Romney writes off 47 percent of American voters

Recently, the public got a hold of a video that was recorded at a Mitt Romney fundraiser in Boca Raton .

In the video, Romney said 47 percent of Americans don’t pay income taxes and consider themselves victims who feel entitled to receive government assistance . He went on to say that he would never be able to convince this 47 percent of people to take personal responsibility and care for their lives.

Romney’s last statement: It wasn’t his job to worry about those people.

His statements created quite an uproar. Fourty-seven percent of individuals is almost half the country and, to my understanding, the president (or in this case, Republican presidential candidate) is supposed to look out for the best interest of the entire country, not just the people who favor him or pay taxes.

Romney also stated that the 47 percent would vote for President Barack Obama no matter what. The people in the 47 percent include senior citizens, war veterans, minorities, low income families and college students; not all of these groups belong exclusively to the Democratic Party. There are Independents and Republicans who do not pay income taxes either.

Just because this percentage does not pay income taxes doesn’t mean that they don’t pay taxes at all. There are still payroll taxes, sales tax, state taxes, and property taxes that these people have to pay.

As a college student with a job, I don’t pay income taxes because I simply don’t make enough, but I still get taxes taken out of every check.

When Romney was asked about his comments following the video’s release all he said was that his comments were inarticulately stated, but he stood by what he had been caught saying. It is interesting to note that some Republicans running for Congress have began distancing themselves from his comments in order to not jeopardize their own races.

If his words sent up a red flag in his own party, how much more alarmed should the general public be? In more recent interviews, Romney has insisted that he cares for all of the citizens in this country, which is a direct contrast to his earlier remarks. While candidates bend the facts in order to get a point across, this is a blatant contradiction. It also leaves you wondering what he would have said had he known a camera was running.

I am a voter, not a victim.

I do not consider myself dependent on the government and I do exercise personal responsibility, hence me maintaining a job while in college. There are people who are in the 47 percent that do abuse the system, but the abuse happens at both ends of the political spectrum.

Romney has shown his hand and now is the time for voters to ask themselves if they really want to elect a president that thinks so poorly of almost half of the country. I know that I don’t.