Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Much has been written in these pages about Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” comment and the fact that his income tax rate of 14 percent is less than most working folks’ pay. On the first count, Romney was correct about the 47 percent. When you have a nation where nearly half of all households pay no income tax at all and a president who continues to ask the wealthy to pay more, then you have a nation heading down a dangerous path.

The president paints successful people as slackers who do not pay enough while fomenting class envy from those who pay nothing. He is pandering for votes from those dependent on the government. We have nearly 50 million people getting food stamps, a number that has grown by almost 14 million under Obama.

Mr. Romney’s goal is to get those people back to work and make them contributors, not takers. Obama’s goal is to redistribute wealth—take money from those who earn it, give it to those who don’t, and thereby keep those recipients dependent on the government and its handouts.

As to Romney’s tax rate, I have two comments. First, if you pay no income tax, you have no right to comment on how much anyone else pays. Second, if you think that Romney’s tax rate was too low, because his income came from investments, then lobby your Senators and Congressmen for an overhaul of the tax code. I can guarantee that every person in this country who pays taxes takes advantage of every tax break available to pay as little as possible. I can also guarantee that if those complainers were suddenly put in Romney’s income bracket, they would pay as little as legally possible. And by the way, what you never hear when the Democrats bring up his 14 percent tax rate is the 30 percent of income that Romney donated to charity.

I’ve been on the tax rolls since I was 15 years old and will be retiring at year’s end. I’ve never been in the 47 percent or the 1 percent. I should be comfortable, not rich, in retirement. Not because I got something illegally or on the sly, but because I worked hard and saved wisely. I do not envy those who are successful in this great country, but I do appreciate the hard work that got them there. I have no sympathy for those who succumb to class envy while making no effort to improve themselves.

Bill Wallace

Gloucester, Va.