af3eab43   
   XPost: alt.politics.bush, sci.econ, alt.politics.economics   
   XPost: alt.politics.democrats.d   
   From: nsmontassoc@yahoo.com   
      
   On 4/14/2012 8:24 AM, William F. Clinton wrote:   
   > "Let me count the ways."   
   >   
   >   -- Mitt Romney   
   >   
   >   
   > "In 2010, the top 1 percent of Americans on average saw their incomes   
   > rise 11.6 percent, according to a recent study by Emmanuel Saez, an   
   > economist at the University of California at Berkeley. By contrast,   
   > the rest of the country inched up 0.2 percent. In other words, writes   
   > Saez, 'the top 1% captured 93% of the income gains in the first year   
   > of recovery.' ”   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   > ===============================   
   >   
   > "Obama, Romney tax plans for ultra-rich offer window on disparate   
   > economic views"   
   >   
   >   
   > By Jia Lynn Yang   
   > April 13,  2012   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   > PERHAPS no one has more at stake in this year’s presidential election   
   > than the ultra-wealthy.   
   >   
   > If Republican front-runner Mitt Romney reaches the White House, he   
   > will push for the top 1 percent of American earners to save an average   
   > of $150,000 in taxes, according to an analysis of his tax plan by the   
   > Tax Policy Center. In a second Obama administration, these Americans   
   > would pay about $83,000 more than they do now.   
   >   
   > For the top 0.1 percent, the difference is even more stark. Romney’s   
   > plan would save them an average of $725,000. President Obama would   
   > raise their taxes by $450,000.   
   >   
   > Romney and Obama’s tax proposals for the rich offer a window into how   
   > differently the two men understand the economy: what makes it tick,   
   > what the government can do to encourage wealth and how to rebuild the   
   > middle class.   
   >   
   > Both men seek to assuage a growing anxiety among Americans about their   
   > economic security. But they use different language to describe the   
   > problem and offer different cures.   
   >   
   > Obama has repeatedly called income inequality “the defining issue of   
   > our time.” He has proposed raising taxes on millionaires, saying on   
   > Tuesday that “broad-based prosperity has never trickled down from the   
   > success of a wealthy few.”   
   >   
   > Romney, by contrast, waves off Obama’s talk of income inequality as   
   > the “politics of envy.” He says the best way to lift people out of   
   > poverty and raise wages is to help businesses become more successful.   
   > Ease regulations on businesses and lower taxes, Romney argues, and   
   > people’s fortunes will rise.   
   >   
   > Neither candidate has a strong record of stemming a decades-long trend   
   > in this country of widening fortunes between the wealthiest Americans   
   > and everybody else.   
   >   
   > Obama has overseen a recovery that has overwhelmingly benefited the   
   > wealthy. A recent study showed that the top 1 percent of Americans   
   > enjoyed 93 percent of the income gains from 2010, the first year of   
   > the recovery.   
   >   
   > In Massachusetts, Romney did little to reverse the trend of income   
   > inequality that was happening in his state. And his work at Bain   
   > Capital embodied a pure distillation of American capitalism in which   
   > higher returns for investors, not worker pay, were the highest   
   > priority. If elected, Romney has pledged to curb deductions and other   
   > tax benefits for high-income households, but he has not been specific.   
   >   
   > The Occupy Wall Street movement brought a new level of awareness to   
   > Americans of the growing income disparity between the richest 1   
   > percent and the rest of the country. Obama is betting that a longer   
   > national conversation about inequality will help him win reelection.   
   > Romney, whose own income puts him in the upper reaches of “the 1   
   > percent,” thinks that strategy will backfire.   
   >   
   > “I think it’s fine to talk about those things in quiet rooms and   
   > discussions about tax policy and the like,” Romney said in January on   
   > “The Today Show.” “But the president has made it part of his campaign   
   > rally. It’s a very envy-oriented, attack-oriented approach, and I   
   > think it will fail.”   
   >   
   > Romney’s record   
   >   
   > When Romney was governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, his   
   > state, like many others, was experiencing growing inequality between   
   > top and bottom earners.   
   >   
   > Massachusetts was still reeling from the bursting of the tech bubble.   
   > It was also in the midst of a decades-long bleeding of manufacturing   
   > jobs. Under Romney, manufacturing payroll employment dropped more than   
   > 14 percent, giving the state the third-worst record nationally during   
   > that time, according to analysis by Andrew Sum, director of the Center   
   > for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University.   
   >   
   > Average weekly wages for workers rose slightly more than they did   
   > nationally while Romney was in charge. In Massachusetts, wages went up   
   > 4.1 percent from 2002 to 2006, adjusting for inflation. Nationally,   
   > they rose 3.2 percent.   
   >   
   > But those gains were not spread evenly. Those who worked in investment   
   > banking and securities trading saw their average weekly wages rise 60   
   > percent, from $2,707 in 2002 to $4,852 in 2006, according to census   
   > data adjusted for inflation.   
   >   
   > Meanwhile, weekly wages for employees in retail dropped 3 percent.   
   > Manufacturing workers saw a rise of 5.5 percent.   
   >   
   > Sum says the loss of manufacturing jobs helped exacerbate income   
   > inequality by making it tougher for blue-collar workers to find   
   > employment.   
   >   
   > The trend continued after Romney left.   
   >   
   > “I don’t think there’s any evidence to suggest he made it worse,” said   
   > Michael D. Goodman, associate professor and chairman of the Department   
   > of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.   
   > “This is a long-term phenomenon that continued under his watch. He’s   
   > not the only governor who’s presided over this trend.”   
   >   
   > Romney frequently touts his work at Bain Capital as evidence that he   
   > knows how to lower the country’s unemployment. Yet many of the jobs he   
   > cites as having helped to create have salaries that would be unlikely   
   > to pay enough to support a middle-class family.   
   >   
   > Their relatively low pay highlights how hard it can be to generate   
   > jobs that pay well enough to close the income gap.   
   >   
   > His campaign says Romney helped create 100,000 jobs while at Bain,   
   > including 15,000 at the Sports Authority and 89,000 at Staples.   
   >   
   > There are no public data on the average pay for a Sports Authority or   
   > Staples employee, but data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics offer   
   > some hints.   
   >   
   > According to government data, the median hourly wage at “sporting   
   > goods stores” such as Sports Authority is $10.44 an hour; the average   
   > annual salary is $26,470.   
   >   
   > At “office supplies, stationery and gift stores,” the category for   
      
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