Hello Mr. Romney.
My name is Debra Contreras, and I am writing to you about the 47% of people in America who did not pay taxes and are on government assistance. You think that those people view themselves as victims and feel entitled to handouts. You also stated that it is not your job to worry about those people. Unfortunately, you have to rely on them voting for you to get the job you are seeking. Hopefully you can fix the possible breach of trust that those statements may have created. However, I have another reason for writing, and that is to satisfy my curiosity. I have some questions that perhaps you can answer for me.
For starters, I wonder if you know the details behind the numbers of who is on government assistance, and why. Based on the views you expressed about them, I don’t think you know much more than the fact they are on assistance of some sort or another without knowing why. Here are some things that I think you should know about people who are poor enough to be on assistance.
Do you know how many of those can not work because of medical conditions that, if treated, would allow them to work? But they are unable to find employment that pays them sufficiently to cover their basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing -- let alone medical expenses -- to work. There are many people on assistance who actually do work, but not enough to pay for their own medical needs. In social work circles that is called under employed.
I am also wondering how many of those 47% are working 40 or more hours a week, enrolled in some type of training program that is designed to get them a better paying job with benefits, or a combination of the two. I wonder this because not only have I been there, I've known many others who have been as well.
For years, I have been seeing headlines on American papers that say America is losing its competitive edge globally. I have read many articles over the past ten years that state better skilled workers -- that means better educated -- as a reason for sending jobs overseas. Some of that 47% are going into academic debt to become a skilled American laborer. That is a personal sacrifice they hope pays off not only for themselves, but for the greater good of our society overall.
For years, I have been seeing headlines on American papers that say America is losing its competitive edge globally. I have read many articles over the past ten years that state better skilled workers -- that means better educated -- as a reason for sending jobs overseas. Some of that 47% are going into academic debt to become a skilled American laborer. That is a personal sacrifice they hope pays off not only for themselves, but for the greater good of our society overall.
We should be supportive of those individual efforts to make America a better place to live. I am aware of the debate of student aid, student loans, and if there is value at the end of the degree. However flawed the system may be, a society does not get skilled workers without education. We should be proud of their commitment to improving themselves which, in turn, improves our society.
I think you should know that many of the 47% live in government housing because they don’t earn enough to afford housing in the private market. They sign up for food stamps and medicaid because even though they are working full time, they are still poor enough to qualify. Many of them work hard not only for themselves, but for their churches, schools, and communities. Hard working citizens that care not only about themselves, but about their communities and their country. Having been raised a Mormon, you should be aware of all this as well as the dear Mormons friends I’ve had who put a priority to living productively, as well as striving to be a blessing to others, motivated by the blessings they receive.
I think you should know that we don’t feel like victims when we receive assistance. In fact, many of the 47% feel like victors when that means that we are able to work towards positive and productive goals that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise. For example, when a social worker encouraged and helped me go to college, it made me feel like Cinderella at the ball(1). Most people who receive needed assistance receive it with not only gratitude, but also gives them a feeling of belonging. America isn’t just the country where they were born and raised, but feels like their homeland because they are part of the family.
I think you should know that we don’t feel entitled to, but grateful, for necessities that you probably take for granted. Things like food, housing, clothing, transportation, and medicine. We are grateful for the opportunities it provides us with that we wouldn’t have otherwise, such as education and employment. When you were in high school, did you ever have to wonder how you were going to go to college because you didn’t want to live your life on minimum wages? Have you ever had to go to an employment office and get a voucher for work clothes, Mr. Romney? Yes, there are legitimately people who would miss out on working if they weren’t given a voucher for a pair of $20 work shoes(2). He was grateful for that $20 break that the government gave him because it meant his family did not become homeless. I am sure you take care that none of your employees are paid well enough to qualify for public assistance even if they work full time.
It may surprise you, Mr. Romney, that a good many of that 47% hope to rise far enough above their current financial circumstances to be able to give a hand to those less fortunate than themselves. As a student, I connected with other ignited students, citizens who wanted not only to do well for themselves, but hoped to make a difference to their communities. This is typically fueled by gratitude for being offered a helping hand. We also appreciate government assistance that allows us to go into business for ourselves, with the embedded hope of helping some of our fellow American citizens. But I think you probably know more about the government helping businesses more than most of us, correct? You probably also know the personal satisfaction that comes from giving back to your fellow Americans with the business breaks you’ve been given.
You should know, Mr. Romney, that many people live this way, not because it is their preferred lifestyle, but because it is their only option. At least they are trying to brighten the corners where they dwell.
Another feeling that we have in abundance, Mr. Romney, is frustration.
We are frustrated because we are doing all the right things with the right attitude but it’s not enough to get us out of the system.
I think you should know that being dependent on the system isn’t exactly a joy ride, Mr. Romney. Not that we aren’t grateful for the help and opportunities: it’s just that for too many, working hard and making the right decisions doesn’t seem to pay off. We don’t have the opportunity to run big businesses because of our inability to pay for the education that we need. We jump through all of the hoops and do all of the tricks, just to be sent back to square one.
We are also frustrated with the discrepancy between the government breaks to businesses that do not seem to result in creating jobs that keep people off government assistance. Everyone keeps track of jobs created, jobs lost, and and employment numbers. We are all quick to blame the government currently in office. But we seem to have overlooked the fact that the government does provide for job creation and retention in the form of big tax breaks for businesses. Tax breaks that add up to more dollars than what the 47% gets in government handouts.
The way it was taught to me in my college economics courses is that government made a bargain with business. The deal was supposed to be that the government wouldn’t charge as much tax to businesses because businesses were going to use that money to take care of it’s business. Unfortunately, it seems that businesses have forgotten that employees are part of the assets of a company, as well as being necessary to staying profitable.
The money business gets to keep was supposed to be used, at least in part, to create jobs that keep people off assistance. But that clearly isn’t working out as intended, not with 47% of the population poor enough to qualify for assistance of some sort.
There is one more thing you should know about the 47%, as well as the other 53% of voters. We are real people, Mr. Romney. We are not just numbers, or pawns on a political chess board. We are the people voting for politicians that have our best interests at heart.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Debra Contreras
(1) I went to a government paid for workshop for employment. I went in the hopes of getting a minimum wage factory job that had benefits. It consisted of a series of tests to help with job matching. Based on my testing that day, the worker I met with said college was my best placement. I did graduate from a community college with honors.
(2)This example comes from a neighbor of mine. He was a young man in his twenties who was married with 2 small children. He obtained a job that paid enough to get him off cash assistance and food stamps. However, if there had not been funding for him to get steel toed boots required for the job, he would have lost the position. He and his family would also have become homeless because he would have been sanctioned from receiving assistance for not following through on a paid position. Fortunately for him and his family, there was government funding available that provided him with a voucher for the needed shoes.
