Richie-Rich Romney

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “Pressed, Romney Shares Tax Data,” illustrates the different world that the Republican candidate lives in compared to the rest of us. With a fortune estimated at $190 to $250 million, Mr. Romney is particularly divorced from reality. His joking about being unemployed, his reference to more than $300,000 in speaking fees as not very much, and other remarks are easily understood by the top one percent.

At a time of increased awareness about income inequality, and the unwillingness of many of the wealthy to pay their fair share, one wonders how this will play with voters in a campaign against President Obama.

Also, yesterday, Mr. Romney revealed that he pays an effective income tax of 15 percent, far less than many with an earned salary. That’s because the Bush tax cuts treat investment income as a separate class, particularly convenient for the wealthy who earn most of their income in this form.

Of course, Romney’s Republican opponents jumped all over each other to take advantage of the most recent revelations. Gone are the days when it was considered poor form to criticize a fellow Republicans. It’s good to see the Republicans duking it out for a change — because that’s the way our democracy was meant to work, and hopefully it will rebound to President Obama’s advantage.