LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Romney's tax refusal a red flag
7/26/2012Mitt Romney's refusal to release multiple years of tax returns is one of the many red flags that should concern voters ("Don't complain -- explain," editorial, July 18).
Unlike his father, George, who released 12 years of returns when he ran for president, to date Mr. Romney has released only the 2010 return and his estimated 2011 return. Nor will he disclose his bundlers, the people who raise millions of dollars for his campaign. George W. Bush released the names of his bundlers.
This refusal is only the tip of the iceberg in a long pattern of duplicity and financial practices unworthy of a presidential candidate. His honesty about when he actually left Bain Capital aside, there is the matter of money the Obama campaign says he has in a Cayman Islands tax haven, a Swiss bank account blind trust, and a shell corporation in Bermuda that was not disclosed on seven different forms.
Mr. Romney emphasizes that all his investment strategies are legal. But are they ethical for a man who is running on a platform of improving economic conditions in America?
He promises skill as a job creator, yet Bain was touted as a pioneer of outsourcing and company downsizing.
Add to the record his flip-flops on health-care reform, gun policy, global warming, and abortion, and a disturbing pattern emerges. We are asked to believe what he says and ignore his record.
Susan Matz
Homerdale Avenue
Obama needs to come clean first
When President Obama releases his verified long-form birth certificate and his complete college transcripts, and rescinds his claim of executive privilege in the Fast and Furious guns fiasco, then The Blade and Democrats can ask for and deserve a response from Mitt Romney about releasing more of his tax returns.
Bob Green
McClure, Ohio
Conservatives must pressure Romney
Why aren't Donald Trump and Rush Limbaugh bashing Mitt Romney for not turning over more of his income tax returns? What's he hiding?
Carol Deal
Oregon
Obama gets away without criticism
I can only imagine the level of criticism that would have been directed at President George W. Bush by the mainstream media if he used executive privilege as President Obama did when he was confronted with the botched gun-running operation called Fast and Furious ("How Obama is like Bush," op-ed, June 30).
The crimes of this administration are ignored.
Laurie Bahnsen
Oregon
Events mark differences
Recent local events reveal the difference between the two presidential candidates.
One meets in a public place in Maumee, with people who stood in line for hours in the hot sun to get a free ticket to his appearance ("Obama's Maumee rally ups ante on Ohio tour," July 6).
The other appears at an exclusive private club in Toledo, with attendees paying a minimum of $10,000 each for a "photo op" or $50,000 to attend his luncheon ("GOP candidate visits Toledo, Bowling Green; Romney says Obama trying to divide nation," July 19).
Who really represents the working-class people of America?
Linda Detrick-Jaegly
Lake Township
Good for Bain, but bad for the country
Knowing Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital leads me to conclude that he would be the first person I would choose to run my company, and the last person I would choose to run my country.
Jim Wagner
Sylvania Township
GOP candidates out of touch
When he was running for president in 2008, U.S. Sen. John McCain could not remember how many houses he had. Mitt Romney has a car elevator in one of his houses. His wife drives a couple of Cadillacs.
Tells you something about GOP candidates for president -- maybe all we need to know.
John Galbraith
Maumee
Limbaugh more like Bane character
Rush Limbaugh says that the liberals in Hollywood are at it again. In the movie The Dark Knight Rises, he says the villain is named Bane purposely to sound like Bain, the company Mitt Romney ran.
The character of Bane was created in 1993, long before Mr. Romney's decision to run for president.
Bane takes drugs and does evil things. That reminds me more of Mr. Limbaugh than Mr. Romney.
Bill Pieper
Oregon
Obama hurting small businesses
I appreciate Mitt Romney's understanding of small business. I urge the Obama Administration to rethink the complex and unnecessary regulations it continues to impose on us small-business owners.
The administration's disdain for small businesses is evident. President Obama's recent statement, "if you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen," shows his and his administration's lack of understanding of what it takes to run a small business.
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and are built by entrepreneurs from the ground up.
I encourage Mr. Romney, should he be given the chance, to give small-business owners a seat at the table when new regulations are discussed, and to enforce existing rules instead of creating new ones. These changes would allow us to hire more employees.
Billye Leininger
Owner Leininger Floor Covering Archbold, Ohio
Sadly, homeless shelters' funding a drama
Those of us who are concerned about the homeless were part of a drama in which shelters were defunded ("Grant distribution decided; Council votes 7-2 to ease cuts to shelters, boost EOPA funds," July 18).
For weeks, desperate attempts were made to re-fund them, culminating in a save by Toledo Mayor Mike Bell, after a little came off the top for the Economic Opportunity Planning Association of Greater Toledo.
We saw how the sausage was made (read: the new process for funding), and the unseemly politics within the city's Department of Neighborhoods.
We also saw a community whose members flooded City Council chambers and the mayor's office. We thank the residents of Toledo for their support.
However, none of this had to happen. If the past process for funding had been followed this year, even with a modest cut, there would not have been weeks of uncertainty and fear for the homeless community.
Council member Lindsay Webb called on the council to establish a committee to look at ways to improve the allocation process. This is necessary to re-establish the trust that people of Toledo have in city government. To make sure that this is a fair and transparent review process, stakeholders should be represented.
It was clear how little City Council knew about the process and these agencies. By including the four agencies that were almost left out, council members will have a better knowledge of these groups. They will have a chance to develop a process that cannot be taken over by individuals with an agenda, and will result in funding allocations that are fair to all involved.
Robert Robinson
Board President Aurora Project Inc. North Superior Street