To N-529260, Caesar, and Kirk...  I'll make the assumption that the three of you are probably familiar with "Atlas Shrugged". It was the story of the looting of America, by the people who made nothing, built nothing, and provided nothing of value to America. It was the suppression of the industrialists and "do-ers" in our country, the constant demands that they provide more, and more, and more, until there just wasn't anything left to give. It was the tale of the eventual destruction of American by the Welfare Mothers and Government Moochers who could only wander around the desolated landscape looking for the next corporation to rape and pillage all while shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Who is John Galt".  Believe it or not, we're seeing something very similar taking place in America today. However, it's the direct polar opposite of Ayn Rand's scenario. In this new scenario, we have lots and lots of people out of work WHO want to work. Nobody wants to stay at home every day, eating cheap mac-n-cheese and spending their days watching Jerry Springer (well maybe a few, but not as many as you think). Everyone I know would like a job. Everyone I know would like to pay their own way through life. Everyone I know would like a job that they can excel at, grow with, and eventually build a career out of... That's being taken away. That is what this election is about...  To those who say, "There. Mitt provided his taxes. He paid his share. Now leave him alone about it.", I'd like to notify you all of the following:  Did you know that the US Tax code back in th 1940's and 1950's had the top tier income's tax rates set to a huge 80-90% tax rate?  Our country saw it's biggest boom and greatest economic expansion during these years. It was known as a progressive tax rate. It was a way for the richest members of our society to acknowledge the benefits they received from living in a capitalistic democratic society that allowed them to reach the riches they had obtained. So, if a guy earned 100 Million dollars one year, he'd pay back 80 to 90 Million dollars into the system.  If we port that argument over to the poor guy who made 10,000.00, then this seems horribly unfair. Taking 8,000-9,000.00 away from a poor guy and leaving him with only 2,000-1,000.00. Draconian!But back to the top cream of our society. Back in the 1940's and 50's. Our Mega-Millionaire who earned 100Million dollars that year, got to keep 10-20Million dollars. Enough to buy a couple of houses, a yacht or two, vacations for his family, college educations for his children, and all the luxuries that 1940-1950 society could provide them.  This was a progressive tax rate. When you make your arguments about "Mitt paid his 14% and we should stop whining", let me agree with you. This is a very reasonable statement on your part. He paid, there's the evidence (even though he seemed to pay very little). It is at this point that the principals of "Atlas Shrugged" starts to break down, and we start to see the fallacy in Ayn Rand's thinking. How much earnings should someone be allowed to keep as they crest one milestone after another (breaking 1million, breaking 10million, 100million, 1billion dollars)? On the surface it just makes sense that people keep what they make...  However, I don't think you gentlemen (N, Caesar, and Kirk) realize that your statements amongst yourselves are similar in nature to the cows being led down a maze of narrow corridors, deeper and deeper into the slaughterhouse, as one cow says to the other, "This isn't so bad. We're hanging out, walking around, enjoying the day, our human handlers are really nice people. They really look like they know what they're doing. We should just keep doing what they tell us, and everything's going to be okay".  You're only kidding yourself. The richest members in our society are not terrible concerned with patriotism towards their country; they are more motivated by the concept of "More" and "Mine".  Let's talk about what really happens to our taxpaying citizens who make a millions upon millions every year.  You can only buy so many houses, so many cars, so many yachts, and so on before "buying stuff" doesn't adequately spend your money. You can squrrel all your money away and build vast heaps of reserve dough, but that money does very little for you then. You can invest it and become even richer still. How could you invest it? You could buys stocks, and bonds, and CD's, and the usual items that go into a financial portfolio for the very rich. You can trust fund it, and you can invest in retirement accounts. Eventually even that leaves the very rich with excess money left in their hands. What to do, what to do...?  Invest in Governement is another way. Become part of a Special Interest group that have their own lobbyists that petition legislators to do things like... Oh... Drop the tax rate on the very wealthy and the corporations they own. Maybe even convince the legislators that reduced tax rates on extremely wealthy people and corporations will inspire them to become job creators. The funny thing about Lobbyists... They don't care about the rest of the American people. They have no interest in Billy Joe Bob and his failing farm. No concern about the legless vet coming back from Afghanistan to no house and no job. No worries about the Senior Citizen on a Social Security income of $800 dollars a month making a decision between the medication they need to survive and their desire to eat at least one meal a day.  