Mitt Romney claims he paid...

..."at least 13 percent" of his income in taxes in each of the last ten years. Is that true? Who knows? 

But one thing we do know is that under the Ryan plan, the former governor of Massachusetts would pay taxes at a much lower rate, like, close to zero. Does that seem right to you? 
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David Simon, the creator of The Wire, had this to say about Romney on his blog (my emphasis): 

Can we stand back and pause a short minute to take in the spectacle of a man who wants to be President of The United States, who wants us to seriously regard him as a paragon of the American civic ideal, declaiming proudly and in public that he has paid his taxes at a third of the rate normally associated with gentlemen of his economic benefit. 

Stunning. 

Am I supposed to congratulate this man?  Thank him for his good citizenship? Compliment him for being clever enough to arm himself with enough tax lawyers so that he could legally minimize his obligations? 

Thirteen percent.  The last time I paid taxes at that rate, I believe I might still have been in college.  If not, it was my first couple years as a newspaper reporter.  Since then, the paychecks have been just fine, thanks, and I don’t see any reason not to pay at the rate appropriate to my earnings, given that I’m writing the check to the same government that provided the economic environment that allowed for such incomes. 

I can’t get over the absurdity of this moment, honestly:  Hey, I never paid less than thirteen percent.  I swear.  And no, you can’t examine my tax returns in any more detail. But I promise you all, my fellow American citizens, I never once slipped to single digits. I’m just not that kind of guy.