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Romney Put Foot In Mouth Again
Posted by: Linda Carbonell on August 10, 2012. 
From Creative Commons
Appearing in Iowa, Mitt Romney quipped that people around the world are worried that America is going to become “like Greece or like Spain or Italy, or like California.” Wow, a four-fer. Not quite as good as the six-fer in Jerusalem, but still, that’s pretty bad.
California? On Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown said while visiting a Frito-Lay distribution center near Los Angeles that Romney needs to re-evaluate that assessment, that Romney’s statement was “just silly.”
Here’s a few facts about California’s economy. There are only eight countries on the planet have bigger economies than the state of California. The gross state product of California is $1.9 Trillion a year. Their current debt load is $41 Billion including their deficit, debt owed to the Federal government and money owed to the public school system. That is an astounding 2.16% ratio of debt to GSP.
Yes, they have 10.7% unemployment. They have cities preparing to declare bankruptcy, mostly because of unfunded pensions (they figured they could pay pensions as they went along instead of setting up funding in advance). They have sanctuary cities where illegals are not deported and receive state assistance. But a 2.16% state debt ratio? If California were a country, it would have one of the lowest debt ratios in the world.
And the world is worried about our debt? Really? I thought this man had an MBA and was running on his knowledge of business? How does he not know what it means that our treasury bonds – the means by which we borrow money – are paying negative interest? China lends us $100 and get $98 back. Foreign nations, banks and investors are paying us to keep their money safe.
“Just silly” doesn’t cover what Mitt Romney said. It was grossly stupid on every level. This is how the Republicans hope to win the election, by scaring Americans to death, by convincing Americans that we are on the path to national bankruptcy, by saying that the sky is falling and we’re going to hell in a handbasket. With Romney, it’s “damn the facts, full speed ahead!”
You are here: Home » Commentary & Analysis » Op-Eds » Romney Put Foot In Mouth Again
Romney Put Foot In Mouth Again
From Creative Commons
Appearing in Iowa, Mitt Romney quipped that people around the world are worried that America is going to become “like Greece or like Spain or Italy, or like California.” Wow, a four-fer. Not quite as good as the six-fer in Jerusalem, but still, that’s pretty bad.
California? On Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown said while visiting a Frito-Lay distribution center near Los Angeles that Romney needs to re-evaluate that assessment, that Romney’s statement was “just silly.”
Here’s a few facts about California’s economy. There are only eight countries on the planet have bigger economies than the state of California. The gross state product of California is $1.9 Trillion a year. Their current debt load is $41 Billion including their deficit, debt owed to the Federal government and money owed to the public school system. That is an astounding 2.16% ratio of debt to GSP.
Yes, they have 10.7% unemployment. They have cities preparing to declare bankruptcy, mostly because of unfunded pensions (they figured they could pay pensions as they went along instead of setting up funding in advance). They have sanctuary cities where illegals are not deported and receive state assistance. But a 2.16% state debt ratio? If California were a country, it would have one of the lowest debt ratios in the world.
And the world is worried about our debt? Really? I thought this man had an MBA and was running on his knowledge of business? How does he not know what it means that our treasury bonds – the means by which we borrow money – are paying negative interest? China lends us $100 and get $98 back. Foreign nations, banks and investors are paying us to keep their money safe.
“Just silly” doesn’t cover what Mitt Romney said. It was grossly stupid on every level. This is how the Republicans hope to win the election, by scaring Americans to death, by convincing Americans that we are on the path to national bankruptcy, by saying that the sky is falling and we’re going to hell in a handbasket. With Romney, it’s “damn the facts, full speed ahead!”
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