MITT AND “THE BOYS”
Posted on: September 8, 2012
As he travels all over the country in his quest to bear the title of POTUS, Mitt is never alone.
Note that at least 2 or 3 of his 5 sons also manage to accompany him on those personal appearances from coast to coast, flanking Dad when not acting as surrogates on his behalf.
I think it safe to assume that none of these boys have been “pink slipped”, offering their time as traveling companions while waiting for their unemployment checks to roll in.
It is probably equally safe to assume that their “earnings” are more a direct result of their sharing a 6 million dollar annual trust fund set up by Dad for their future. That is 6 million dollars each year by the way.
So as Dad manages to shake up his foreign policy creds in suggesting we engage in even more Mideast conflicts, these 5 sons, who have never been faced with national service on any level, are free of the possibility of having to ever face combat proposed on behalf of somebody else’s kids.
While Dad talks of cutting more and more benefits for the nation’s vets and eliminating unemployment insurance as a means of “balancing the budget”, these 5 sons of privilege are exempt from these policies altogether.
When you have as much money as Mitt Romney, the economic future of your kids is always “rosy”. No problem standing behind Dad with big grins on your faces when you will never be faced with the possible loss of a job, or watch your healthcare benefits disappear along with it.
You will never be faced with having to struggle with a healthcare voucher in seeking a private insurer to cover your needs. Your kids will enjoy the privilege of private education no matter where you decide to build your next McMansion. In fact, with that much money at your disposal, those kids may never be faced with rubbing elbows with those forced into failing schools because their own parents did not “plan ahead”.
As Ann Romney tries to impress their “average lives” upon the public, intimating their “love of Costco” as she sits there in her $800 blouse, the appearance of “the boys” in the background is another “feel good” moment of their love and loyalty to “dear old Dad” who has turned their lives into one of extraordinary privilege.
I’m sure they are a loving family, devoted to their parents, wives and children. But as their father roams the country in search of votes, the issues he proposes, outside of more massive tax relief for those who share his income bracket, will never touch one member of that extended group.
It is sheer hypocrisy to suggest that these 5 men will ever face the same living conditions, uncertainty, and loss of the social safety nets that would come with Dad’s plans to change the landscape for the rest of us. It just won’t happen.
These 5 sons of a filthy rich father are exempt from financial hardships and the inequities built into a system that honors their wealth over the common good. As background optics to their parents they exemplify what it means to be above the fray.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know our own kids would never face life’s adversities with an annual unearned income that provides this guaranteed level of security?
Whatever “risks” these Romney sons take in the future, they sleep safe in the knowledge that those Cayman Island/Swiss Bank accounts will serve as their own ATM machines for generations to come.
22 Responses to "MITT AND “THE BOYS”"
September 8, 2012 at 12:31 pm
The false narrative that Romney/Ryan/Rove — R3 — has woven about how Romney came to have his treasures is one piece of work. Romney was not a venture capitalist — perhaps at the very beginning of Bain, but that morphed in short order to being a “private equity” truffle snorter.
In private equity there is no risk — none whatsoever — private equity voyeurs, because that’s what they are, have the whole MRI of a company’s financials including a prostrate exam before they sink a borrowed nickel into it. They know every cent, every contract, every over funded dime in the pension funds, and then they use the tax code as a bartenders guide in order to mix the buyout cocktail that will make them drunk with profits.
Honestly, private equity guys are not that “set the world on fire” bright, but they are ethically and morally vacuous and they eat what they kill. If you are wondering why Romney keeps talking about Staples, Sports Authority, and that niche boutique steel mill — it’s pretty simple, he can’t talk about the rest of the companies that became the roadkill on the way to his 15% carried interest tax rate, his $100 million IRA, his Cayman Island/Swiss tax dodge, and his continued suckling at the Bain trough which has paid him a salary as costumed investment income.
Pat, you’ve gone and done it again — I’m fired up on this wet and rainy Saturday.
September 8, 2012 at 12:38 pm
The fact that they live off “unearned income” is what frosts my cupcakes.
Parading around like they have accomplished something in life is another misnomer when they are merely scions of a legacy account bought and paid for by Dad who himself come up the “hard way”by having it handed to him.
They will never, ever know what it is to live within ones means, get by on a tight budget, or live under the decisions made by others that could threaten their glorified lives.
These are not your “average” every day voters facing uncertainty but a well cushioned group of young men living a life of privilege.
September 8, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Absolutely agree.
One of the little facts that has been glossed over about Romney is that when Mr. Bain offered him the job at the spinoff Bain Capital, he turned it down. Not until he had negotiated a deal guaranteeing his return to the mothership did he accept. “Heads I win, tails you lose,” is on the Romney family crest.
