Romney promises to give his salary to charity if elected President

[cybrsage]

AP
Romney Says 'No Salary' if President
Tuesday May 29, 12:14 pm ET
By Glen Johnson, Associated Press Writer
Romney Pledges Salary to Charity if Elected President


DOVER, N.H. (AP) -- Republican Mitt Romney, conceding that his business career helped him make more money than he expected, said Tuesday he would likely decline a salary as president and instead donate the money -- and more -- to charity.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x993206

It is a bit old, but I had not heard about it until today. I selected the DU as my source so no one could claim it was biased towards Romney.

 

[DaveSimmons]

That's a nice PR stunt, but part of what he would do as president is make sure that his investment income continues to be taxed at 15% instead of a more reasonable ~20%. He'd also make sure that offshoring money to avoid taxes continues to be legal.

Give up $400K, save $x million in taxes.

 

[xBiffx]

That's a nice PR stunt, but part of what he would do as president is make sure that his investment income continues to be taxed at 15% instead of a more reasonable ~20%. He'd also make sure that offshoring money to avoid taxes continues to be legal.

Give up $400K, save $x million in taxes.

That's a pretty substantial bet. I'm not about to wager $400K on Congress, no thank you.

 

[child of wonder]

I'd rather he pay his entire salary towards the national debt and match it with his own funds.

 

[Atreus21]

I'd rather he pay his entire salary towards the national debt and match it with his own funds.

Good idea, but $400,000 a year (approx.) matched by his own funds...when we're spending about 10 billion dollars a day...

 

[DaveSimmons]

Even without giving himself the tax savings, he doesn't need the money so giving it up is an easy bit of marketing. And he'd make back that much from his eventual book deal.

But even without that: he really wants to be president. He'd probably pay much more than $400K / year to get the office. Given his net worth the money doesn't mean much.

 

[umbrella39]

File this under the not going to matter column. Magnanimity at it's finest!

 

[xBiffx]

This asshole is going to keep his Nobel Peace Prize award money though.

 

[randomrogue]

Really? That's awesome! I'm gonna vote for him now!

 

[Todd33]

How about those tax returns instead?

 

[Thump553]

He'a allergic to reporting earned income.

 

[child of wonder]

Good idea, but $400,000 a year (approx.) matched by his own funds...when we're spending about 10 billion dollars a day...

Doesn't make a big dent, I know. But if the national debt is a moral issue, as he says, at least making the effort would lead me to believe he is actually sincere.

 

[dawp]

Even without giving himself the tax savings, he doesn't need the money so giving it up is an easy bit of marketing. And he'd make back that much from his eventual book deal.

But even without that: he really wants to be president. He'd probably pay much more than $400K / year to get the office. Given his net worth the money doesn't mean much.

I'd say he's already spent more than $3.2mil. of his own money just on this campaign alone.

 

[xBiffx]

Picture morals.

 

[GoPackGo]

I guarantee I know which charity the money will go to.

 

[cybrsage]

Which?

 

[Kadarin]

That "charity" would of course be the Mormon church.

 

[momeNt]

That "charity" would of course be the Mormon church.

Problem? Are they not capable of carrying out worthwhile charitable endeavors?

 

[cybrsage]

That "charity" would of course be the Mormon church.

That would be great of him. The LDS Charities are some of the better ones out there:

Wheelchairs

LDS Charities partners with local organizations that provide basic wheelchair services to make and sustain changes for improvement of the provided services by distributing appropriate manual wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and canes.

Neonatal Resuscitation Training

Around 10% of all newborns need resuscitation. Training provided by LDS Charities gives health care providers the tools they need to help these babies breathe.

Immunization

Church-supported immunization against such dangerous diseases as measles, diarrhea, and pneumonia has contributed significantly to the worldwide decrease in mortality rates for children with diseases.

Clean Water

With sustainable safety and health in mind, LDS Charities has organized the construction and maintenance of over 330 water projects in 64 countries. These projects bring clean and fresh water closer to villages and provide sanitation solutions.

Food

Teaching agricultural and nutrition principles to low-income families brings them together, makes them more healthy, and enables their financial success.

Emergency Response

When a natural disaster hits a region where local resources are strained or nonexistent, LDS Charities responds with needed relief.

Vision Care

LDS Charities supplies essential technical training, equipment, supplies, and administrative support to health care organizations and eye care professionals who provide services to the poor.

http://ldscharities.org/?lang=eng

 

[werepossum]

That would be great of him. The LDS Charities are some of the better ones out there:


http://ldscharities.org/?lang=eng

We just wrote our first ever check to LDS Charities. My wife's best friend's mom just passed, and she requested it instead of flowers. I certainly have no problem with them, they do some good work at much lower overhead than most charities.

 

[Nintendesert]

He already gives a boatload to charity as it is. I know people are going to hate on him for a lot of things due to elections but if every rich person gave to charity as much as Romney does we wouldn't want to tax them more and the country's charities would be very well funded.

 

[HomerJS]

That "charity" would of course be the Mormon church.

Cool now they can buy another one of these...

 

[PJABBER]

He already gives a boatload to charity as it is. I know people are going to hate on him for a lot of things due to elections but if every rich person gave to charity as much as Romney does we wouldn't want to tax them more and the country's charities would be very well funded.

Exactly, but the Democrats don't believe in charity - they would rather make involuntary contributions (taxes) to government that will then redistribute it according to who will vote for them.

Politico reported,

“Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was far more generous to charities than President Barack Obama or Vice President Joe Biden last year, both in dollar terms and as a percentage of income,”

“Romney and his wife, Ann, gave 29.4 percent of their income to charity in 2011, donating $4,020,772 out of the $13,696,951 they took in. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama gave 21.8 percent of their income to charitable organizations last year, donating $172,130 out of the $789,674 they made.”

The Wall Street Journal wrote,

“The Republican candidate’s giving reflects a tendency his party would like to see replicated more widely. Republicans favor a world in which people pay fewer taxes and give more to charity, believing that private spending is more effective than that of the federal government.”

 

[Nemesis 1]

He already gives a boatload to charity as it is. I know people are going to hate on him for a lot of things due to elections but if every rich person gave to charity as much as Romney does we wouldn't want to tax them more and the country's charities would be very well funded.

You mean like they were when I was a young lad. NO ! Say it isn't so.

 

[moonbogg]

Fuck this asshole. If given away, that salary is a tax write off or will serve him in some other way besides just the PR, and its nothing anyway for this uber rich, self serving prick. At least Obama pretends to give half a shit about non rich Americans.