Randi Rhodes: Mr. Loophole

It turns out that the thing that could do in Mitt Romney isn’t his association with the 1 percent, it’s his association with the 15 percent—the 15 percent tax bracket, that is. I have no doubt that everything Mitt does to make his tax rates lower is strictly legal. That’s actually the most disturbing part. Saying something is legal doesn’t make it right, especially when the rich essentially say what will be legal. The tax laws have been written for the rich. What’s worse—a person who breaks the tax laws for their own benefit, or the person who makes the tax laws for their own benefit?

Mitt seems determined to only release his tax returns for last year come April—the taxes he hasn’t even done yet. I’m sure that every year prior to this, Mitt had an army of accountants go over his tax returns before he turns them in. This year, he’s going to have an army of political consultants go over his tax returns before he turns them over. Mitt wants to stall until April so he can just release the latest returns. That’s like getting pulled over for drunk driving and telling the cop that you will supply a breath sample a week from Tuesday. I don’t know what’s more insulting, that Mitt Romney thinks we’re so stupid that we would allow him to get away with that, or that he thinks he’s so privileged that he should be allowed to get away with that.

Mitt also might be using fancy offshore strategies to avoid taxes. Voters will certainly have no problem with that—as long as Mitt is running for President of the Cayman Islands. Mitt might also be taking advantage of a loophole called the “carried interest loophole.” If that sounds like something you would have a hard time understanding... well, that’s intentional. You’re not supposed to understand things like offshore strategies and carried interest. Heck, you’re not supposed to even know about those things. Don’t worry your middle-class head about the tax strategies that rich people like Mitt use. Just shut up and pay your 35 percent, little man!

No matter how disgusted you may be with Mitt Romney, you can always be even more disgusted by Newt Gingrich. Newt has put out an ad trying to capitalize on his racially inflammatory statements during the debate. You see, Newt doesn’t just say the wrong things—he works hard to reap benefits from saying the wrong things!

Today’s Homework | Discuss

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is asked why Romney should release his tax records; Carney notes that Mitt's father released 12 years worth of tax records in 1968...

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