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Subscribe to RSS“Mitt Romney said Thursday that his effective federal tax rate was at least 13 percent in each of the last 10 years, but he declined again to release the tax returns that would confirm his claim,” the Boston Globe writes.
The New York Daily News: “Mitt Romney tried a take-my-word-for-it response to the controversy over his taxes, insisting Thursday that he always pays the taxman an appropriate rate.”
USA Today: “The Obama campaign pounced on his statement, demanding that the Republican ‘prove it.’”
It’s a round of rough headlines for Paul Ryan today – first, on denying he lobbied for stimulus funds even though he voted against it. He eventually had to cop to it; then, on talking tough on China even though he voted against a measure that would have done what he was advocating yesterday; and for blaming President Obama for a shuttered GM factory in Janesville, WI, that closed in Dec. 2008 before Obama took office.
“After seeking millions of dollars from a federal stimulus program he opposed, Republican vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan repeatedly denied lobbying the Obama administration for home state aid -- first on a Boston radio station in 2010 and then again on Tuesday in an interview with a Ohio television station,” the Boston Globe notes.
Cincinnati station WCPO asked Ryan about an AP report he “on Ryan appealing to two departments seeking stimulus money for Wisconsin projects.” Ryan responded: “No, I never asked for stimulus. I don’t recall—and I haven’t seen this report so I really can’t comment on it. I opposed the stimulus because it doesn’t work, it didn’t work. It brought us deeper into debt.”
But by “Thursday evening, Ryan acknowledged having sent the letters above his signature. ‘After having these letters called to my attention I checked into them, and they were treated as constituent service requests in the same way matters involving Social Security or Veterans Affairs are handled. This is why I didn’t recall the letters earlier. But they should have been handled differently, and I take responsibility for that.’ He did not explain why he was not alerted to the fact his office had sent a letter asking for stimulus aid from the Department of Labor when the Wall Street Journal reported on this in 2010.”
The Globe reported earlier this week: “In 2009, as Rep. Paul D. Ryan was railing against President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package as a “wasteful spending spree,” he wrote at least four letters to Obama’s secretary of energy asking that millions of dollars from the program be granted to a pair of Wisconsin conservation groups, according to documents obtained by the Globe.”
The New York Daily News: “Rep. Paul Ryan sought Recovery Act funds but denies making stimulus appeals.”
“Paul Ryan on Thursday began to criticize China as a currency manipulator, speaking out against the country’s trade policies with the same sharp rhetoric that his new running mate, Mitt Romney, has used for months,” the Boston Globe writes, adding, “But there’s one glaring problem: Ryan voted against legislation in 2010 that would have helped do just that.”
More rough news for Ryan: “At a campaign stop in Ohio on Thursday, Rep. Paul Ryan noted that the GM plant in his hometown of Janesville, Wis., shuttered its operations despite Barack Obama's promise to ‘keep the plant open,’” USA Today writes. “What Ryan left out of the narrative: the detail that the plant stopped production in December 2008, before Obama took office.”
Love you, mom… “GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan will be talking to senior citizens in Florida this weekend about Medicare, bringing his mother along as a campaign weapon,” USA Today writes.
The Romney campaign says it’s raised $10 million since Ryan was selected.
The RNC says it’s raised $37.7 million in July.
Measuring the drapes? The New York Times on Romney’s detail-oriented transition team.
“They couldn’t stand being apart much longer, apparently,” the Boston Globe writes. “Mitt Romney and his new running mate, Paul Ryan, are making an unexpected apperance together on Monday in New Hampshire, holding a joint town hall meeting in Manchester. It will be Romney’s 100th town hall meeting, according to the Romney campaign.”
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Tax evasion by Mitt the Vulture and his fellow vultures have cause shortfall in many government programs , including Medicare. But this result of their crime has been exploited by Mitt the Vulture as a justification to destroy Medicare, and give other vultures more opportunities to exploit seniors.
The seniors will use their votes to tell Mitt the Vulture to STFU.
It's interesting how Mitt keeps avoiding using "INCOME TAX" when talking about paying taxes. It's also interesting how Ann Romney avoids using "INCOME TAX" when describing taxes paid.
that's exactly what I said.... he never said income tax, because he doesn't pay 13% income taxes...well, take the sales, property, & state income taxes out of it, then you are looking at 10% less taxes... so we are talking about 3% in federal income taxes?
