The Other 'burg

barackobama:

Meet Debbie Bosanek, otherwise known as Warren Buffett’s secretary—and the inspiration behind the “Buffett Rule.”

Hm…

It seems that the Romney camp’s way of spinning things is to emphasize that he acted legally when paying his taxes. The Romneys are also emphasizing that it is not their “fault” that they pay low taxes. Both arguments miss the point (purposely, I’m sure) of the debate on taxes. No one is accusing Romney of tax fraud or blaming him for his low tax rate.

Romney’s taxes just happen to epitomize what is frustrating to middle-class Americans (or, at least, to this middle-class American, me). First, it does seem that Romney should pay at least the same percentage as others in taxes. As Elizabeth Warren has so perfectly articulated, he couldn’t have been so successful without the infrastructure and education provided by Americans. He should pay his success forward to future Americans. Second, it is troubling that members of government have created a tax code that they and their lobbyist supporters benefit from. I demand more from my representatives! And while the taxes Romney has paid in the past are not his fault, it has been shown that his proposed plan would continue to favor him. So, that would be his fault.

Finally, what really irked me was Ann Romney’s comment, as seen in this clip, that Mitt has been incredibly successful and “unfortunately that was made abundantly clear” when they released his taxes.

Wait. Why is it “unfortunate” that the extent of Romney’s success has been publicized? As Obama himself said in the SOTU, Americans admire people who are successful. I do not begrudge Romney’s wealth and actually kind of marvel at it. Why should it be something that is hidden?

This kind of language, and the defensiveness of the Romney campaign regarding Romney’s taxes, leads me to believe that Romney is well-aware of just how unfair the current and his proposed tax codes are and he doesn’t want that to be plainly revealed to the public.