WaPo Editorial: Mr. Romney’s ‘garbage’
By Editorial Board, Saturday, August 18, 5:10 PM
FORMER GOVERNOR Mitt Romney, the presumed Republican nominee for president, promises to lower everyones income tax rate without reducing revenue. This sounds terrific. Why didnt we think of it sooner?
Mr. Romney says that he can achieve this seemingly magical result by broadening the base for income tax collection. This, too, sounds great. In principle, everyone favors broadening the base, also known as closing loopholes. But everyone favors closing someone elses loopholes: those of oil companies, say, or of plutocrats who park their money in the Cayman Islands.
Unfortunately, such inviting targets, to the extent they exist, dont cost the government much in the overall scheme of things. The loopholes that cost most are deductions and other tax provisions that most Americans consider sensible, if not God-given, rights: tax breaks for employer-provided health insurance, which according to the Congressional Budget Office will cost $2 trillion over the next 10 years; for pension and retirement savings ($1.8 trillion); for mortgage interest ($1.6 trillion) and charitable giving ($600 billion). Mr. Romney hasnt said which of these he would trim or by how much.
Recently the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, showed that Mr. Romneys plan would by necessity help the rich and hurt the middle class. In an interview with Fortune magazine last week, Mr. Romney took strong issue with this conclusion. They made garbage assumptions and they reached a garbage conclusion, he said. Contrary to the centers assumption, he said, he would not take away middle-class tax breaks for homeownership, charitable giving and health care.
more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mr-romneys-garbage/2012/08/18/d109ac74-e883-11e1-8487-64e4b2a79ba8_story.html
Stuart G
(38,436 posts)bucolic_frolic
(43,182 posts)rMoney is not generating much in the believability department, at
least for Democrats and Independents and Eisenhower Republicans
The Tea Party believes him.
Stuart G
(38,436 posts)Whatever this is, garbage has some uses and we know it.
Romney has no use, his taxes have no use..this arrogant attitude is much lower than garbage..
It is lower than the last ring in Dante's Hell.............
underpants
(182,829 posts)Republicans have nothing if the press isn't covering for them. Nothing.
Kencorburn
(74 posts)King_Klonopin
(1,306 posts)I truly believe that the only "loopholes" they want to cut are the
deductions that benefit the middle class.
IF they remove the mortgage interest deduction, I will be screwed.
Like most average Americans, who live from paycheck-to-paycheck,
I figured in my future tax refunds when I purchased my house 6 years ago,
and just refinanced this year. That refund, by the way, gets reinvested
right back into home repair and improvement, which in turn helps stimulate
the local economy -- where I SPEND that money. Eliminating that
deduction would screw the overall economy (just like plummeting home
values after the last burst bubble killed the home equity loan market)
Charitable donations also effects the poor and middle class most,
because they donate a higher % of income to charity than the
selfish 1% class.
Reducing capital gains tax to 15%, instead of 20 or 30%, is a "loophole" of
greater proportion, but eliminating that would effect the wrong people.
When I think of "loopholes" I think of Cayman Islands, investment losses,
and all the other crap that people like Mitt employ to weasel-out of
paying taxes, leaving people like me with the tab.
I hate these assholes!!!
Heather MC
(8,084 posts)Without the $17,000 tax deduction we get to claim every year we would be screwed. I guess we could invest in a dressage horse?
jmowreader
(50,560 posts)The largest problem with the GOP's all loopholes, all the time tactics:
At this point in time, the Republicans are using the size of the debt and the deficit as weapons against the Democrats. Elect us, they say, and they'll reduce the deficit.
Sadly, this is the biggest lie they are pushing this cycle. According to their solemn pledge to Grover Norquist (which, as we all know, trumps the not-so-solemn pledge they make to the voters), any loophole closure, spending cut, or other financial legerdemain can be used for exactly one thing: to pay for yet another tax cut.
Does it make ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER to cut taxes when they're already too fucking low? And here I'm not even thinking of a tax increase. Just leave the taxes the fuck alone (or, at least, let the Bush cuts expire for all of us--yes, that is going to hurt but playtime is over) and start cutting giveaways to campaign donors like Medicare Part D and strategic missile defense. But that's not what will happen.