Romney Publishes Op-Ed Promoting Economic Plan

Mitt Romney published an opinion article Wednesday following uproar over the Republican nominee’s comments at a private campaign event secretly caught on video. In the article Romney claims President Barack Obama’s administration has enabled dependency on the government and says his own five-point economic plan would create jobs and revive the economy.

“Efforts that promote hard work and personal responsibility over government dependency make America strong,” Romney wrote in USA Today.

He added that “over the past four years, those kinds of opportunities have been in short supply” under Obama.

A video uploaded by left-leaning publication Mother Jones showed Romney speaking at a fundraiser in May, saying that 47 percent of all Americans believe they are victims, pay no income tax, and “will vote for the president no matter what.”

The comments drew criticism from Republicans and a number of conservative voices. Obama’s campaign chastised Romney via his Twitter account Tuesday. Obama himself, while on the “Late Show with David Letterman,” responded to Romney’s remarks, saying, “All of us make mistakes.”

“We’ve got some obligations to each other, and there’s nothing wrong with us giving each other a helping hand so that that single mom’s kid, even after all the work she’s done, can afford to go to college,” Obama said.

Romney did not mention the video in the editorial, but said, “Our nation’s citizens do need help from government. But it is a very different kind of help than what President Obama wants to provide.”

“My course for the American economy will encourage private investment and personal freedom. Instead of creating a web of dependency, I will pursue policies that grow our economy and lift Americans out of poverty,” he said in the editorial.

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