Personally, I'd just as soon not see Willard Inc.'s tax returns -- I'm feeling economically depressed enough

I know we saw this Paul Noth New Yorker cartoon on Tuesday, but I like it a lot. It says so much about Willard Inc.'s, er, appeal.

by Ken

There's actually a significant development on the "Understanding Willard Inc." front, part of an important development on the rollingstone.com front, where our friend Rick Perlstein is going to be writing a weekly column. The first installment, "What Mitt Romney Learned From His Dad," is up now, and it's a killer. I'm going to be writing about it, but it really needs to be read, not written about.

Meanwhile, Paul Krugman, in a blogpost today, explains why we still need to see Willard's tax returns, which he's saying he'll release, pretty likely, oh, April-ish.

January 17, 2012, 10:59 AM

We Still Need To See Those Returns

Aha. Romney concedes that the estimates people have been making about his taxes are basically right:

At an event in Florence, SC, Mitt Romney told reporters that his effective tax rate is probably close to 15% because most of his income comes from investments, reports Bloomberg’s Julie Davis.

And an immediate question is, do you agree that unearned income should be taxed at a rate so much lower than earned income?

Besides, he’s still fudging: how much of that is true investment income, and how much is carried interest, which is actually earned income that for reasons unclear manages to get taxed like investment income (making nonsense of the claim that investment income should face low taxes because it has already been taxed once)?

Oh, and don’t give me the argument that private equity is special because it’s a risky business, in which you put in a lot of effort for an uncertain return. So is any kind of small business venture; and so, as it happens, is textbook writing. Yet small businessmen and textbook authors pay normal tax rates.

And speaking of theories about Willard Inc., admirers of his electrifying oratorical and campaign style will want to check out this new theory.

Romney Under Pressure to Prove He Was Manufactured in US
Rivals Demand He Produce Label

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (The Borowitz Report) – Controversy swirled at the Republican debate in South Carolina last night as Mitt Romney’s rivals pressured the GOP frontrunner to prove that he was manufactured in the United States.

The other candidates for the Republican nomination repeatedly pounded the former Massachusetts governor on the issue throughout the night, demanding that he produce a label proving that he was made in the U.S.A.

The attacks came amid rumors that Mr. Romney was assembled in a plant overseas, possibly in France, where a microchip was installed enabling him to speak French.

“At a time when we are losing an increasing number of manufacturing jobs to other countries, can we really afford to have a President who wasn’t made here?” asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Former Senator Rick Santorum joined in the attacks, saying that if it is proven that Mr. Romney was assembled overseas he might be liable for tariffs and customs duties.

Texas Governor Rick Perry abstained from the attacks, but only because he seemed unclear as to who Mr. Romney was.

The former Massachusetts governor did little to tame the controversy, flailing his arms wildly at one point as smoke billowed from his head.

“Attendez!” Mr. Romney barked stiffly, drawing hoots from the debate audience.

Perhaps in an attempt to deflect attention away from the controversy, the Romney campaign announced today that the candidate had received the endorsement of the IBM supercomputer known as Watson.

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