The Republicans Have Yet To Make Their Case On Taxes

Forbes ^ | 9/10/2012 | Thomas Del Beccaro

[Qbert]

Is Eva Longoria right on tax policy? The very fact that she was given a prime time speaking slot at the DNC on the subject is a failure of Republicans. On that most important issue, tax policy and its effect on the economy and the deficit, Republicans have yet to make the case on what is best. If they don’t make the case between now and Election Day, Republicans may well lose this November.

The prosperity issue, “the economy stupid,” is almost always the most important issue of any Presidential race...[Snip]

Since 1980, tax policy has been at the center of Presidential campaigns. Reagan staked his candidacy on deep across-the-board tax cuts. He won and built a consensus around that policy. Since then, 8 of the last 8 Presidential winners have been the perceived tax-cutters while the losers were against tax cuts or had a troubled history with tax increases.

[Snip]

So where is the debate today? Quite frankly, it’s a one-sided discussion. Rather than fight like Reagan on the issue – and build a new consensus – Republicans have been near silent on taxes subject to arguments such as these, almost without rebuttal:

1) the rich are not paying their fair share, and

2) the Republicans want to go back to the policies of Bush.

[Snip]

As for the Bush tax cuts, the national Republicans have virtually ceded the argument that the Bush policies, i.e. his tax cuts, led to the economic downturn.

[Snip]

...the Bush tax cuts, once fully implemented in 2003, resulted in an economic upturn, revenues jumped to a record $700 billion, and the end result was a record 52 months of job growth.

[Snip]

If you haven’t heard those figures from national Republicans it is because they are not making the factual argument.

[Qbert]

"...the real point is that the Democrats are winning the argument because the discussion is about fairness instead of how to jumpstart the economy and therefore revenues."

[mylife]

Here is the case,
Stop taxing business at 38% and the may stop outsourcing jobs.
If people have jobs they will spend money in the local economy.

[GeronL]

Romney, we’re waiting

[Chgogal]

BTTT

[sf4dubya]

It is precursor to a flat tax system. It’s been on his site and in his multi page PDF plan for months. It is the whole reason why the fiscons got on board.

http://www.mittromney.com/issues/tax

MITT’S PLAN
Reducing and stabilizing federal spending is essential, but breathing life into the present anemic recovery will also require fixing the nation’s tax code to focus on jobs and growth. To repair the nation’s tax code, marginal rates must be brought down to stimulate entrepreneurship, job creation, and investment, while still raising the revenue needed to fund a smaller, smarter, simpler government. The principle of fairness must be preserved in federal tax and spending policy.

Individual Taxes

America’s individual tax code applies relatively high marginal tax rates on a narrow tax base. Those high rates discourage work and entrepreneurship, as well as savings and investment. With 54 percent of private sector workers employed outside of corporations, individual rates also define the incentives for job-creating businesses. Lower marginal tax rates secure for all Americans the economic gains from tax reform.

Make permanent, across-the-board 20 percent cut in marginal rates
Maintain current tax rates on interest, dividends, and capital gains
Eliminate taxes for taxpayers with AGI below $200,000 on interest, dividends, and capital gains
Eliminate the Death Tax
Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

Corporate Taxes

The U.S. economy’s 35 percent corporate tax rate is among the highest in the industrial world, reducing the ability of our nation’s businesses to compete in the global economy and to invest and create jobs at home. By limiting investment and growth, the high rate of corporate tax also hurts U.S. wages.

Cut the corporate rate to 25 percent
Strengthen and make permanent the R&D tax credit
Switch to a territorial tax system
Repeal the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

[tsowellfan]

Thanks for posting this and doing your job. It helps. This would be a great post on Twitter as well. Most people here in FR will be voting for the republican ticket (even most of those who publically say they will not).

That being said. Too many politicians (including Romney) depend on websites, PDFs and use them as their “informing the public”. It’s not going to work.

It needs to be done the old fashion way. Person to person. Romney needs to go into details about his plans. We are now beyond “my plan is better than the other guy” or “my plan will create jobs”.

We are at the point now where the American people need to know exactly how. When they know this in detail they will likely move toward voting for Romney.

The convention would have been a GREAT time to do that.

We are beyond this generic message of my plan is better than the other guy. If it stays generic we will start seeing negative results in the polling data.

[sf4dubya]

Perhaps the good people of FR can do a dissection project on the PDF, section by section.

http://mi.tt/AuJ5Ie

I read every single page, and read the pages on tax policy every other day just to keep myself sane. He makes Bush & McCain look like a fiscal liberal. Fact is, he is probably the most fiscal conservative candidate the Republicans ran since Reagan. That is why everyone cheered the Ryan pick — aside from being a debt hawk, he can get probably get this stuff through the House.

There is a very, very good reason why the left fears Romney if he can get a chunk of these passed. No more special snowflakes.

[Son House]

And use Bill Clinton's tax increases to do it;

Clinton Tax Hikes Slowed Growth

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/09/clinton-tax-hikes-slowed-growth

http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/19/us/clinton-angers-friend-and-foe-in-tax-remark.html

Bill Clinton

"Probably there are people in this room still mad at me at that budget because you think I raised your taxes too much. It might surprise you to know that I think I raised them too much, too."

