Dear John: You seemed aghast to find out that Mitt Romney has absolutely no support among black voters. Why? Romney has barely acknowledged there are black people on the planet, let alone within voting range. Are times hard? To quote another Republican paragon of racial harmony, “You betcha.”
But Republicans are as much to blame as the president; I seem to recall some guy named Bush put us in this mess to begin with.
You’re right — Romney displays the off-putting air of an Ivy League-educated fat cat, but it was no fluke he was booed when he recently addressed the NAACP. Everything he stands for says he’ll either ignore minorities altogether or put policies in place that will make things worse for blacks, Hispanics and Asians.
He’s done his best to rip Obama about the economy, yet he hasn’t offered any feasible solutions. When he does speak, it’s for another “minority” — six-figure white Americans that stand to benefit from his winning the election.
Maybe he can join Palin’s reality show — if she’ll have him. M.J.
Dear M.J. Personally, I’m thinking of voting for a guy named Nota in the coming election, which stands for None of the Above.
I agree with almost everything you said. But assigning blame for this economic mess goes a lot further back than the Bush administration, or even Clinton before that.
Bill Clinton’s people were in favor of homeownership for the masses. It was a shrewd political move, even if it turned into an economic disaster.
Alan Greenspan, the worst Federal Reserve chairman of all time, was complicit in this mess by keeping interest rates too low for too long and allowing bubbles — including one in housing — to develop.
And Congress and bankers enticed people to borrow money they really shouldn’t have. Blame them too.
But even before that, Madison Avenue persuaded two generations of Americans that they could own anything they wanted. Save to buy something? Hell, just put it on your credit card.
As I said in a recent column, blacks have done poorly under President Obama. Would they do better under President Romney? Who knows? But if I were the people running Romney’s campaign, I certainly would point out that the unemployment rate among blacks is 15 percent, nearly twice as high as that of whites.
Would Romney favor rich people over poor, no matter what race? That, of course, is yet to be seen.
But it will be OK with me if I never hear the term “trickle-down” economics again — i.e., if rich people make more money, the scraps will fall off the table to be picked up by the poor.
I’m still waiting for a little of the riches to trickle my way.
Dear John: I am not rich like Mitt Romney, but I own several pieces of real estate and three small businesses. And I also paid less than 13 percent in taxes in 2011.
I bought a bed-and-breakfast, and my grocery bills, utilities are now 100 percent tax deductible.
Be creative. N.K.
Dear N.K. “Be creative.”
That’s exactly what the IRS likes to hear.
Do me a favor and drop me a note when you get out of jail. Deducting all your food and utilities may be just a tad too creative.
Send your questions to Dear John, The N.Y. Post, 1211 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10036, or john.crudele@nypost.com.