This chart is nice to see because it gives insight on exactly who we are talking bout when we say 47%. According to Romney, none of these people can take responsibility for their own life and must count on the government to take care of them. In a sense, some of this statement is true. As we can see from the chart there are those who solely rely on the government for aid such as the elderly and the disabled. However, the article discussing this chart points out that the majority of these people not paying federal income taxes are actually working citizens. However, they do not make enough money in order to contribute income taxes. Therefore, this chart is useful in pointing out just who is a part of this 47%.
Romney initially stood by his statements about the 47%, stating that it was 'poorly phrased', but he meant what he said in that private, lavish dinner. However in the past few weeks, he has gone-back on this , and said he was wrong to voice that opinion. During the debate, Obama's closing point brought up this notion of a 47%, and it was the statement that closed the entire debate. Romney has yet to bring up this issue in any of the debates, and tonight will be interesting to see if he can squeeze it in, in light of entirely foreign conversation topics. "My job is not to worry about them" was such a powerful statement, I'm supervised we did not see any immediate drop for him in the polls despite no argument rebutted to the contrary.
This chart is really eye opening, especially seeing that 22% are the "elderly duckies", who of course should depend on the governments aid and support, 7% are sick or disabled, and 3% are students! Of course these categories of people would depend on government. I also found it interesting that 61%, the "working duckies," do not even make enough to pay income taxes. I liked that the author of this article stated, "next time you're in the hospital be sure to tell the person who empties your bedpan that Mitt Romney doesn't think he or she takes personal responsibility for his or her life." I think Romney was completely off base, and as Andrew stated, am surprised that he didn't receive a harder hit for his statement.
First off, I did realize 47% of people do not pay federal taxes. This number seems very high, especially before looking at the graph and the break down. 61 percent of those people don't make enough to be paying income taxes. These are the people Romney was referring to in his quote provided by the article. The only way to decrease the 47% we are seeing is to decrease the 61% of “working ducks” who do not make enough. The government should be making efforts first to focus on job growth and economic growth so make people can afford to be paying taxes. Once these people earn enough than problems with taxation and our deficit will improve. Increasing wages for those 61% of people who can't afford to pay federal taxes is not an easy task. Strategies the government should be considering include: pulling more money into education so people can get the proper training to obtain better jobs, increase incentives to bring more jobs to the U.S., and increase government employment opportunities.
This is a really nice article. The way that it breaks down the 47% of people that do not pay federal taxes is very clear and makes Romney's statement sound worse than it originally did. It is eye opening to see that 61% of the people do not make enough to pay taxes and that 22% are considered to be "elderly duckies" and can't work to pay taxes. I thought the statement about education decreasing because it will be to expense to pay was funny (and sad), but it is a very valid point. Something needs to be done to help our education system before less people decided to get a higher education. I don't think many people thought about who actually composed the 47%, but this article does a very good job explaining who these "lucky duckies" are.
The breakdown does give a true insight about the 47%. I agree with Bianca that 47% of people not paying income tax is a bit too high without seeing the breakdown. The working duckies, who are the major portion of the breakdown, have been paying other form of taxes except the federal tax and if they want to decrease the 47% the standard of these people must be improved.
The author also points out that as higher education gets more unaffordable, the ratio will go down which is very sad.
This chart is nice to see because it gives insight on exactly who we are talking bout when we say 47%. According to Romney, none of these people can take responsibility for their own life and must count on the government to take care of them. In a sense, some of this statement is true. As we can see from the chart there are those who solely rely on the government for aid such as the elderly and the disabled. However, the article discussing this chart points out that the majority of these people not paying federal income taxes are actually working citizens. However, they do not make enough money in order to contribute income taxes. Therefore, this chart is useful in pointing out just who is a part of this 47%.
ReplyDeleteRomney initially stood by his statements about the 47%, stating that it was 'poorly phrased', but he meant what he said in that private, lavish dinner. However in the past few weeks, he has gone-back on this , and said he was wrong to voice that opinion. During the debate, Obama's closing point brought up this notion of a 47%, and it was the statement that closed the entire debate. Romney has yet to bring up this issue in any of the debates, and tonight will be interesting to see if he can squeeze it in, in light of entirely foreign conversation topics. "My job is not to worry about them" was such a powerful statement, I'm supervised we did not see any immediate drop for him in the polls despite no argument rebutted to the contrary.
ReplyDeleteThis chart is really eye opening, especially seeing that 22% are the "elderly duckies", who of course should depend on the governments aid and support, 7% are sick or disabled, and 3% are students! Of course these categories of people would depend on government. I also found it interesting that 61%, the "working duckies," do not even make enough to pay income taxes. I liked that the author of this article stated, "next time you're in the hospital be sure to tell the person who empties your bedpan that Mitt Romney doesn't think he or she takes personal responsibility for his or her life." I think Romney was completely off base, and as Andrew stated, am surprised that he didn't receive a harder hit for his statement.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I did realize 47% of people do not pay federal taxes. This number seems very high, especially before looking at the graph and the break down. 61 percent of those people don't make enough to be paying income taxes. These are the people Romney was referring to in his quote provided by the article. The only way to decrease the 47% we are seeing is to decrease the 61% of “working ducks” who do not make enough. The government should be making efforts first to focus on job growth and economic growth so make people can afford to be paying taxes. Once these people earn enough than problems with taxation and our deficit will improve.
ReplyDeleteIncreasing wages for those 61% of people who can't afford to pay federal taxes is not an easy task. Strategies the government should be considering include: pulling more money into education so people can get the proper training to obtain better jobs, increase incentives to bring more jobs to the U.S., and increase government employment opportunities.
This is a really nice article. The way that it breaks down the 47% of people that do not pay federal taxes is very clear and makes Romney's statement sound worse than it originally did. It is eye opening to see that 61% of the people do not make enough to pay taxes and that 22% are considered to be "elderly duckies" and can't work to pay taxes. I thought the statement about education decreasing because it will be to expense to pay was funny (and sad), but it is a very valid point. Something needs to be done to help our education system before less people decided to get a higher education. I don't think many people thought about who actually composed the 47%, but this article does a very good job explaining who these "lucky duckies" are.
ReplyDeleteThe breakdown does give a true insight about the 47%. I agree with Bianca that 47% of people not paying income tax is a bit too high without seeing the breakdown. The working duckies, who are the major portion of the breakdown, have been paying other form of taxes except the federal tax and if they want to decrease the 47% the standard of these people must be improved.
ReplyDeleteThe author also points out that as higher education gets more unaffordable, the ratio will go down which is very sad.