Congratulations
on having managed to insult just about everyone in America by claiming that 47%
of us are dependent upon the government and won’t take responsibility for our
own lives. You were referring, mostly,
to the elderly, the poor, and the disabled who make use of government services
but don’t contribute by paying federal incomes taxes. The elderly, of course, most likely paid
federal income taxes during the long expanse of their working lives, and some
of the disabled got that way fighting in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. And the poor . . . Really?
Are you complaining that folks with incomes under $20,000 a year aren’t
paying taxes beyond what’s automatically deducted from their pay checks? Oh, but, by now many many voices have spoken
up about the unfairness of your comments.
My point is this: though you meant to divide the country by insulting
the integrity of anyone who, for any reason, isn’t currently paying federal
income taxes but is using government services, and to suggest that these people
who you can’t convince to “take personal responsibility and care for their
lives” are a burden carried by all the rest of us, you wound up insulting just
about everyone who hasn’t had the advantage of growing up wealthy. In my case, I paid for college with low-interest,
government-supported loans. Back then,
long before I started paying federal income taxes, I was part of the 47% you
have apparently given up on caring about.
These days I have several older relatives who depend on social security
and take advantage of tax breaks for the elderly. Interestingly, some of these
folks are Republicans, and some are far-right leaning Republicans, who support
your candidacy. (Or at least they used
to support your candidacy.) Something
like 97% of us aren’t rich, Mitt, and so we have at some point in our lives
taken advantage of government policies designed to give all of us the
opportunity to succeed, or we have friends, family, or loved ones who are aided
by government programs designed to help them live good, healthy, decent
lives. The vast majority of us, I
believe, don’t mind paying federal income taxes that provide opportunities for
others to succeed, or to help those struggling to live good lives. In fact, we’re happy to help, and feel
blessed that we’re in a position to do so.
And, listen Mitt, even the rich may
have at some point in the history of their families been the beneficiaries of a
government that believes we’re all in it together and should help each other
out whenever possible. Here’s a quote
you might recognize, uttered by a woman looking into a TV camera. She says, “We’ve only owned our home for the
last few years,” and goes on, talking about her husband, to say “He was a
refugee from Mexico. He was on
relief—welfare relief—for the first years of his life, but this great country
gave him opportunities.” That, of
course, is your mother speaking, Mitt.
You should listen to her. And
then you should apologize to the whole nation.
-- Ed
Falco
Ed Falco's latest book is The Family Corleone, a novel based on material excerpted from screenplays by Mario Puzo. He's the author of three short story collections, most recently Burning Man, and four other novels. He is also a playwright.
