Mitt Romney's off the record remarks are potentially a very
serious problem for him. By dividing the country into those who
pay taxes and those who don't pay taxes, the former
Massachusetts governor has made both a substantive error and a
political error, and one that will serve as a distraction at the
very least.  The governor is wrong to say that the 47% don't pay
income taxes.  Sixty-one percent of those people are paying
payroll taxes at a rate of 15% or more, which is higher than the
13.5% rate that the governor himself has paid. These are people
who almost certainly would like to pay income taxes.  They are
typically under employed, or are earning less than a family of
four needs to support itself.  They are just as hardworking and
committed as people making a lot more money.  So, the governor
is simply wrong.  Another 22% of people in this category are
those receiving senior citizen benefits like Medicare and
Medicaid, and presumably a large percentage of them have been in
the work force previously. 