The Invisible People

I read an article today on the Huffington Post website that I wanted to share with you.  The story is about the release of a video created by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union, which aims to humanize Mitt Romney's honest opinion on "forty-seven percent" of our country whom he thinks are entitled, slothful drains on American society.

At a secretly-taped private fundraiser in May of this year, Romney spoke candidly with wealthy supporters about his honest feelings on about half of our country.  In case you haven't heard about the forty-seven percent remarks, Romney presented this argument:

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax... My job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

Romney's comments are directly aimed at those with disabilities who are unable to work, seniors who've left the workforce, students like myself that go to school full-time and do not work, millions of low-income families, and middle-class families who take advantage of tax credits Republicans have long supported.

In response to Romney's comments expressing contempt for nearly half of the American population the AFSCME union decided to put a face on the forty-seven percent of us that Romney believes are lazy moochers.  The union decided to go to the La Jolla-San Diego area (where Romney has a home) and interview a local sanitation worker that picks up Mitt's garbage, a fire-fighter engineer and a former sanitation worker to put a face on the forty-seven percent that Romney refers to as the lazy entitled. The sanitation worker, Richard Hayes, is interviewed and says: “We’re kind of like the invisible people. He doesn’t realize, you know, the service we provide.”

I think that it's important to know that the Republican presidential nominee has such a negative view of such a big portion of our society.  He is running for a job in which caring for the citizens of this country is essential.  His remark that "[his] job is not to worry about those people" leaves zero doubt in my mind that he should not be elected president. Elections are so important as they provide political education for citizens, and ensure that the people are represented in a way that reflects the people. 




Works Cited:

• http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/secret-video-romney-private-fundraiser 
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-a-saunders/mitt-romney-garbage-man_b_1929728.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012