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Mitt Romney has said flat- out on numerous occasions that he would lower income tax rates across the board by 20 percent. Among other things he would eliminate the alternative minimum tax and the estate tax, repeal high-income payroll taxes, and reduce the corporate rate.
According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, that part of his plan represents $4.8 trillion in additional debt over 10 years. Time to man up and own it, Mitt.
In addition, Romney says he would bloat defense spending from 2.5 percent to 4 percent of GDP. That's more than $2.2 trillion in added debt over 10 years. He justifies this increase in part by making absurd comparisons of our Navy to that of 100 years ago. By the way, he thinks John "Let's-bomb-Iran-yesterday" Bolton would make an excellent secretary of state.
How does he plug this new $7 trillion hole as well as balance the budget? Good question.
He has abandoned Paul Ryan's plan to ration Medicare through premium-support coupons and says he would retain traditional Medicare as a permanent option for seniors present and future. He would retain the home-mortgage deduction and deductions for charity. He would not reduce the tax burden on the wealthy, in violation of trickle down. He claims he would not increase taxes on the middle class.
What Romney says he would do is close loopholes, eliminate other deductions, repeal Obamacare, and gut Medicare (throwing tens of millions back in the pool of the uninsured), then count on revenue feedback from a growing economy. In other words, welcome back to voodoo economics.
John LeFebre
Spotsylvania
