Mitt Romney continues to be disconnected from working families' priorities. Just take a look at his tax and jobs plans he touted during last night's second presidential debate. Romney insisted he could cut tax rates for the wealthiest earners across the board without increasing the deficit or raising taxes on working people. He also touted his five-point jobs plan, which President Obama called out for what it really is:

Gov. Romney doesn't have a five-point plan. He has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules. That's been his philosophy in the private sector, that's been his philosophy as governor, that's been his philosophy as a presidential candidate.

Last night we held a live policy chat on the AFL-CIO Now blog about the presidential debate. Read the thread below. 

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Don't forget to check into the AFL-CIO Now blog tonight at www.aflcio.org/debatechat to join our live chat on the second presidential debate with our policy team and Working America. 

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Last night, we learned vice presidential contender Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and running mate Mitt Romney envision a pretty bleak future for working people. The Romney-Ryan future is one where seniors (part of the 47%) toil until age 70 when they can collect on a woefully inadequate privatized Social Security account—where people must wait until age 67 to receive a coupon (a.k.a. Medicare voucher) for health care. A future where millionaires and billionaires, the richest 2%, continue to receive massive tax cut giveaways at the expense of working people. 

AFL-CIO, AFL-CIO Latino, Working America and other groups live tweeted reactions to last night's vice presidential debate. Read the responses below. 

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We learned a lot of things about Mitt Romney during last night's debate. Not only does he want to continue the failed economic policies that brought on the recession in the first place, but he also wants to hand our feathered friend Big Bird the pink slip to continue tax breaks for the wealthiest people (the math doesn't add up). The candidates talked a lot about taxes, education and social insurance programs, but what we really enjoyed about the debates last night was listening to working people on Twitter and on our AFL-CIO Now blog's live chat. 

Read the entire live chat thread below and check out some of the top comments and insights from our readers:

Why does Romney keep saying what his plan isn't? 5 weeks out, we deserve specifics #LetsDebate

— Liz McElroy (@lizmcelroy) October 4, 2012

Click on the image below to join the presidential debate chat:

This election has mostly been about the candidates talking at you, so wouldn't you like an opportunity to talk back? Join AFL-CIO economic policy experts during the presidential debate Wednesday evening from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT on the AFL-CIO NOW blog for an interactive discussion. 

While President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney debate, our policy team will provide analysis and commentary on important things to look for. You also can submit your own questions and comments directly into the live blog. Please remember, all comments will be moderated before they're posted to the live blog, so please refrain from profanity, personal attacks and commentary that detract from the discussion. 

Enter your email address below so you can get a reminder to check in with us Wednesday night. We hope to see you there!

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Are you financially better off when the president is a Republican or Democrat?

According to a new book, Bulls, Bears and the Ballot Box: How the Performance of Our Presidents Has Impacted Your Wallet, the answer is not what is widely believed.

In an analysis spanning 80 years and 13 presidents—from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush—authors Lew Goldfarb and Bob Deitrick show, in their words,

the GOP theory of Republican economic dominance is no more than a myth. Period.