[voicereason]

If people have jobs they will spend money in the local economy.

It also helps if the tax system allows wage earners to keep more of their income so they can then in turn put it back into the economic engine.

[StAnDeliver]

The Buffett Rule Will Fuel The Government for 18 MINUTES.

Conclusion: Don't raise taxes in a Depression. Duh. Who'da thunk it!?

Corollary: Fire the Bobo who suggests such a thing.

[Qbert]

"Thanks for posting this and doing your job. It helps...That being said. Too many politicians (including Romney) depend on websites, PDFs and use them as their “informing the public”. It’s not going to work."

Yep. Romney needs to be much, much more aggressive on this issue, and in explaining his basic ideas for growing the economy again. Obama's stimulus was a failure, and all of his other economic gimmicks haven't worked- there's a key opening here for Romney. Romney can't just be the "only other game in town" guy in the race- he has to be seen as the guy with the fresh ideas and vigor to turn things around.

But so far, I think a fair amount of people out there honestly believe that Romney's the guy who's supposedly going to "raise taxes on the middle class" (because of some study by a left-wing think tank using bogus assumptions), while Obama is the guy defending the "middle class". It's the very perception that the article talks about- the Republican candidate is seen here as the guy in favor of tax increases- and Romney has done almost nothing in my mind to counter this. Very strange.

[i_robot73]

Still wrong. Nothing should be based on what is ‘fair’ (whatever THAT means at the moment).

Tax on purchases, NOT on income. Get the gov’t out of your pockets right from the gate. See it on the receipt...Fair Tax all the way.

Anything less is still feeding the leviathan with no chance of reducing its size. Constrain it again to the Constitution and move the rest to the States.

Enough with nibbling around the edges

[reefdiver]

Romney is done talking, he’s coasting to November letting zer0 stumble, fumble an thro completes We had a guy with an economic package of 9s. You Republicans went with Mitt

[StAnDeliver]

I get so tired of hearing this. It implicates laziness on the part of the complainer...all of these are covered in Mitten's stump speech, which almost no one has seen because the MSM won't show any of it.

"What is Romney's plan, exactly? He broke it down for Fortune into five categories: (1) Aggressively promote domestic energy development, especially fossil fuels. (2) Expand the market for U.S. goods overseas by negotiating new trade agreements and standing up to China on intellectual-property and currency issues. (3) Improve workforce skills by transferring job-training programs to the states and going after teachers' unions, which, he says, stand in the way of school choice and better instruction. (4) Attack the deficit through budget cuts, not tax increases. And (5), reshape the regulatory climate to "encourage and promote small business" rather than swamp it. That last item covers his most consistent and passionate campaign pledge, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act -- "reshaping health care reform," he says, "by replacing Obamacare with measures that will bring down the cost of health insurance rather than, as Obamacare does, increasing it."

Romney also says he wants to cap federal spending at 20% of GDP (it's 24% now) and work toward a balanced budget -- a worthy goal, but how does he get there? His proposed cuts alone won't do it, not without a big increase in economic activity, but they're worth listing: Obamacare, to start (even though the Congressional Budget Office says that its repeal would add $109 billion to the deficit by 2022). Also federal funding for Amtrak, PBS, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He would shift responsibility for parts of the social safety net to the states, including Medicaid, housing vouchers, and food stamps; reduce federal employment 10% by attrition; and lower wages and benefits for government workers." -- Fortune.Cnn.com, Aug. 2012

[GeronL]

if Mitt starts talking conservative and starts putting a team together to tackle the deficit (led by Ryan?) and tax reform (led by Cain?) I think he’d not have to debate Obama at all.

[GeronL]

He makes Bush & McCain look like a fiscal liberal. Fact is, he is probably the most fiscal conservative candidate the Republicans ran since Reagan.

and we have always been at war with Eastasia.

and Mitt is pro-life and severely conservative....

I don't believe campaign promises

[GeronL]

Since then, 8 of the last 8 Presidential winners have been the perceived tax-cutters

lol. I don't think anyone thought Obama was a tax cutter

[sf4dubya]

You have to start somewhere. Right now, adding a NST on top of inflated prices and installing a new tax structure would be a hard sell. We need to work towards it. You don’t have to sell me on it because I agree taxing consumption instead of income is a better idea.

[sf4dubya]

Next you’ll tell me temporary tax cuts worked so well for this country, right?

[GeronL]

Tax cuts always work. Temporary ones not so much, since everyone knows their temporary their behavior won’t be the same.

[sf4dubya]

So why the Orwellian speech?

Just read the plan. Go find this mythical $2000 tax increase on the middle class Obama keeps spewing about.

[i_robot73]

I think, no matter how you slice it, breaking it all down on the receipt will cause enough ruckus to kick it in the right direction.

No more of these 1800’s taxes, unless you spell ‘em out. THEN, watch the wailing from the people as they drive their own tax DOWN DOWN DOWN

That, or making income taxes fall upon the individual, same as small biz...per quarter. Christ, I can hear the gnashing of D.C. teeth already!

[sf4dubya]

Then you have to get a house to put it forth and have a Senate to pass it as well.

Tax policy is no longer something a presidential candidate puts forth as the maximum they would settle for, but the minimum.