September 8, 2012 at 2:30 pm
Excellent Pat. Now I’m sure the boys will say “it’s not our fault we were born into this wealth” and I would reply that’s true. But what have you done besides your bicycle riding 2 year thingie for your church that could be considered doing something for the public good? Why not pool a million each and form a charitable trust or something and help out some folks who fall throgh the cracks of the diminishing safety-net? Nah, probably too much work to help out “those” people.
That 15% crap has bugged me for awhile. Envy? Not so much as why is your *income* so special?
Prolix I had read that somewhere about Romney having an *out* if Bain Capital flopped. Nothing like taking a real chance, is there?
September 8, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Lot’s of college football today so I probably won’t be around much unless it’s at the half of some game. And I need to change my gravatar too!
September 8, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Great post Pat. I also find that “average life” stuff Ann Romney is pumping to be totally gag worthy. Didn’t these people take out something like 70 grand for a tax deduction for her horse, becuz it is “therapy” for her? These people are clueless about regular middle class living, and what its like to keep slipping backwards while working harder and longer. btw, we paid double Mitts tax rate in 2010, making a fraction of his income.
Colbert did an hilarious bit about how that Chris (? his dad was famous on 60 min) from Fox News was so overcome with emotion at the end of the repub convention, that he kept saying stuff like “you know what, I don’t even want to talk about policies right now…I just want to look at these beautiful families” etc, but when the dem conv was over he had a totally different reaction. Colbert summed it up with a new slogan for Fox: Don’t talk, just watch.
September 8, 2012 at 6:10 pm
fredster I heard that sabans team got ranked #1 this week. Grrrr.
September 8, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Oh yeah, and they just beat Western Kentucky (really? Ohio Valley Conference???) 35 to 0. Funny that they beat Michigan 41-14 the same score we beat N. Texas by, but uh, we didn’t get too many mentions about our win. 
My Tigers and Chat’s Dog’s will be kicking off soon. Aggies were ahead of FL but now the Gators ahead by 3.
September 8, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Chat: from today’s Tulane game:
In a press conference after the Tulane-Tulsa game, Tulane officials said safety Devon Walker is in stable condition at St. Francis Hospital but will need spinal surgery in the next few days after incurring a devastating, accidental helmet-to-helmet hit from a teammate right before halftime.
Walker, a senior starting safety, was playing in his 32nd game in his second year on scholarship at the school when he collided with defensive end Julius Warmsley as the duo was trying to tackle a Tulsa player.
Tulane team doctor Dr. Buddy Savoie said Walker suffered a cervical spine fracture. He is in traction, immobilized, and he being treated for edema (swelling).
Not too good.
September 8, 2012 at 6:55 pm
USC Trojans beat Hawaii last week 49-10, and are beating Syracuse today, but having rain delays.
September 8, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Oh socal: The tea-bagger sex offender from the BCS game last year was scheduled for his court appearance ini nola and it got postponed by Isaac. 
He’ll still have his day in court though.
September 9, 2012 at 12:54 am
Wow! Is everyone in the NYC area okay?
A string of severe storms hit the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Saturday night, including two tornadoes that touched down in New York City and startled residents who often think of twisters as a Midwestern phenomenon.
The two tornadoes struck the edges of Brooklyn and Queens, sending debris flying and knocking out power but causing no serious injuries. The storms also forced sports games to cancel — including the U.S. Open tennis tournament, which postponed the women’s final to Sunday — and caused widespread power outages in the tri-state area
September 9, 2012 at 2:59 am
fredster, terrible for that poor Tulane player. I hope he’ll pull through–and not be paralyzed. I remember that teabagger story from last year. Weird about tornadoes in NYC. We had one in L.A. once in the 80s, right downtown. My brother was there, working in an open highrise at the time and clinging for dear life to a steel stud, while large sheet rocks went flying out of the building. Who knows what weird thing will happen next.
September 9, 2012 at 3:22 am
socal, that must have been like from a disaster movie for your brother! 
It will be interesting to see how the polls handle the 3 wins tonight (last night) and see if LSU and USC flip. When I read the post-game stats the win seemed more impressive. What impressed me (ticked me off) was the dropped passes by receivers. 
they have to do better than that when they start playing games that “count”.
I sent u a tweet asking you to check your mail, can you do than when you have a chance?
about the Tulane player, chat says most of the time when there’s a fx at that point in the cervical area it almost always means paralysis of some sort. The kid wasn’t just a dumb jock; he’s a cell and molecular biology major at Tulane. I guess just have to hope for the best for him. He’s scheduled for surgery in the next day or two; they have to get the swelling down in his spine first.
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September 8, 2012 at 8:17 am
Why should they put themselves out there? That’s for you people.