A Poll From CNBC and Yahoo Finance Readers

In the private video made a recent fund raising event, Romney described nearly half the country, or 47%, as people who won't "take responsibility for themselves," who are "dependent on government, who believe 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."

Do you agree or disagree?

Romney's statement was both factually incorrect and a huge political gaffe. Put that erroneous statement together with his notion that a middle class family has an annual income of $200K to $250K, and it is clear that he does not know what life is like for the average citizen.

We fall in that category of not paying income tax. We are retired military & civil service (hubby) and teacher assistant (me) and our income is very low. We HAVE taken responsibility, still are as evidenced by the fact that I have been working 3 part time jobs to supplement our little retirement checks.

My mother and MIL as well as my MIL's sister pay no income tax. They are elderly widows who live on social security and their husbands' retirement income.

My friend whose husband is in Afghanistan pays no income tax. They have children and at his pay grade, they qualify for the EIC.

My neighbor pays no income tax. He is a retired Marine.

These are the kind of people that Romney insulted by saying we won't take responsibility for ourselves.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/09/19/mitt-romney-surprising-facts-pay-no-income-tax/

BB this poll was not about who should be taxed and who shouldn't. It was whether people agreed with Romney on the fact that 47% of the people are on welfare and expect the government to take care of them instead of taking responsibility for their own actions. I agree with him, there are far too many people out there that are capable of taking care of themselves but will not take responsibility to do so and expect Uncle Sam to provide all their basic needs.

This is not about what income level should be taxed. You do say that Romney has no idea who the middle class are. Are you aware that Obama also talks of "middle class tax cuts" that would apply to families who earn up to $250,000, which would cover all but the top 3 percent of U.S. households.

Now with that being said, I am a proponent of the Fair Tax.

Yes, I know what the poll was about. The people who agree with him are just as wrong as he is, IMO. Obama should lower that dollar amount. I don't care who says it, a quarter of a million in annual income is not what I consider middle class.

The Fair Tax reminds me of my stance on the role of property taxes to pay for education in Escambia County. I have never thought that only home-owners should bear that burden. A sales tax that would even the playing field for all county residents would be more equitable.

There is a lot wrong with our tax system. The EIC seems to encourage single parents to have more illegitimate children. I wish one of the candidates would address that issue.

Elections are won on perception not fact. If people agree with what Romney said, right or wrong, he will earn votes. It is a frightening notion that pundits, spinners and a biased media have an increasing ability to mold the with a the attention span or reading comprehension of a Tweet.

For families with dependents at home or at school and in many locations where housing remains at a premium, 250K is absolutely middle class. My brother and his wife, living in suburban Denver with two children would be a case in point. They drive used vehicles, are saving for college and retirement and have a moderate four bedroom home with a mortgage double what a similar home would buy here. She does not have expensive jewelry, they do not take lavish vacations, there is no pool in the backyard and she cleans her own house.

Regardless of the sound bytes, FB posts, speeches, gaffes or quotes, I think this election will boil down to whether a voter's greatest fear is his immediate financial concerns, or that of the nation's.

BirdyBack wrote:

Yes, I know what the poll was about. The people who agree with him are just as wrong as he is, IMO. Obama should lower that dollar amount. I don't care who says it, a quarter of a million in annual income is not what I consider middle class.

The Fair Tax reminds me of my stance on the role of property taxes to pay for education in Escambia County. I have never thought that only home-owners should bear that burden. A sales tax that would even the playing field for all county residents would be more equitable.

There is a lot wrong with our tax system. The EIC seems to encourage single parents to have more illegitimate children. I wish one of the candidates would address that issue.

You are right about everyone should contribute to the tax rolls for education with one exception. Those of us(myself included) that do not have any children in the Escambia County School System should be exempt from paying any taxed that go to education. I know this will not sit well with a few, but it is my opinion. I feel as strongly about that as I do with people on welfare that can and are able to work, but refuse not to and stay on welfare because they are so friggin lazy.

Everyone benefits from the education of its citizenry. While welfare costs the taxpayer, in the long run, education saves the taxpayer...both financially and from tyranny.

BirdyBack wrote:

Romney's statement was both factually incorrect and a huge political gaffe. Put that erroneous statement together with his notion that a middle class family has an annual income of $200K to $250K, and it is clear that he does not know what life is like for the average citizen.

We fall in that category of not paying income tax. We are retired military & civil service (hubby) and teacher assistant (me) and our income is very low. We HAVE taken responsibility, still are as evidenced by the fact that I have been working 3 part time jobs to supplement our little retirement checks.

My mother and MIL as well as my MIL's sister pay no income tax. They are elderly widows who live on social security and their husbands' retirement income.

My friend whose husband is in Afghanistan pays no income tax. They have children and at his pay grade, they qualify for the EIC.

My neighbor pays no income tax. He is a retired Marine.

These are the kind of people that Romney insulted by saying we won't take responsibility for ourselves.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/09/19/mitt-romney-surprising-facts-pay-no-income-tax/

The examples you cited are indeed indicative of the types of people Romney insulted with his remarks, but there's another faction that should be included in that total...people with extremely high incomes and offshore tax havens, like Romney himself, and large corporations.

Let's see...who might read Yahoo and CNBC Finance? Investors?