Below is my open letter to Governor Romney. If you’d like to watch the YouTube video of it that I quickly recorded from my home, please click here.
Dear Governor Romney,
Like every other American, I listened to your comments from the Florida fundraiser. I actually listened to them many times over because I was certain that I was hearing it wrong. While I don’t agree with your politics, I did believe that you were proud of this country and that you were someone who just wanted to do his part to make it even better. However, after listening to your comments about the American people, I realized I was mistaken. When you explained your disdain for 47% of Americans, I understood that you don’t want to help the people; you want to help those whom you deem as your people. And I am not one of them.
I grew up in a family of very few financial resources. We received certain forms of public assistance like enrollment in the free lunch program. We went without health insurance for many years. I went to college because of financial aid as my mother’s annual income was less than tuition at the school I wanted to attend (University of Pennsylvania.) I then went on to business school a number of years later at the Darden School at the University of Virginia, again with the grace of student loans, because I wanted to understand finance rather than be afraid of it.
Though I was someone who benefited from government programs, I didn’t do so because I felt entitled. I did so because I came from a family without financial means and to make this world a better place, I needed to get myself fed and educated. When I took government funds in the form of aid, I took on a tremendous responsibility to make something of myself and to bring others along with me who needed help. As I rose, I bent down, extended my hand, and helped others to rise, too.
In my career, I have worked in government, Broadway theatre management, education, nonprofit fundraising, retail management, financial services, and health and wellness. Today, I own my own consulting business and founded a nonprofit to bring the healing benefits of yoga and meditation to those in need. As an adult, I no longer receive government assistance and in fact pay taxes in the highest tax bracket, which I believe is a far higher percentage than you pay. Just because I needed financial help from the government when I was younger does not mean that I grew up to be an adult who is in your words, a “freeloader”. Because I was helped, I feel an incredibly strong need to help others, like me and far different from me.
And finally, I have a few words to say about the social justice issues you addressed in your comments. I do believe that every American has a right to healthcare, has a right to eat, and a right to be educated. I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but America has been advocating for this stance around the world since its founding. We have gone to the battlefield for these kinds of basic human rights; we have lost many good men and women for this ideal because we understand that no one is free if they’re hungry, sick, and uneducated.
I did have compassion for you upon hearing your initial comments. “Perhaps they were taken out of context,” I thought. “Maybe he was surprised and under tremendous pressure in the moment.” Then I heard your reaction to your comments, and I hung my head low because I realized I don’t have a place in your America.
Still, I do understand why it’s so hard for someone of your means to have empathy for people like me and so many other Americans. It’s hard to explain to someone what it feels like to not have enough food to eat, to be without electricity for weeks at a time because your family couldn’t afford to pay the bill, to be constantly worried that your home would go into foreclosure. You begin to think that because you don’t have enough, then you aren’t enough. It’s a fear that gets in your bones and never leaves. Even now, I am incredibly thrifty with my money. I no longer have to price check different brands of soup at the supermarket, but I do and I’m sure I will always continue to do so.
My past, the good, the bad, and the ugly, is part of who I am, and that includes the fact that I received a lot of help from the government while I was growing up. And I am grateful for it. Governor Romney, please don’t see us as a liability; instead see us as opportunity that needs a little bit of help to take root. We are a long-term bet, but we are worthy of your attention.
Sincerely yours,
Christa Avampato
Christa Avampato 
Thanks, Christa, for taking the time to write what so many of us feel but don’t get around to doing. And that’s why your dreams are turning into realities. Ever thought about going into politics? You’d have my vote!
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Thanks Nina! Not sure that politics is in the cards for me but I do love being an active community member and writing on these topics.
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Beautifully written.
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Very well said.
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Well said Christa!!
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When all the money is gone because there is no incentive to earn it because it will only be redistributed, where do you think we will be then? OVER 47% will then be on the government “payroll”. With no money coming in, it can’t possibly go out. As for the social issues you are concerned about, Republicans don’t want to take them away, but want them to be more fair, go only to those truly in need. Get rid of the fakers, abusers and frankly, those not here legally. I have a daughter who is a single mother on welfare, struggling to go to school and raise her son on her own. Because she’s in school she loses her benefits after 1 year, this November actually. She has been going to school overtime to cram in as many classes as possible, as quickly as possibly, but still won’t have a degree before she loses benefits. The father of the baby, though, has claimed he is “disabled” and as such receives benefits 2x greater than she does for both her and his son and he is NOT required to help support him, nor does he have a 1 year restriction. Apparently he doesnt like being around other people, although it did not stop him from getting her pregnant and we hear yet another girl, just this year! How sick is that? This is the “system” you seem to love so much, and I could go on with other travesties, and they are so numerous I couldn’t begin to touch them. Republicans want reforms! Drug testing for your money, after all, they have to be clean to keep their job, why shouldn’t they be drug free if the take the money? And as far as school tuition and your bills you must pay back (imagine that! Pay back what you borrowed? Shocker.) perhaps more thought as to WHY tuition is so high. Maybe the benefits the unions demand, perchance? Well above what the majority receives, even while paying 15-20% more than teachers do, while working longer hours than teachers, by far (and FYI, all employees must continue educating themselves to stay relevant, not just teachers). Do something about that. And for goodness sakes, choose a degree you can actually use and if the cost is so much more than what you can earn, there is a serious problem… With the system and your way of thinking. And I was a die-hard Independent until President Obama came into power. I have voted both party lines and do not keep my focus so narrow as to not see the bigger picture. I don’t believe 100% in either party platform. For example, I believe in choice, but not late term abortion! I do not want a “cool” president. I want a true leader, one who does not divide us based on color, religion, or wealth. I want a better future for my children and theirs. Obama will be the destruction of this country if elected to a second term. He is a skilled liar, I’ll give you that, but when I look in his eyes all I see is deceit, loathing and arrogance I never thought possible. I don’t believe Mr. Romney was speaking to those who are trying to help themselves, but those who abuse the help. I’ve seen wealthy families take benefits! Reform is the solution. And jealousy of someones wealth is ugly.
