Pawlenty's Growth Speech

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2011/06/pawlenty-growth-speech

Timothy Pawlenty's campaign Web site has the text of his growth speech:

5% growth is not some pie-in-the-sky number. We've done it before. And with the right policies, we can do it again.

Between 1983 and 1987, the Reagan recovery grew at 4.9%. Between 1996 and 1999, under President Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress the economy grew at more than 4.7%. In each case millions of new jobs were created, incomes rose and unemployment fell to historic lows. The same can happen again.

Growing at 5% a year, rather than the current level of 1.8%, would net us millions of new jobs. Trillions of dollars in new wealth. Put us on a path to saving our entitlement programs. And balance the federal budget.

More: "We should cut the business tax rate by more than half. I propose reducing the current rate from 35% to 15%."

More: "On the individual rates we need a simpler, fairer and flatter tax system overall. I propose just two rates, 10% and 25%. Under my plan, those who currently pay no income tax would stay at a zero rate. After that, the first fifty-thousand dollars of income or one-hundred thousand for married couples would be taxed at 10%. Everything above that would be taxed at 25%. That's it....In addition, we should eliminate all together the capital gains tax, interest income tax, dividends tax and the death tax. Government has no moral or economic basis to claim a second share of the same income. When you deposit a dollar in your bank account, every penny should be forevermore yours and your children's. Not the federal government's."

The whole speech is worth a read, pretty good stuff.

A Wall Street Journal editorial comments, "A Pawlenty spokesman told us the 5% target is realistic and achievable, and it's true that the economy grew 4.9% on average between 1983 and 1987, and nearly 4.7% between 1996 and 1999. Yet such long booms are rare in developed economies and we can't recall one that lasted 10 years." I'd also add the 5.8% average annualized real GDP growth rate during the five years 1962 to 1966.

by Ira Stoll  |  Jun 7, 2011 at 9:33 pm Related Topics:  Politics, Taxes receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list