Romney: not for the Hispanic Voters and not good for the U.S.

The Hispanic voting in presidential elections has traditionally been more bipartisan than most people realize. Upward of 30 percent of Hispanics voted for Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush (1988) and George W. Bush, with Reagan and George W. Bush winning more than 40 percent in their re-election bids. But since Republican candidates decided to make illegal immigration a wedge issue in recent elections, Hispanics have been fleeing the G.O.P. This year doesn’t bode well either.

In an effort to woo conservatives needed to secure the nomination, Mitt Romney took tough rhetorical stands on illegal immigration. He suggested that the 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. should “self-deport,” a fantasy that, if it came true, would devastate the American economy. And he counted some of the nastiest anti-immigrant characters around among his supporters, including Joe Arpaio, sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona.

Romney has to turn his image around among Hispanic voters, and if he doesn’t his chance of winning in November becomes tougher.

Romney will have to work hard to turn his image around among Hispanic voters, and if he doesn’t his chance of winning in November will become tougher. He needs to win in key states where Hispanics make up a significant portion of eligible voters: Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico.

But all is not lost. While Romney may favor “self-deportation,” President Obama has actually deported more illegal immigrants than any president in history — and he’s done so without regard to whether deportation splits families that include U.S. citizens. And the president has done almost nothing to advance immigration reform, never making it a top legislative priority or using any political capital even when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress.

Romney’s best bet if he wants to soften his image is to embrace the Dream Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants who came here as children if they join the military or attend college for at least two years. If he doesn’t, he could lose not just the overwhelming majority of Hispanic votes, but also the election.

Courtesy of Linda Chavez and The New York Times Opinion column.

We (here at ZINE SCENE) do not support the views of Linda Chavez and feel Romney is out of touch with the American values of the large Hispanic population.  Futhermore, we feel Romney needs to consider creative government expenditures that will stimulate hurting company's as Obama did for Chevrolet while in office.

Romney: "I'm not concerned about the very poor"

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Mitt Romney says he isn't worried about those living in poverty since they have government assistance programs to fall back on. Instead, he wants to focus on helping the middle class.  But not everyone is so sure that the nation's lifelines are truly protecting those who need it.

----- Wait... Are you sure many of the record setting recipients aren't originally from the "Middle Class" Mr Romney???

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Saying the nation had a "very ample safety net," Romney cited Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers as examples of government programs that protect the poor."I'm not concerned about the very poor," the Republican presidential candidate said on CNN Wednesday morning. "There's a safety net there, and if it needs repair I'll fix it. I'm not concerned about the very rich, they're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the heart of America, the 95% of Americans who are right now struggling."

The federal government spends hundreds of billions of dollars to feed, shelter and care for those in poverty, which hit a record 46.2 million people in 2010. Demand has skyrocketed as a result of the Great Recession.A record number of people are now receiving government assistance. Roughly 1 in 6 Americans depend on public programs, with the largest two being Medicaid and food stamps.

Spending on all the government's income-based programs, such as food stamps, has increased by one-third to $900 billion under President Obama, according to the Heritage Institute.

Federal outlays on Medicaid was an estimated $275 billion in fiscal 2011, according to the Congressional Budget Office. On average, some 56.3 million people received Medicaid benefits each month that year, though millions more who qualify don't sign up.

Romney, one of the richest candidates to run for president, supports turning Medicaid into a block grant and letting states control the funds. But advocates for low-income Americans worry that could result in lower federal support for the program and, ultimately, cuts in benefits and eligibility.

As for food stamps, the federal government spent more than $75 billion in fiscal 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nearly 45 million people got help buying food, receiving an average monthly benefit of $134.

Still, about one-quarter of those eligible for food stamps don't receive them, experts say. And for many, the monthly check is not enough to cover all their nutrition needs.

Housing vouchers cost the government another $18.3 billion in fiscal 2012. This program, which shelters 2.1 million households, is the largest federal rental aid initiative. Overall, the government puts a roof over the heads of 5 million Americans through various rental assistance efforts at a cost of $34 billion.

Wall Street bets big on Romney

But unlike food stamps and Medicaid, housing assistance is not an entitlement. The amount is limited by the funding granted by Congress.

Only one-quarter of eligible families receive federal housing aid, according to Doug Rice, senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning group.

So while lifelines do exist for the poor, more can be done to assist the needy, experts said.

"It is a common misconception that we don't have to worry about the very poor because they are covered by existing programs," Elizabeth Lower-Basch, senior policy analyst at CLASP, which advocates for low-income Americans. "In fact, our safety net has many holes." 

First Published: February 1, 2012: 3:53 PM ET

Courtesy of CNN.com By Tami Luhby
http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/01/news/economy/romney_poor/index.htm