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Well said, Christa. I think the issue with this kind of thinking is the myopic ‘don’t take my stuff’ thinking. I also find it fascinating that so many conservatives are devout Christians. Jesus was the original socialist. He broke the bread he had and made sure everyone had enough. To assume that there will only be ‘money going out’ and that anyone is jealous of wealth as Elizabeth points out is just off the mark.
How do you think people like the Mitt Romney’s of the world made their millions? It was the support and hard work of employees 5 layers beneath them. The CEO isn’t single-handedly managing finance, on the supply chain floor, implementing marketing initiatives, in the call center taking customer service calls, manufacturing goods, etc… (you get the point), it’s the team of people he depends on, the people Mitt Romney considers to be a drain on his “mine-ness.”
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Appreciate your support Lisa! How does the election look from the local Atalanta news? I am always curious to hear how local media in different states are reporting.
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Well CBS Atlanta did a great piece in response to Romney’s 47% comment and there was some buzz about liberal uproar on Twitter when Romney came to town for a fundraiser. I imagine it’s fairly consistent here.
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Thanks everyone for all of your comments and interest in this topic. Unfortunately when people use a broad brush to paint the characteristics of an entire group, there are bound to be many people who fall outside of the lines. Unfortunately, Governor Romney used a very broad brush to paint the “laziness” and “entitlement” of half of the American people. I am part of that 47% and yet don’t share any of the characteristics which he referenced. For a Presidential candidate to say that he doesn’t even want to talk to half of the American people makes me believe that he isn’t the right person for the job. When someone is President of this country, they have to be a President for everyone – including those who have different points of view, different experiences, and different needs.
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Christa, very well said. Eloquent and to the point.
I do, however, also have a reply to Elizabeth that left a previous comment to your post. Elizabeth, you put your own twist onto what was written. You comment of “pay back what you borrowed? Shocker!”, even I take offense to that. That was not her point what so ever! The point was that it is because of the availability of student loans to those of us, even me, we are able to afford an education to better ourselves. Never was it stated that she isn’t or wasn’t going to pay it back! Who has the money to pay straight up for college?! Sure isn’t anyone I know. The point is that there are some of us out there that do bust our asses, give back and still need some help. No one that ever takes out a student loan thinks that they don’t need to pay it back. That is something that will follow you to your grave. Bottom line, my view on the whole political cluster, yes, a few that abuse it will ruin it for the rest of us. All I can say, I am blessed to know the Avampato Family personally, and I have never met a more humbled, hard working, giving family as this. Please don’t mince actual words with what you think was meant.
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Thanks, Christa! I, too, am grateful that I had opportunities made possible by government aid. While I was humiliated as a kid to stand in line for cheese, cash in food stamps at the grocery store, get subsidized lunches, and eventually a Pell Grant for my first year in college, I pushed through and vowed to support others as I had been supported. I am thankful and successful.
Unfortunately, there will always be those who game the system and take advantage of these benefits. Worse yet is the conservative perspective that ALL who gain from aid are entitled freeloaders who should be ashamed. The economy and our country will only flourish with a balance of accountability and support in this area. Trickle Down economics does not work. Absolute redistribution does not work, but we should not punish the poor for needing support. Rather, we need to fund programs that will educate, empower, and encourage self-sustainability for our people. This takes time, however, and they need to support until this is possible. Far bigger economic and class gaps will result from cutting these programs, and the burden on the taxpayers then will be insurmountable.
Those who disagree with this are entitled to their opinions as I believe they are as convicted as I, but absolute and extreme positions will never flourish or result in the betterment of this country.
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Hi Tim – so wonderful to have you here in the Christa in New York community! Thanks so much for your comments and for sharing your own story. I agree that the loopholes that have persisted for so long need to be fixed, and have needed to be fixed for many, many years. We’ve seen so many times that trickle down doesn’t work but I am encouraged that though the economy and budget were in horrific shape when Clinton became President, we could turn it around.
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One more point…if anyone truly believes that Obama put in place the current economic, healthcare, and support programs and architected or advocates all the program flaws in the past 4 years, they are only lying to themselves. The loopholes and issues in these programs have endured both parties in power through several administrations. Ecomomists and educators agreed several years ago that our path out of the recession would take 10-15 years, but we ignore them. If our leaders, and the extremists who support them, could move beyond the party positioning to a moderate POV or at least compromise, we might get somewhere. Two years of positioning and blame-filled campaigning in every four years is exhaustive, unproductive, and divisive.
My apologies for the rant.
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