indifference to the very poor when NBC's Matt Lauer questioned him about his simplistic generalizations about the motives of those who question the practices of financial institutions and other powerful figures on Wall Street. Lauer asked him whether anger at Wall Street is about jealousy or fairness.
"I think it's about envy," Romney said. "I think it's about class warfare. When you have a president encouraging the idea of dividing America based on the 99 percent versus the 1 percent -- and those people who have been most successful will be in the 1 percent ... it's entirely inconsistent with the concept of one nation under God."
I have three problems with Romney's viewpoint. First, most Americans aren't angry at Wall Street figures because they are successful, they are upset because many of them cheated to become successful. Their extreme wealth is akin to the home run kings who got rich and famous during what has become know as Major League Baseball's steroid era.
That being said, Romney's view does contain a kernel of truth. There are people in the top 1 percent who earned their money fairly. These folks shouldn't be demonized just because they happen to reside in the same class as some unsavory characters. Critics who blandly criticize everyone in the top 1 percent should know better.
Second, Romney appears to measure success solely by wealth accumulation. Does he really believe that athletes and actors are more successful than teachers, social workers, cops and firefighters? I would hope not.
The last problem I have with Romney's statement is his willingness to insert religion into the issue. Romney's comments seem to imply that if you think the policies of financial institutions are immoral or, if you think the extremely wealthy should pay more taxes then you are against the idea of one nation under God. That is nothing more than a deceptive strategy to demonize people while ignoring their central complaints.
Politicians like Romney often promote policies that hurt the poor while touting their religious faith as if accepting vast inequality is somehow proof of their strong religious convictions. Sometimes they portray the free market and religion as divine partners destined to live together harmoniously from now until eternity. Faith and Ferraris. Jesus Christ and Ayn Rand. God and mammon.
Don't get me wrong I don't hate capitalism, but a capitalist system (or any system for that matter) devoid of morals and ethics is not going to emulate the teachings of Jesus Christ or any other famous religious figure.
The thing that is particularly annoying about Romney is that he should be smart enough to understand that the issues confronting America are more complex than he makes them out to be. But I will give the chronic flip-flopper the benefit of the doubt and conclude that he just isn't in touch with the majority of Americans. Nonetheless, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see Romney transform himself into the poor's fiercest advocate if his current apathetic stance on poverty is widely rejected by the American people.
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