Comments about ‘Assets offshore raise Mitt Romney wealth questions’

@ fortydam

Now that you've established the guideline for who is worthy to receive your vote, I'd like to know if you fit your own criteria so I ask this question: Do you drive and own vehicle(s) manufactured by an American Owned Automobile Compnay (GM, Chrysler or Ford) or a foreign company (Toyota, Honda, Volkswagon, BMW, Audi, Subaru, etc) who sends the profits to an overseas corporation, rather than building the economy in the United States. Be honest---are you an American Consumer or not in vehicles? GM didn't need a bail-out if patriotic Americans had purchased GM cars; and the bulk of Cash-for-Clunkers went to Japan because the American public still hadn't learned Econ 101----support the local businesses first. Your answer is.....?

How about keeping your money and your accounts in America, Mitt. Are you an American or a businessmen who see America as nothing but a place to suck out wealth and give nothing in return?

Let me ask all you left leaners: When you get up in the morning and go to work (some of you must actually do that), are you working all day for "the common good?" Or are you working to pay your bills, save for retirement, and perhaps build some wealth to share in a way you deem worthy and good? And don't lie!

And Taxman, if you're all over this "carried interest" thing, why didn't you write the article instead of jumping on the anti-Romney bandwagon...shouting "carried interest, carried interest, carried interest?" It feels disingenuous to me...

If it's illegal, arrest him, if it permitted under the law get over it. I'm sure that most people with his money have a little off shore just in case.

Right now, I would trust a rich man for President, not one who is indebted to many for their help in getting him elected. Obama, who is not poor, and never claimed the peace prize money on his taxes, doesn't lean towards the poor in this country, dislikes unions (his lack of help in breaking the public workers union) and takes the side of business (immigration) makes him more of a Republican than a Democrat.

I yawned when I read this story. It scores a big So What!

Re:Don17
So, if you buy a lottery ticket and win $1 million then youve already paid tax on that million?

"Another goodie allows private-equity partners to sock away almost any amount of their earnings into a tax-deferred IRA, while the rest of us are limited to a few thousand dollars a year. The partners can merely low-ball the value of whatever portion of their investment partnership they put away—even valuing it at zero—because the tax code considers a partnership interest to have value only in the future. This explains how Romney’s IRA is worth as much as $101 million. The tax code further subsidizes private equity and much of the rest of the financial sector by making interest on debt tax-deductible, while taxing profits and dividends. This creates huge incentives for financiers to find ways of substituting debt for equity and is a major reason America’s biggest banks have leveraged America to the hilt. It’s also why Romney’s Bain and other private-equity partnerships have done the same to the companies they buy."
Robert Reich, Mii Romney and the New Gilded Age

Another story and another day about Mitts money.

The long and short of it he has figured a way to protect his assets and will continue to do so.

If elected though he may become the bain of our existence. His own people agree that if his economic plan is implemented the country will attract another 2.1 trillion of deficit over the next decade.

Pres Obama's tax plan has Mitt paying $700k more in taxes than Mitts plan. Who cares as Mitt can make that up in a day.

Mitt has been president of a company but so have moe than 3000 people from Utah. Money makes the difference and allows Mitt to run for president.

When Pres Obama or Mitt make some sense about how they will fix the economy that is broken then it will be time to pay attention.

Til then both candidates are receiving funds from the same super pacs who they will have to pay back in one way or another after the election. Neither seems bothered by that fact.

Mit you can hide your money, some or all but until you bring a plan to fix things don't bother to call.

I agree with ONE OLD MAN (Ogden, UT): the level of disclosure, openess and honesty for a candidate for the Presidency is and should be greater than for the typical taxpayer.

As an American citizen, I have always been a proud taxpayer (not a reluctant or dishonest taxpayer). Also, I served America in the armed forces for 5.4 years, including in Vietnam as an Air Force pilot.

I believe during the Vietnam War, Mitt avoided military service. I suspect he viewed military service as a waste of his extraordinary intellect.

Being patriotic means more than waving a flag (or wearing one on your suit). It means more than singing the Anthem. It means more than paying your taxes honestly. It means more that obeying the law.

Being patriotic involves a lifelong dedication to your country. A willingness to put your country and your countrymen ahead of your own desires.

In my mind Mitt has not done that. Yes, he's obeyed the law. But he hasn't gone Above and Beyond.

So? I don't blame anyone for taking their money offshore. This is a normal response when your government is headed by people who feel they have the right to take people's money simply because they think they have "too much" and can "afford it".

Interesting, isn't it? The media knows all about Romney's finances and yet they don't know (or care) where Obama was actually born.

Patriot Vet- Do you feel Obama puts his country and countrymen ahead of his own desires?