Let's think about this more...  Let's go back to our America of the 1940-1950's. So, we had this high tax rate for our highest earners. Did they stop "creating jobs"? No. If anything, it spurred these 1-Percenters onward to make more money to further increase what they got at the end of each year. America prospered during this time. More than any other time in our history.  In the 1960's and 1970's, this higher tax rate for the higher earners was relaxed to 40-70%. Through the 1980's, 1990's, and into the 2000's, it was relaxed even more. Now, people like Romney can pay only about 14% in Federal taxes. They hide their earnings in stock shares and claim this money as Capital Gains so they can achieve this low rate.  In our this scenario... Is our nation prospering like it did in the 1940's and 1950's?  See, it's really a matter of income inequality. The chasm is widening, not because poor people won't get off their butts and work. Not because the government isn't doing their job. The problem is the government IS DOING the job they're being paid to do by the Lobbyists who are financing them.  The extremely wealthy and the affluent businesses can afford Lobbyists who represent their special interests. These Lobbyists spend a lot of the wealth they received amongst our nation's legislators in order to ensure their specific pet projects and tax breaks get enacted. This is what has happened to our tax rates on the extremely wealthy since the 1940's. It's a never ending concession to the wealthy to "keep them happy, and keep them 'creating jobs'". In the meantime, the extremely wealthy and affluent businesses have been working tirelessly to scale back their worker's benefits and pay.  Did you know in the 1980's Reagan and Bush managed to freeze the Federal Minimum wage for 9 years straight. Inflation kept going, but minimum wages were at a standstill. Effectively giving people earning at this rate a "Pay Cut" for every year the wage was frozen.  So... Republicans... Kept prattling on with your "Atlas Shrugged" principals. You will make the wealthy wealthier and the middle class and lower classes poorer. Its a great concept: You should keep what you earn. On a gut level, that makes great sense. Unfortunately, it creates huge divisions in our society. It widens the income inequality ("Those welfare mother's need to get off their asses and get a job"... I know, I know), and will eventually lead our nation back into a feudal serfdom where very few people own most of the nation's assets, and the rest of us work for them hoping to be thrown some table scrapes from time to time.  Why is the current tax bracket for Millionaires, Corporate Executives, and other high level Corporate citizens at historical lows WHILE the Capital Gain's tax rate is also at historical lows? Because the people with lots of money control the lobbyists, who control the PAC and Super-PAC money, and (as as side benefit) often have the ear of our elected officials BEFORE the elected official even spends any time listening to any individual citizen.  Since 1978 average worker salaries have grown by only 5.75% in 2011. Average CEO pay has grown by 725%. That's right. The richest people in our society (Like Mitt Romney) have been jacking up their pay over the past 35 years, while also lowering their tax rates and the amount of money they put back into the system that allows them to reap this level of wealth.  Not to mention. In order for CEO's to keep giving themselves these outrageous raises every year, they have to prove that they are successful at running their businesses. How do they do that year after year after year? Sometimes they're terribly profitable and that's all that it takes, other times they have lean years and dismiss their workers to ensure they keep their bottom line in the realm to ensure they get all their bonus' for that year (don't worry about the worker, he'll find another job eventually).  Are you all still okay with this level of pillaging? No outrage at the "pigs at the trough"? Does anyone NOT believe that the 1% are rigging the game, and are responsible for taking the American dream away from the rest of us? Greed and Avarice are sins. When do we as a nation say "Enough is Enough" and actually go back to a tax rate that is progressively tiered to prevent the richest of our citizens from buying our government?  It's not class envy or class warfare, it's actual concern that a very small segment of our country owns a vast amount of our country; AND, through their lobbying groups also own a large percentage of the legislators we believe we voted into office to work for US!  Romney just happens to be the "Poster Child" for the greedy, binging rich we should have reign in after Wall Street crashed and burned back in 2008. Why would ANYONE put this guy in the White House? Why not just bail Bernie Madoff out of Jail, or go dig up Kenneth Lay and put him in office?
Focusing on Battleground Ohio… The campaigns release two new TV ads summing up their messages in the Buckeye State… On Romney’s tax returns… On Obama’s do-no-harm week… Dueling “60 Minutes” interviews served as a debate preview  …