Romney. It’s Mandarin for “job creator”.
In one sentence, what’s wrong with the American economy after 30 years of conservative voodoo economics?
We don’t value work.
I say “we” because, like it or not, we all go down together. We—though we may know better—allow our society to be co-opted by those who value playing with money more than working for it. That’s why a slim majority of Republicans like Mitt Romney, the man personifies the victory of high finance over labor.
Mitt Romney’s expertise is eliminating jobs.
You know how a company’s stock goes up after it announces big layoffs? That’s because labor is just another expense on a balance sheet. Mitt knows how to cut expenses, pensions, health care. All of that’s just an impediment to Bain Capital making millions by selling a company or collecting huge consulting fees.
As they swept across America, eliminating and offshoring our jobs, Mitt and his compatriots expedited the misery of working families in incalculable ways.
Meanwhile, he got very rich. And because all of his income is derived from financing and selling stock, he still pays a tax rate lower than nurses, firefighters and nearly every American who doesn’t know what a carried interest loophole is.
You’ve probably heard the Mitt Romney has a small donor problem. He’s raised the least money from small donors of any or the major candidates this year. This as he’s facing a President who collects small donations from more people than any candidate in human history.
How will Mitt compete?
He doesn’t have a large donor problem.
Meet Julian Robertson:
Last summer, hedge fund pioneer Julian Robertson made the maximum $2,500 contribution to Mitt Romney’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. With a net worth somewhere north of $2 billion, it seemed as though he could do a lot more.Thanks to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, he did.
Robertson gave $1.25 million to Restore Our Future, a super PAC that has underwritten a relentless advertising campaign ripping Romney’s opponents. That’s 500 times the contribution he made in June.
Robertson is not alone. Of the $43.2 million raised by the attack PAC, $20.5 million, or 48 percent, came from finance industry donors, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data by the Center for Public Integrity.
The financial class of this country benefited immensely from the Bush tax breaks pushed through after 9/11 as we pushed into two wars. These tax breaks do not create jobs. They give millionaires millions and millions in cash for no reason other than the fact that they didn’t make their money actually working.
The loopholes for financiers combined with Bush’s big drunken spending were designed to blow the surplus. This unprecedented looting of our country’s treasure, this massive transfer of wealth to the richest Americans, was designed to break our social safety net.
The GOP is attacking workers (and Medicare and Planned Parenthood) not because they don’t work. But because they do.
[CC image by: NotionsCapital.com]
