I know this is a tired theme, but it bears repeating. A story in the New York Times from last month (I just saw it via Jason Solomon) has Mitt Romney's advice to students who are struggling (or unable) to afford to go to college:
[S]hop around and borrow more money from your parents.Parents, after all being infinite repositories of wealth designed to give their kids every opportunity in life. This attitude is understandable, if not forgivable; after all, Mitt was born the son of an American Motors executive who paid for his son to go to the Cranbrook School (an expensive private preparatory school) and (presumably) footed his son's tuition bills at Stanford.
But what this short quote really underlines is why all this talk about Mitt Romney's extreme privilege matters to the presidential race. Not everyone who comes from wealthy families would make a bad president, because many actively work to understand the lives of those who are less fortunate than them. Mitt and his wife, on the other hand, have demonstrated almost active disinterest in the day-to-day lives of the people "under" them.
I don't think George Romney worked for GM. He was, however, the president and CEO of the American Motors Corporation (AMC).
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