By Sarah Jost

When Mitt Romney speaks, I don’t hear someone who genuinely cares about the American people, or the US in general. What I hear is someone who will say anything, regardless of how much it contradicts what he has said in the past, to gain support for his bid for more power, status, and financial gain. It is extremely difficult to believe that someone who described themselves as ‘moderate,’ ‘progressive,’ and ‘unequivocally’ pro-choice in 2002 could now classify themselves as ‘severely’ and ‘radically’ conservative. Such a drastic change in personal and professional beliefs can only be explained by a relentless quest for wealth and influence. Mitt Romney would do anything to become the president of the United States.

Born into privilege, Romney now has an estimated net worth of $250 million, more than the past eight US presidents combined. One cannot choose the situation into which they’re born, and there is nothing wrong with personal success. Yet Romney’s path to his financial gain is strewn with examples of greed, tax avoidance in the Cayman Island and Bermuda, and untaxable gift trusts. Such avoidance of one’s civic duty not only demonstrates an unwillingness to be a contributing member of American society, but is certainly not a desirable trait in a president of the Untied States.

Romney’s sly manipulation of the law is not limited to tax avoidance. When he wanted to run for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, he had to prove that he had been a resident of the state for a minimum of seven years prior to the election. Despite claiming to be resident of Massachusetts for the past 28 years, Romney had actually claimed his Utah chalet as his primary residence in 1999, 2000, and 2001 in order to receive a 45% discount on his property taxes each of those years. This was not uncovered until later. A Romney aide said that the tax break was inadvertent and Romney never noticed at the time. Anyone who believes that a veteran businessman who has managed to amass himself a fortune of $250 million does not notice a 45% decrease in his property taxes is only fooling themselves.

Romney’s dramatic wealth and quickly compromised ethical behavior in order to facilitate and grow such wealth demonstrate a complete removal from the concerns of the majority of Americans. To appeal to these people, Romney says he won’t raise taxes for middle-income taxpayers. The problem is, Mitt Romney defines middle income as $250,000 a year. The actual median household income in the US is just over $50,000 a year. Romney is not only out of touch with the realities of normal American life, he doesn’t care. He will say or do anything to be elected, not because he cares about the US, but because he wants the power, status, and money that accompany the position.