Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Mitt Romney — wrong man for these times - By Dan Rodricks - The Baltimore Sun


A 'one-percenter' first-class is not what the nation needs in a president right now



January 22, 2012
 
 
The complaint that those of us who frequently refer to the nation's breathtaking disparity in wealth and income and to its 46 million poor are engaging in "class warfare" usually comes from people, like Mitt Romney, who live in the highest end of American class structure. They always throw the red flags.



"I think it's dangerous, this class warfare," Mr. Romney said of the Occupy Wall Street protests last fall. Campaigning toward yesterday's presidential primary in South Carolina, he accused Newt Gingrich, a fellow multimillionaire, of sowing "class warfare" with his criticisms of Mr. Romney's legacy at Bain Capital.

Republicans in Congress grouse about "class warfare" when anyone, foremost President Barack Obama, suggests that millionaires should pay more in taxes as the nation emerges from the Great Recession and confronts massive federal deficits. You can't seem to have a conversation about taxes, fairness and the common good without being accused of class envy


As for Mr. Romney, it's clear why he would accuse critics of engaging in "class warfare." He's an OPfc (One-Percenter, first class) running for president at a time when millions of Americans are still hurting from a recession brought on by the greed and misdeeds of his brethren in the world of high finance. Everything he believes about capitalism and the free market has been questioned in the wake of the Great Recession. He's fully vested in Reaganism — lower taxes for the wealthy and less regulation of commerce and industry means trickle-down prosperity for everyone — and he's not about to change that tune, even as more Americans smarten up and reject it.







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