Romney's Taxes and the Liberal Mindset | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Romney's Taxes and the Liberal Mindset | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "One endlessly repeated commercial points out that Romney paid only 13.9 percent of his income in taxes in 2010, "probably less than you."

"unless your household was earning more than $189,400 per year, it is unlikely that you are paying a higher federal income-tax rate than Romney. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the average middle-income American pays an effective federal income-tax rate of 1.3 percent. Recall that half of Americans pay no federal income tax at all."

Was their ad directed at the rich?

"Democrats were quick to dismiss [Romney's charity donations] as substantively different from and less important than paying taxes. In fact, some suggested that such large charitable contributions might actually be a form of tax evasion, since they were tax-deductible. By helping people on his own, Romney was undermining government charity. "Charity is not democracy," complained Garrett Gruener, who helped found Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, a pro-tax group"

"according to a recent Gallup poll, Americans who described themselves as "very conservative" gave 4.5 percent of their income to charity, on average; self-described "conservatives" gave 3.6 percent; and "moderates" gave 3 percent; while "liberals" gave just 1.5 percent; and "very liberal" Americans gave barely 1.2 percent.

Those who voluntarily give the least are the same people who will spend the next few nights in Charlotte telling us how much they care, while demanding that the government take more from the rest of us by force through higher taxes."

"It is reflected in a belief that government jobs are especially ennobling, while people who work in the private sector are necessarily "greedy" and "corrupt." "

"It is government, the president believes, that makes all else possible. That is why the president repeatedly expresses concern over cutbacks in government spending, while observing that "the private sector is doing just fine." "