Opportunity is in our DNA; dependency is death to initiative
What is it about American culture that has led us to become the most powerful nation in the history of the world? We believe in hard work and education. We love opportunity: almost all of us are immigrants or descendants of immigrants who came here for
opportunity--opportunity is in our DNA. Americans love God, and those who don't have faith, typically believe in something greater than themselves. The values and beliefs of the free American people are the source of our nation's strength and they
always will be.
The threat to our culture comes from within. The 1960's welfare programs created a culture of poverty. Some think we won that battle when we reformed welfare, but the liberals haven't given up.
At every turn, they try to substitute government largesse for individual responsibility. Dependency is death to initiative, risk-taking and opportunity. Dependency is a culture-killing drug. We have got to fight it like the poison it is.
Creating jobs helps poorest workers; not cash handouts
Q: Democrats say your economic plan doesn't give any money to the 50 million Americans who don't pay taxes.
A: Well, my system is primarily based on trying to create jobs, not handing out cash to individuals. I do lower the lowest income tax bracket
from 10% to 7.5%. And that helps people at the low economic level. But the heart of what I'm doing is trying to get businesses to become more active, buying capital equipment, trying to get businesses to grow in this country and to create more jobs.
Q: But what about those 50 million who don't pay any taxes? Nothing for them?
A: Well, it's focused on jobs. What you want to do is provide the incentives to help companies to be create new jobs. Obviously, the best antidote to having an economic
slowdown is growth in the business sector, creating jobs, and that generates more income for everybody. But for those that are not paying any taxes at all, simply writing a check doesn't seem to me to be the right course to follow.
Budget Item 7004-3036 was reduced by the Governor from $1,221,925 to $1,000,000; the Governor disapproved $141,000 for Just-A-Start housing stabilization conflict management services, a program to prevent homelessness; and $80,925 for the
Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. A vote of YES would override the Governor's veto and fund the two programs.
Source: MassScorecard.org Bill H.4001; roll call 127 passed 143-8
Jul 14, 2005
Vetoed studying how MA can overcome federal workfare rules
The governor vetoed the part of Budget Item 1599-4408 which authorized a study on potential state responses to federal welfare rule changes. The study would propose methods to maintain existing welfare coverage when federal changes reduced such coverage.
Romney suggested three policy changes: requiring welfare recipients to go to work immediately; eliminating capital gains taxes for firms that invest in inner-city enterprise zones and awarding tax credits for hiring poor residents of those areas;
and imposing a crime crackdown with tough mandatory minimum sentences.
