Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney faced a rowdy crowd at the Iowa State Fair, with people interrupting his answers to chant "Wall Street greed."

Mitt Romney declared 'Corporations are people, my friend!' at the at the Iowa State Fair. (image: AP)

Mitt Romney: "Corporations Are People,
My Friend"

By Ian Millhiser, Think Progress

13 August 11

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) just completed a damaging campaign stop in Iowa where audience members responded angrily to his plans, and Romney frequently responded belligerently to their anger. In one of the most contentious exchanges, Romney defended his belief that we "should consider a higher retirement age" for Social Security and Medicare to preserve tax breaks for corporations:

ROMNEY: There's various ways of [preserving Social Security and Medicare's solvency]. One is we could raise taxes on people. That's not the way ...

AUDIENCE: Corporations! Corporations!

ROMNEY: Corporations are people, my friend.

AUDIENCE: No they're not.

ROMNEY: Of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. Where do you think it goes?

AUDIENCE: It goes into your pocket!

ROMNEY: Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People's pockets. Human beings, my friend.

Romney's antagonists are right that corporate money flows right into Romney's pockets. Indeed, Romney has taken more money from corporate and other lobbyists than all the other GOP candidates put together, and this will likely only be the beginning for Romney if he becomes the GOP nominee.

Ever since the Supreme Court revealed that it shares Romney's inability to distinguish between corporations and actual human beings, corporations have lined up to buy GOP victories in elections across the country. After Citizens United, conservative secret donors outspent progressives 8 to 1 in the 2010 election cycle.

So Romney has good reason to favor tax breaks for corporations over maintaining the current Medicare and Social Security retirement age - corporate America is doing a whole lot more to line his pockets than America's seniors ever will.

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+21 # Rara Avis 2011-08-13 09:40

Corproations are not flesh and blood human beings. I would demand that British Petroleum produce Mr. BP in court. I would like to check his pulse, give him a full physical and then punch him right in the jaw. I already have seen him Sh** all over the Gulf Coast.

+14 # AML 2011-08-13 10:09

For Romney to declare that 'all the money goes to people' is ludicrous. I would love for him to take one example of a corporation, say GE, and show me how all their profits go to people. They don't even pay taxes. Employment and pay has dwindled in the last 30 years,while the top 2%'s income has gone up exponentially. Having bought companies and immediately fired all employees to outsource and made his millions selling said companies, he definitely has business experience, but only he made the money. What's creepy is that you get the idea he thinks this is normal human behavior.

+9 # Norma Harrison 2011-08-13 10:14

If corporations are people, then a lot of them are eligible for medicare. I shouldn't mention it - They'll start collecting it. Think they'll want their social security, too? If corporations are people, then why aren't they paying the same tax rate as I am? One person shouldn't be favored over another "person."

+5 # Capn Canard 2011-08-13 11:53

It's worse than that. Many corporations will take out life insurance policies on their employees that will in the case of a death of that employee will directly benefit the corporation and not the family of the deceased person whom they have the policy on. That is the world we like in, all approved by the United States of Amerika.

0 # michelle 2011-08-29 15:50

Those life insurance policies on employees are called, "Dead Peasant Insurance." Guess we know what corporate America thinks of workers.

+8 # noitall 2011-08-13 10:18

Corporations can't have it both ways. If they are people, they should be able to be sued as people. If a corporation is a person, then each stock holder of that corporation is a cell of that person and should have one vote; that of the person that he is, the corporation. It's only logic. It's only fair.

+5 # Capn Canard 2011-08-13 11:56

The person-hood angle goes back to May 10, 1886. Santa Clara County vs. Southern pacific Rail Road SCOTUS decision. So person hood is granted to corporations, but without a body to incarcerate nor a soul to condemn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_County_v._Southern_Pacific_Railroad

+18 # MJ Mathisen 2011-08-13 12:07

He obviously meant to say, 'Corporations are my friends, people.

+2 # Walhalla 2011-08-14 11:02

Quoting MJ Mathisen:

He obviously meant to say, 'Corporations are my friends, people.

Ohhh, thats the best one I've had heard in a long time. Very clever, MJ.

+12 # aznvlefty 2011-08-13 14:38

People pay taxes. Corporations don't

+9 # Doug600 2011-08-13 15:14

Once an Asshole, always an asshole! How much in corporate contributions has this putz received?

+5 # lark3650 2011-08-13 15:33

Another, open mouth, insert foot moment for Mitt. Back to media training, Mitt. You need to bone up on your talking points if you are going to put one over on the American people.

+6 # momspan 2011-08-13 17:30

This man's brain is obviously demented. This country was built on the backs of laborers and small businessman, by the everyday person, not the 1 or 2% who raked in all the money.

+5 # Obwon 2011-08-13 19:55

Of course, even as dumb as I am, I know he lies when he says SS etc. is half the deficit. SS, is funded by payroll taxes, the only debt owed is to the ss fund, because the gov't borrows it's money. SS pays it's own way! He thinks he can take people for fools and get away with it like Bush did. As far as I can see, he's only half as much fun as a colostomy bag, thus I sincerely doubt he can win.

Obwon

+4 # tenayaca 2011-08-14 06:21

"my friend"-- really condescending a-hole. His entire attitude shows what a SHORT FUSE he's on and what a poor choice he would be...so maybe the Reps will nominate him.
As far as the DEFICITS, getting us OUT OF THE WARS is where the conversation should be. As long as it's focused on the social safety net, we miss the main REASON FOR THE DEFICITS...PRES IDENTS WHO START AND PERPETUATE MORE AND MORE WARS!

+7 # brianf 2011-08-14 10:10

The farce is that corporations are considered people when it comes to rights and benefits, but not when it comes to responsibilitie s.

Corporations benefit tremendously from government services, and they should have to help pay for them like we all do. So let's have an alternative minimum tax for corporations so that no matter what loopholes they find to avoid paying their share, they will have to pay at least some minimum percentage of their profits. That goes for any corporation that operates in this country, regardless of where they put their fake headquarters.

And if the people who run corporations get all these benefits and rights via their corporations, like the ability to spend as much as they want on election propaganda, those same people should have all the liabilities too. That means when their decisions cause people to die, they should be prosecuted as murderers, and when their decisions rob people of their money, they should get the same punishment as a bank robber. If they don't like that, then they get no first amendment or other rights, and can't lobby or participate in elections or government in any way.