Romney criticizes Obama for fostering "culture of dependency"

 CHICAGO, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- In a campaign event outside Chicago, U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt¹ Romney on Tuesday accused President Barack Obama of making people more dependent on government, and criticized recent comments Obama has made about individual success.

Specifically, Romney accused Obama of trying to reverse a 1996 bipartisan compromise made by Republicans and President Bill Clinton to reform welfare work requirements, Romney referring to a July directive given by the Obama Administration granting waivers for states to administer their own welfare requirements.

Romney said that such measures lessened² obligations and "took the work out of welfare," and that Obama was encouraging people to be more dependent on government.

"If I'm president I will put work back in welfare," Romney said at the event in Elk³ Grove⁴ Village, Illinois, speaking to workers at Acme⁵ Industries. "There is nothing better than a good job to help lift a family, to allow people to be able to provide for themselves, and to end the spread of a culture of dependency."

Romney also took issue with Obama for appearing to not recognize individual success and personal initiative, and attacked the president for placing too much importance on the role of the collective community.

The remarks referred to a July speech made by Obama in Roanoke, Virginia, where the president said federally-funded initiatives such as infrastructure⁶ projects played a role contributing to individual success.

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help," Obama had said at the earlier campaign event.

"Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen," the president continued.

Obama's comments quickly drew fire from conservatives who criticized the president for not appreciating the work of small business owners. The Obama campaign later said the remarks were taken out of context.

Romney on Tuesday said Obama's comment that business owners didn't build their own business was "baloney," and added his own example to demonstrate.

"If (a) kid makes the honor roll, I realize that he got to school on a bus, and the bus driver got him there, but I don't give the bus driver credit for honor roll -- I give the kid credit for the honor roll," Romney said.

Romney was also in the Chicago area Tuesday for several fundraising events. Both Romney and Obama are gearing up for the heart of the U.S. presidential campaign season, with the presidential election scheduled for Nov. 6.

1 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

2 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

3 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

4 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

5 acme   

n.顶点，极点

参考例句：

• His work is considered the acme of cinematic art. 他的作品被认为是电影艺术的巅峰之作。
• Schubert reached the acme of his skill while quite young. 舒伯特的技巧在他十分年轻时即已达到了顶峰。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。