The idea of assigning personhood, or life, to objects lacking the qualities or features of living beings without any sign of life or consciousness is something young children do as an expression of their imagination. There are adults who give gender specific names to inanimate objects like cars, boats and even musical instruments, but like children, they know the object is not really a person. Willard Romney believes legal instruments, corporations, are people and it is childish, but the conservative Supreme Court bestowed personhood on corporations as the law of the land so legally, Romney has a point.

A few days ago, a hidden video surfaced that exposed Romney alleging that 47% of Americans “believe they are victims and the government has a responsibility to care for them” and “should give them entitlements.” Romney complained that the 47% “are people who pay no income tax” and that he could “never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” Willard’s point of contention is that people who do not pay income taxes are leeches on Americans that do pay income tax, but there is serious incongruity in his argument. There is a percentage of Willard’s people (corporations) that do not pay income taxes, and yet he and Republicans’ long-standing assertion is that corporations (people) are victims of high taxation and cannot possibly prosper unless their taxes are slashed because the “government has a responsibility to care for them.”