Milwaukee Community Journal » WISCONSIN'S LARGEST AFRICAN AMERICAN NEWSPAPER » Thompson’s amnesia a heartless attempt to hide wealth he earned at expense of needy, seniors

Thompson’s amnesia a heartless attempt to hide wealth he earned at expense of needy, seniors

Written by admin // October 11, 2012 // Comments Off

Tommy Thompson was under fire this week after he “forgot” how many mansions he owned in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Thompson, who is running for the U.S. Senate against Democrat Tammy Baldwin, told his interviewer that he only owned three houses, including an 11,000-square-foot mansion in Disney World in Florida.
He “forgot” a $1.3 luxury condominium on Lake Wisconsin, but it’s not the first time he’s misled or hidden the public from the vast amounts of money he has made working for a powerful Washington lobbying law firm.
Unlike Tammy Baldwin, Thompson has refused to release any of his state and federal tax returns.
All this, even as Thompson continues to claim he will stand up for the middle class – even though Thompson appears out of touch and lacks Tammy Baldwin’s record of middle class advocacy.
He also recently told reporters that his work for a Florida medical supply company was done “pro bono” when, in fact, he got $75,000 for the work.
Thompson went into the Bush administration — and then cashed in on his connections by selling his influence to a huge Washington lobbyist firm.
Recent financial disclosure reports showed his net worth at $13 million, though he continues to refuse to explain to the public just how many corporate boards he sits on and just where all his income came from.
Many critics have observed that Thompson’s personal financial record of forgetting how many homes he owns and fattening his own wallet by working with the special interests makes his claims of supporting the middle class ring hollow.
Thompson is supporting a tax plan that would give massive tax cuts to billionaires and multimillionaires like him, at the same time he calls for massive cuts to education, Medicaid, Medicare and veterans benefits.
In fact, Thompson was caught on tape recently telling a Tea Party group that he would “do away” with Medicaid and Medicare forever.
Many seniors use Medicaid to pay for nursing home benefits.
Democrats were critical of Thompson’s “forgetfulness.”
“The massive cuts that Tommy Thompson is proposing for Medicaid will surely put lower-income seniors on the street, and not all of them have a home, much less two or three or four mansions.
It is absolutely heartless for someone like Thompson to be able to “forget” about just how rich he’s become by peddling his influence for powerful special interests at the same time he’s willing to kick seniors and working families to the curb,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin leaders said recently. “Tommy Thompson has not just forgotten how many mansions he owns. He’s forgotten Wisconsin’s values. He’s just not for us anymore.”
–By Romel Brown

Tags:

amounts