Thursday, April 12, 2012

J is for JAB; Rosen vs.Romney

Everyone has probably heard now about Hillary Rosen, a DNC consultant, who made disparaging remarks recently about Mitt Romney's wife Ann, saying that she "has actually never worked a day in her life.”  To put her statement in context, she was trying to disqualify Mrs. Romney's understanding of what women around the country were telling her they are concerned about.  Rosen's implication was that if Romney never earned a paycheck, then she was unqualified to comment on financial issues.

I would like to see the look on my Mom's face if someone made that suggestion about her fiscal skills, even though as a mother of 8, she also "never worked a day in her life!"

Rosen's JAB was untenable on a few fronts.  Of course a stay at home Mom understands financial matters as well as one who earns the paycheck.  It is the judicial budgeting and spending of money that requires the real skill.
Secondly, Romney claims that she was hearing from women.  Not a particular group of women, but all women no matter if their work was followed by a paycheck or just by more work, have been telling Romney they were concerned about the future debt load their children and grandchildren would have to bear.

Thirdly, and finally.  Men and women in this country can not be distinguished from one another in the dark haze of this clouded economy.  Under Obama's budget, which was voted down without a single vote in its favor, and his continued urgency to raise taxes first on the wealthy, and on everyone who has any 'capital gains', all of us will continue to suffer economically. The looming threat of unknowable and ever more stringent regulations keeps us all, men and women, paycheck earners and paycheck distributors, choking in the dark.

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