Don't sell Romney short

Reader comment on: An Illuminating Yet Bizarre Debate

Submitted by David (United States), Oct 4, 2012 11:20

"I don't have a $5 trillion tax cut," Mr. Romney said at one point. "I'm not looking to cut massive taxes. There'll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit." Later, Mr. Romney said, "I will not reduce the taxes paid by upper income Americans." And again, "I 'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. That's not my plan."

If those are in fact Romney's words, I see that as a straightforward assertion (without the wonkish detail) that cutting tax RATES is not the same as cutting TAXES. This is a point that used to be the received wisdom, and is certainly borne out by the data: cutting rates invariably results in a higher share of the taxes being paid by the top income earners, and increasing the rates has the opposite effect.

So I think Romney's point is that a flatter, fairer tax structure will result in equal or greater revenues being paid by "upper income Americans." Seems quite Reaganesque to me! :-)

Note: Comments are moderated by the editor and are subject to editing.

Submit a comment on this article

Other reader comments on this item

Comment on this item