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Mitt Romeny, on a video from CNN:

I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor, we have a safety net there, if it needs repair I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the ninety-, ninety-five percent of Americans who right now are struggling… My campaign is focused on middle-income Americans.

His claim and his belief is that you can categorize the middle 90-95% of Americans as middle-income, and that the top 5% are “fine”, and the bottom 5% have their “safety nets.” Here are some facts:

• - The U.S. poverty threshold for a single person under the age of 65 is $11,161.
• - 14.32% of Americans over the age of 25 who earn an income make less than $10,000 a year.
• - According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the nation’s poverty rate rose to 15.1% in 2010.

The poor in America are much more numerous than Mitt thinks, and the safety nets that provide them with basic food and healthcare aid are under so much stress.  The United States has budgeted $881 billion for Medicaid and Unemployment/Welfare spending for 2012, or nearly a quarter of the total budget. In contrast, Sweden is projected to spend 16.8% of their 2012 budget on ALL healthcare-related costs and “financial security for families and children.”

In fact, if we extend past the poor and look at spending on all entitlement, the contrast is even wider. The U.S. is due to spend 57% of its 2012 budget on entitlement programs (which include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Unemployment/Welfare). Sweden, a socialist state according to some, is due to spend just 34.4% of their budget on entitlement programs (which include healthcare, financial security for the elderly and children and families, and student financial aid).

While these entitlement programs in the U.S. are essential programs, their costs are too high. They need to be reformed. Obama gets this. Romney needs to get this, too.