Still pathetic Romney~!!!!
Tunde Akins
Romney is not a stupid, uneducated guy who doesn't understand the difference between paying taxes (which includes sales, real estate, excise taxes, etc.) and paying income tax which is specific.
His omission is deliberate and calculated and it speaks volumes.
“Mitt Romney tried a take-my-word-for-it response to the controversy over his taxes, insisting Thursday that he always pays the taxman an appropriate rate.”
Ah that's it, I'll tell them to take word for, yeah that's the ticket, take my word for it, yeah, that's the ticket.
Mitt Romney has shown repeatedly that his word means nothing, he changes his story, from day to day, and this is not going away, in fact he has mad it worse for himself, because now he has made a solid claim, but will still will not back up his claim by simply releasing his returns, it now just adds to the impression that he is hiding something about his personal taxes and finances that must be very damaging politically to him. What's in there you don't want us to see Mitt, did you make some huge contributions to the Obama campaign in 2008 when republicans treated you so poorly. The more statements he makes about his taxes while still refusing to release them the more phony he looks.
While I think Ryan selection as Romney's running mate has infused Romney's candidacy with needed energy and cemented it's conservative legitimacy for the tea party members, I am just not impressed with the substance it has brought.
So far Ryan has just been talking out of both sides of his mouth and just plain lying.
So he "can not recall" giving approval for his signature on requests for stimulus money for his state that went out of his office. And then when the truth comes to light,he says he was not aware and it should not have been done,but we're not going to give the money back.
Then he takes up Romney's Cold War rhetoric against China-"We'd get tough on China" - except he voted against the Currency Reform Fair Trade Act - only one of 79 to vote against it. The bill gives the President expanded authority to impose tarrifs on imports from countries that are manipulating their currency to the detriment of trade for countries like the U.S. Now why would Ryan want to let imports from China not have to pay more to help products made in the U.S. compete against products made in China?
He understands a common known fact among countries - say one thing that your targeted audience back home wants to hear and then do another that helps your cronies and the people back home never investigate,so you can have it both ways.
And then he figures bringing his mom will influence voters in Florida to vote against their own best interests on Medicare. You will pay much more under Ryan's plan. And if he actually is able to enact his Medicare plan,they will be yelling that they were deceived -the plan changed. No it didn't - too many people look at him with his mom and don't read the fine print. He lies. And it works.
And he outright lied about the factory closing. Why? Because no one actually looks to see what the truth is. He knows his target audience. So far he has rarely been called to defend these untruths. His philosophy - lie until caught and then oops. He lies. It works.
"This is why I didn’t recall the letters earlier."
There must be a reason why you don't remember the EXACT SAME THING happening in 2010 when you made the same claim and then forced to admit your claim was false.
Memory problems didn't keep Reagan out of the White House, but ...
Bishop Romney refers to his charitable contributions. What he really means is making the installment payments on his posthumous planet.
The LDS church is reputed to be a nine billion dollar operation used to build temples. Hardly a charity.
I used to think Willard and Paul made up lies for political purposes. Now I think their just incompetent.
Nice tax rate if you can (cheat to) get it!
Union Baby, Tennessee
it's a very nice tax rate which is a little more than what the Middle Class pays - and that's assuming the 13% is an income tax rate. And I don't believe it is because Romney would say: I pay INCOME tax rate of.....
I must be filling out the wrong form. My effective tax rate over the last three years has been between 12 and 14%. More as my mortgage interest deduction decreases. Thats on +/- 50K.
Some people on here claim to be paying much more. I'm not sure what their looking at or how their filing.
13-14% seems to be a fair share to me. What do you want?
Q: what do you get when you add 1 LIAR + 1 LIAR?
A: R&R (RIAR & RIAR >>> sorry, japanese has difficulty pronouncing "Ls")
We are to take Romney's word that he always paid at least 13% as "The Golden Truth". I would want to know exactly what he paid in INCOME TAXES.
I say "TRUST - BUT VERIFY" as Raegan said.
[..."TRUST - BUT VERIFY" as Raegan said.]
Reagan learned it from the Russians.
This just goes to prove F. Scott Fitzgerald's statement that the rich are different from you and me (they are very hard to tax). Unlike the working stiff, the rich are always a moving target, a game of 3-card monte as to where the money is.
It just amazes me the way Romney/Ryan make up stuff. Don't they realize people have documents and recordings of their past.