Unlike the Republican nominee for President, author J.K. Rowling is a millionaire who doesn't spend all her time and energy trying to avoid paying taxes. When asked why she continues to live in Great Britain when she could move to a country with a lower tax rate, the author of the Harry Potter series responded that she was "indebted" to the British welfare state because when her life "hit rock bottom...that safety net was there to break the fall." She also claims it would have been "contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sign of a seven-figure royalty cheque." She went on to say, "This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism."
Conservatives like Mitt Romney like to say that progressives resent wealthy people, but the truth is that none of us begrudge someone else making money if that person recognizes the obligation they owe the rest of us for helping to make that success possible through taxpayer-funded infrastructure and the existence of safety nets put in place to catch them should they fail.
It's wonderful to see someone like Rowling not forget where it was she came from and to be willing to give back a little something to those who haven't been as blessed as she's been in her life. After all, she could have simply claimed that she wrote the books and therefore she earned the money and to hell with everyone else. And she doesn't say, "Well, if I can do it, anyone can do it."
And, let's face it, she earned her fortune bringing millions of people joy and entertainment. Can good ole Mitt say the same?
And as Cenk points out in this segment of The Young Turks, Romney's dad also lived for a time on welfare when he was a child. Yet, does Romney appreciate that fact as Rowling does? No, in fact, he wants to pull the ladder up from the others coming up behind him now that he's made it to the top.
Thus, the difference could not be more stark and stunning between J.K. Rowling and Mitt Romney. Watch the video: