Mitt Romney on Welfare & Poverty Former Republican Governor (MA); presidential nominee-apparent

47% believe they are victims, entitled to you-name-it

Romney's initial observation, that the Democrats are using entitlements to try to make voters dependent on the big government, has some substantive force. But his conclusion--"my job is not to worry about those people"--is precisely backward. Rather than writing off the 47 percent, we need to reach out to them with economic opportunity.

People in homeless shelters are used to being ignored

I admire his willingness to shoulder some of the responsibility for the problem, but as matter of fact, Romney has a splendid record of helping people in all walks of life. A leader in his church, he has been fully engaged in its philanthropic efforts over the years. As an employer, he showed his concern for even the most junior employee, and he has given millions of dollars to help those who are less fortunate. Mitt Romney is a model of compassion for those less fortunate than himself, but how many people know about it?

Compare the charitable giving of Mitt Romney, a well-to-do empty nester, to the other wealthy empty nester on the national ticket, Joe Biden. But Romney is the uncaring, wealthy Scrooge, and Biden the common, compassionate Bob Cratchit.

I'm not concerned about very poor; they have safety net

Asked whether his words might strike some as odd, Romney said: "We will hear from the Democrat party the plight of the poor; we have a safety net to help those that are very poor." Romney added that he's more worried about the unemployed, people living on Social Security and those struggling to send their kids to college.

Democrats and Republicans alike pounced and the GOP front-runner quickly sought to explain his remarks. "No, no, no. You've got to take the whole sentence," said Romney, noting that his remark was consistent with his theme throughout the race, adding: "My energy is going to be devoted to helping middle-income people."

My faith would inform my presidency

In the 2008 Republican primary, Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's Mormon faith was likewise perceived as an issue by some voters. Claiming that many would be reluctant to pull the lever for a person of his beliefs, some pundits and political advisors urged him to "do a JFK." Just give a speech, they told him, and reassure voters that your faith will have nothing to do with your presidency. Instead, he gave a thoughtful speech that eloquently and correctly described the role of faith in American public life.

Unlike JFK, Romney declared that our religious liberty is "fundamental to America's greatness." And he spoke openly of "how my faith would inform my presidency, if elected."

Entitlements: focus on future beyond next election

Opportunity is in our DNA; dependency is death to initiative

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

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.

Vetoed $220K for state-run homelessness projects

Vetoed studying how MA can overcome federal workfare rules

Faith-based programs to provide social services

Critics of the faith-based effort warn that Romney's move bolsters President Bush's attempt to get more federal dollars to religious organizations carrying out social services, a policy they say is eroding the traditional division between church and state. ''The Bush administration is trying to break down the church-state wall and give public money to the churches without the legal safeguards that ought to be in place," said one critic.

Faith-based organizations apply directly for the federal grants, but Romney said the state can assist groups in the application process.

Would require welfare recipients to work