Here are the Numbers: Romney's Wealth vs. Gingrich's Debt Round 2

Here are some numbers on the issue I brought up yesterday. The last campaign finance reports, which ran through September, showed Mr. Gingrich carried more than $1.2 million in debt, while Mr. Romney had $14.6 million cash on hand. Is Gingrich really the man you want running a debt-ridden country on the brink of a sovereign debt crisis?

Romney's Wealth vs. Gingrich's Debt

As Newt Gringrich surges in the polls, the GOP presidential candidate is struggling to get out from under a mountain of debt from luxury jets and other pricey expenses racked up early in his campaign. How are conservatives falling for this guy!? He can't even get his own campaign finances under control, HE IS IN DEBT! How is he supposed to even come close to fixing the financial disaster America is in now, he played a part in expanding our national debt by supporting big government through the creation of ever growing bureaucracies like the Department of Education!

Now let's take a look at Mitt Romney's financial situation. Romney’s net worth is between $190 million and $250 million. He made and managed his money through capitalism and understanding how the economy works, not through sleezy back room deals like Mr. Gringrich has been known for. Furthermore, as Mitt Romney made his fortune largely from founding his venture capital firm, Bain Capital that created jobs and strengthened the economy, while Gingrich has spent his whole career in politics supporting the expansion and over spending of government when it benefited him politically and financially.

Must Be the Money

The Obama administration has decided to invest $433 million in Siga Technologies’ new ST-246 smallpox vaccine. On the surface, this appears to be a worthwhile investment since smallpox is a terrible and contagious disease. But a more in-depth look by the Los Angeles Times has revealed a likely ulterior motive that has little to do with curing smallpox. First of all, smallpox has virtually been eliminated here in the U.S., but just to be safe, the country has already stockpiled the original vaccine in case a smallpox outbreak did occur. There is actually enough of the medicine to inoculate the entire U.S. population and quickly treat people exposed to the virus. Second, the new ST-246 vaccine has not even been tested on humans, meaning there is no evidence that this vaccine is even effective. Therefore, the Obama administration is investing $433 million in a drug that is not needed and not tested. This is sounding awfully familiar to the Solyndra deal, and thereby reeks of a scandal.

With further investigation Mr. Obama’s motives become apparent. Siga Technologies’ controlling shareholder is a billionaire by the name of Ronald O. Perelman. Perelman is known for being one of the world’s wealthiest men and a loyal donor to the Democratic Party. Furthermore, back in June 2010, Siga named Andy Stern (former head of the SEIU) to its board. “We spent a fortune to elect Barack Obama -- $60.7 million to be exact -- and we're proud of it." boasted Andy Stern in the Las Vegas Sun. The funding not only helped to bring about Obama’s electoral success, but also landed Stern a prominent seat at the table of every major policy discussion at the White House, including economic and healthcare reform.

Surprisingly, the deal gets even worse. White House officials shamelessly pulled out all the stops to make this deal possible. This process included overriding bureaucrats who advised against the deal and Siga’s outrageously high bid, replacing government negotiators, and blocking companies from submitting competing bids.

Last but not least, Siga is bound to making a killing from its dealings with the White House. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the contract calls for Siga to deliver 1.7 million doses of the drug for the nation’s biodefense stockpile. The price of approximately $255 per dose is well above what the government’s specialists had earlier said was reasonable, according to internal documents and interviews.

Since when did it become okay for the Fed to invest hard-working taxpayer dollars in “green” automobiles and unnecessary biodefense? Is it not obvious that such investments quickly lead to the corrupt practice of bribing billionaires and union leaders for donations and campaign support? The U.S. has strict laws against such practices, yet the Obama administration continues on with its unscrupulous fundraising efforts, not to mention the scandals that have yet to be uncovered. If only the mainstream media and its viewers would scrutinize the current president of the United States as much as they scrutinize those who are running for the GOP nomination.

By Mike Brownfield at the Heritage Foundation

To President Obama, it is “fair” to raise taxes on families and businesses earning more than $250,000 a year by raising their income tax rates and limiting their deductions. That must also mean he believes that they currently pay too little in taxes.

Yet the data show the highest-earning families and businesses already pay the lion’s share of the federal income tax burden. According to the IRS, the top 1 percent of income earners—those earning more than $380,000 in 2008—paid more than 38 percent of all federal income taxes while earning 20 percent of all income. The top 10 percent ($114,000 and above) earned 45 percent of income and paid 70 percent of all taxes. At the same time, the bottom 50 percent of income earners—those earning less than $33,000—earned 13 percent of all income and paid less than 3 percent of federal income taxes.