Mitt Romney told his rich friends that he was going to write off 47 percent of the country because they were freeloaders who didn't pay federal income tax. He said that since they would all be voting for President Barack Obama, he couldn't be bothered about them. So he needed his rich friends to give him even more money.
Romney grew up rich, went to private school and has no understanding whatsoever of what life is like for those who are not rich. He loves baseball, and his pals are the team owners. His wife has American cars - two Cadillacs. Off the cuff, during a primary debate, he challenged one of the other candidates to a $10,000 bet. He told young people that they should start a business and to borrow the money for that from their parents.
This guy lives in a different world than most of us. A world of investments in the Cayman Islands, Swiss bank accounts and expert legal assistance to keep his taxes low. A lower percentage than his secretary? His father released 11 years of tax returns, Mitt will only release a few recent ones, not the ones when he founded and ran Bain Capital.
Bain Capital was an outstanding example of vulture capitalism - buy a company, load it with debt, let it go bankrupt and put all the workers out of work, but with millions of dollars going to Bain.
I can live with his contempt for me. Right back at you, Mitt.
Sally Raisbeck
Wailuku
