Yes, nearly 47% of Americans do not pay Uncle Sam a chunk of money at the end of the fiscal year. Some of those people, probably only 4,000, are millionaires who use the legal loopholes and deductions to eliminate their tax obligation.[3] The rest of us fall into the following categories: Those given tax credits and or deductions for home-ownership, children, business investments, home improvements, energy-efficiency, etc. The same deductions Mr. Romney himself would take. Over half (28.3%) of those people pay payroll taxes, no matter how low their paycheck, to fund medicaid and Social Security, which they will be entitled to when they reach retirement age. 10.3% of them are from the growing population of the elderly. 6.9% are those whose households earn only enough money to live. (That is $23,050 for a family of four.) And, finally an illusive 1%, who fall into the "other" category.
That equals to 46.5%. Not so bad, Mr. Romney.
However, Romney also stated that these 47% feel entitled to handouts from the government, that they depend on the government for "their food, housing, you-name-it." Let's look at that more carefully. Using the census count of 314 million Americans, that would mean that 147,580,000 people are receiving food, housing, and you-name-it from the government. Lets keep in mind that "you-name-it" covers student loans, disability payments, school lunch programs, payments to foster families, etc., so that is a lot of people.
According to census.gov, for the year 2009 (the latest I could find) the actual facts are as follows:
- 18.6% of the population received means-tested government assistance. That means that those people are poor. That counts every child who receives lunch subsidies and everyone on medicaid.
- 15.2% of the pop. received Medicare benefits, which are non-means-based. That means that those people are old enough to be taken care of (even if they have plenty of money), or they have disabilities, ["In 2010, Medicare provided health insurance to 48 million Americans - 40 million people age 65 and older and eight million younger people with disabilities."[2]]
According to Blog.heritage.com, the number of people receiving Pell Grants in 2011 was 9.7 million.* This after the fall of the economy in late 2008 put many people out of work and sent them back to school.
Assuming (Oh, how I hate to do that) that those figures are close to being correct, it is probably enough to take it up to 114.7 million people. That is a huge number on it's own, just under 33 million short of the
147, 580,000 needed to reach 47%. Add government employees and the military, and we are probably there.
So Mr. Romney's figure is not far off the mark. I was surprised, at first, that nearly half of the country's people are receiving some sort of government help. Then I thought about it. Of course they are. The government funds the military and their families and doles out veterans benefits; helps the poor, the elderly, the disabled. Also take into account the fact that at the time these figures were reached, the country was in the throes of The Great Recession. Many people who would ordinarily be working, had to swallow their pride and get help for their families. Also, with the numbers of elderly people in the system rising, the number of people claiming Social Security and Medicare has boomed as well.
Mr. Romney's statement that all 47% will "vote for this president no matter what" is ludicrous, of course. It would be a great voting base on which Obama could build, but it just isn't so. Of course, some people who are not getting government money will vote for President Obama. People who, even though they support themselves and don't get food stamps, believe that it is the responsibility of each member of a conscientious society to be a good citizen and be willing to help to raise the general well-being of all Americans.
But none of that should be the focus of this discussion. The real enlightenment comes from the realization that one of the Presidential candidates says he loves America, but apparently hates Americans. At least 47% of them, anyway. Mr. Romney may believe that those Americans are a blot on the American landscape, but, as my father used to say, "I wouldn't tell it." These are not grab-happy freeloaders. These are your friends, neighbors, fellow club members, and family. Does Mr. Romney believe that you think that all of those people think of themselves as victims and want to take money from the government instead of living above the poverty line enjoying the everyday luxuries most of you take for granted? I don't think you do.
The question a responsible leader should ask is "what can we do to help the 18.6% climb up out of poverty?" not "what can we do to wipe these numbers off the charts?" I would think that the best solution is jobs. Jobs created by innovative companies that do not outsource to foreign countries (the president has authorized tax cuts for companies like that), companies that will create something with the personnel resources we have here. There are so many possibilities. I read that one of the tax breaks Romney plans is to eliminate taxes on profits from foreign companies. That sound like an incentive to outsource jobs, not to create jobs for Americans. I will have to do some research on that one.
*If anyone can find the numbers - from a reliable source - on how many students receive government grants, etc., I would appreciate the input. I found a not-so-reliable source, but the best I could come up with: Blog.heritage.org. (they claim that their numbers come from the Department of Education, but the link they provide does not lead there).
1
Major means-tested programs include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), General Assistance (GA), Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and housing assistance .
2
According to Wikipedia
3
CBS News.com
3
CBS News.com
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