Romney a fan of Economist Adam Smith?

[JaneQPublic]

Last edited Fri Jan 20, 2012, 04:03 PM - Edit history (1)

During the debate on Thursday, 19 Jan., Romney mentioned that his Capitalist economic philosophies were fashioned after those of economist Adams Smith (author of "The Wealth of Nations&quot .

As an incredibly wealthy person who reported paying only a 15 percent tax rate, Romney should review the following quotes from his favorite economist:

"The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state."

"The rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion."

"Every tax, however, is, to the person who pays it, a badge, not of slavery, but of liberty."

Even though Adam Smith is often regarded as the father of modern economics in general and of Capitalism in particular, it would seem his views are squarely to the left of Romney and the rest of the current field of GOP presidential candidates.

[Bluerthanblue]

1. this is excellent-

thanks for posting. I was wondering about his refrence to Mr. Smith.

[pnorman]

2. Here are some more

"We rarely hear, it has been said, of the combinations of masters, though frequently of those of workmen. But whoever imagines, upon this account, that masters rarely combine, is as ignorant of the world as of the subject.

Masters are always and everywhere in a sort of tacit, but constant and uniform combination, not to raise the wages of labour above their actual rate. To violate this combination is everywhere a most unpopular action, and a sort of reproach to a master among his neighbours and equals. We seldom, indeed, hear of this combination, because it is the usual, and one may say, the natural state of things, which nobody ever hears of.

Masters, too, sometimes enter into particular combinations to sink the wages of labour even below this rate. These are always conducted with the utmost silence and secrecy, till the moment of execution, and when the workmen yield, as they sometimes do, without resistance, though severely felt by them, they are never heard of by other people."

[kwolf68]

3. Adam Smith...

is absolutely to the left of Romney and any other Republican out there.

In fact, the "old school" Republican Party, the party of Teddy Roosevelt is more along the lines of Smith's views, but then again that party hasn't been seen or heard from since.