Mitt Romney's 47 Percent Disproportionately Live In Republican States
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Mitt Romney's 47 Percent Disproportionately Live In Republican States
Here's what Romney said in the footage published Monday by the liberal magazine Mother Jones:
"All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That's an entitlement. And that government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax."
The surprising thing about Romney's statement, though, is where the non-income tax filers live. They come from a surprisingly red base.
Here's a look at the map from the Tax Foundation:
 Tax Foundation |
Out of the 10 states with the highest percentage of filers with no liability, all but one — Florida — are reliable Republican stalwarts.
This map, however, only measures Americans who file tax returns without liability. Millions of others have some income, but not enough to file a return. Those people, combined with the 52 million who make up this map, comprise the 47 percent.
Of course, just because people don't pay income taxes doesn't mean they don't pay any taxes at all. Here's another breakdown of the 47 percent, which shows how nearly two-thirds of that 47 percent pay payroll taxes. Most of the last third are comprised of the elderly (who also tend to vote reliably Republican) and people who make less than $20,000 (big Obama supporters).