KJB1- Wrongo, dude. Obama's place of birth is still very much in doubt. Unfortunately, the media not only chooses to ignore the issue, they relentlessly attack anyone who brings it up. But the fact is, neither of the two documents Obama has produced look ANYTHING at all like the birth certificates issued by the State of Hawaii in 1961. Do a google search on "Nordyke twins birth certificates" and you will see what I mean. If you aren't afraid of the truth, that is....

Truthseeker: Comparing the lottery is not a good example. The only tax paid to the point of buying the lottery ticket is the One Dollar used to buy the ticket! When you go to collect your million(haha) the Feds will take their cut and, as you know as a fellow Californian, that the State takes a big cut! When you get your 545,000 dollars left your past taxes then until you invest the money into any type of market or just bank it! A big mistake. Reinvest make money, take out profit and pay taxes again!

To NotBuyingIt 9:03 a.m. July 5, 2012

Interesting, isn't it? The media knows all about Romney's finances and yet they don't know (or care) where Obama was actually born.

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They know where he was born. President Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. This has been verified, time and time again, by Hawaii officials.

Don't you think this type of conspiracy theory is getting a bit old? It was resolved a LONG time ago.

I fail to see how this is supposed to make Mitt Romney look worse. So he's even more wealthy than we thought. Oh no! How horrible! He can't possibly be president with that kind of wealth! Give me a break, guys.

They say he's "out of touch" because of his wealth. Well, I suppose that since Obama is also wealthy, he's out of touch, too. So, it seems that the democrats' main point has become that Obama is less out of touch than Romney. I hope they realize how silly their arguments look!

Even if Romney were completely out of touch (and I believe he is not out of touch, given his life experiences), if I were sick and needed a doctor, I wouldn't seek out the doctor most in-touch with me; I'd seek out the one who had the best chance of curing the illness, even if he was "out of touch" with patients.

Our nation and economy are sick and they need a doctor. Obama is a poor choice.

@moderate
Mitt is not the richest candidate

1. Ross Perot
2. Steve Forbes.
3. John Kerry (John Kerry moves to second if you count his wife's net worth of about 1 billion)
4. Mitt Romney

If you go back much further and adjust for inflation George Washington was probably the richest president ever ... worth about $500 million.
Of course John F Kennedy's family was worth way more than that.

They should make it mandatory that to graduate from High School you need to pass an economics and investment class. Most people have no clue how these two work. But they certainly know about global warming, racial inequality and hating the rich. All those democrats that are in the House and the Senate, you think they are just like the average Joe on the street? This November maybe every senator and congressman up for reelection should disclose how much they are worth and how they obtained their money so we can decide if they are one of us before we cast our votes.

The next time you use your cell phone, surf the internet or watch your flat screen television with its 1080p picture just remember that if it were not for some wealthy person investing in an idea that would make them money, the inventions that we take for granted today would not exist. Middle class and poor people do not have the money to make these things possible.

Two substantive issues raised by this article and subsequent posts are:

1) Disclosure - Even if Mitt followed the letter of the law in disclosing offshore investments, he has not followed the spirit of disclosure laws (which exist to determine/discourage/prevent public officeholders' conflicts of interest). For all we know, Mitt could be partnering in unreported offshore investments with Arab sheiks, Taliban leaders, al Qaeda members, etc. This does not seem to cause anybody on this site heartburn.

2) Ill begotten wealth - Has Mitt become rich by using special rules not available to most Americans? In this respect, Taxman has correctly characterized the carried interest rule (others have not), which is only available to a few wealthy people who lobbied for it. Many people earn performance rewards as part of their overall compensation. Mutual fund managers get bonuses depending on results. Salespeople earn much of their income based on performance. The U.S. government isn’t offering them capital gains rates on their performance-based income. So why are Mitt Romney and his associates different?

Stating you don't care if he's rich (mischaracterization), or pointing a finger at Obama (misdirection) do not address the important issues.

George Clooney, President Obama and other prominent Socialists from Europe met in Switzerland recently to fund the Obama campaign.

The international banking cartel that loves to control the nations of the earth with debt have promoted Marxist dogma in Univerties, the media and entertainment with grants, endowments and gifts from their tax exempt foundations. The Ford, Carnegie, Rockefeller foundations all push for socialism and union of the US to an international collective since they (crony bankers) profit from ownership in the cartel of European international banks of which the Federal Reserve is a part.

Mitt is weathly because he dedicated a good portion of his life to make money. Nothing wrong with that but it does help define who he is and what he views as important. As Americans we have the right to decide if we want our leaders to be those who view the creation of monetary wealth as an important value. Personaly, I think his wealth or the ability to make money as irrelevant. I've worked in business for 30 years and most of the wealthy people I know are decent people but the finest people I've met are those who have dedicated their lives to other causes. Look more at what Mitt is proposing and what effect those proposals would have on our country.