To those who aren’t political junkies, the Republican Party is viewed as the party that wants to dismantle government, slash taxes to zero and leave everyone to die on their own without the aid of the state. This viewpoint is incorrect. Akin to their counterparts on the other side of the aisle, the GOP is just as much a proponents of big government, and they certainly love their taxes. Sure, they won’t be espousing the supposed virtues of taxation…or are they?
Indeed, the Republican primaries haven’t been unique or different as pretty much all the candidates stand for the same ideas: foreign intervention, taxation, the Federal Reserve and their own version of a government healthcare plan. Where’s Ron Paul when you need him?! There is no doubt that these primaries are vastly different without Dr. Paul.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Rand Paul and others will be debating on the CNN stage. They will try to show voters how they’re each uniquely different, and they have their own plan to “make American great again.” The reality of the situation is that they’re just applying to be a captain of a sinking ship. Their plans won’t prevent the Titanic from hitting the iceberg.
Unless there is a candidate that will tackle the $18 trillion debt and the $120 trillion in unfunded liabilities, this whole election process is in vain.
Just what exactly is the solution that Trump or Mike Huckabee are offering? Let’s take a look at some of their tax schemes:
Flat Tax: replace the current system of taxation with a single flat tax that applies to everyone. The numbers vary from day to day, but the rate is usually around 17 percent. Who supports this idea? Rand Paul (14.5 percent), Ted Cruz (no details) and Ben Carson (10 to 15 percent).
“So I am announcing an over $2 trillion tax cut that would repeal the entire IRS tax code—more than 70,000 pages—and replace it with a low, broad-based tax of 14.5% on individuals and businesses. I would eliminate nearly every special-interest loophole. The plan also eliminates the payroll tax on workers and several federal taxes outright, including gift and estate taxes, telephone taxes, and all duties and tariffs. I call this ‘The Fair and Flat Tax,” Paul wrote on his website.
Critics say it’s not feasible because the flat tax would need to be 25 percent in order to bring in as much revenue today. Typical statists. They always peddle the notion that the government needs this amount of revenue. Why can’t the government just cut spending then?
Fair Tax: replace current income, capital gains and payroll taxes with a national sales tax. Again, similar to the flat tax, the numbers vary each day. Ostensibly, the only candidate in favor of the general consumption tax is Mike Huckabee, who wants a 23 percent sales tax. For each dollar you spend, 23 cents is added to the purchase.
“The Fair Tax transforms the process by which we fund Social Security and Medicare because the money paid in consumption is paid by everybody, including illegals, prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers, all the people that are freeloading off the system now,” he said during last month’s GOP debate.
Carried Interest: eliminate a loophole known as the “carried interest.” This allows hedge fund behemoths to identify their profits as carried interest instead of income, which allows them to have a lower rate. Donald Trump and Jeb Bush want to get rid of this, saying they want to tax carried interest as the same as income.
“…the carried interest is really a tremendous burden on the country. I have friends that are make — and enemies, mostly enemies, frankly, otherwise maybe I wouldn’t be saying this, but I am saying it for the good of the country. And none of them are going to support me, and I don’t want their support, although I could get it if I want it. And, speaking to that, Hillary Clinton has many hedge fund people supporting her. So, in the end, I would say that the hedge fund people make a lot of money and they pay very little tax. I’m about the middle class. I want the middle class to be thriving again. We’re losing our middle class,” Trump told Bloomberg.
Before we continue, let’s take a gander at a superb quote on loopholes from economist Ludwig von Mises:
“Capitalism breathes through those loopholes.”
There you have it, the 2016 crop of GOP candidates aren’t about shrinking the size of government, ending wars or reducing your tax burden, payroll or inflationary. They just want to be the ones to enforce the tax code and be in power.
Then-Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul said it best during the 2008 and 2012 debates that the best tax rate is zero. Aside from Dr. Paul, it’s the same nauseating ideas that Republicans, and even Democrats, push each election cycle: simplify the tax code, revamp the tax code or cut taxes. The tax code is never simplified, the tax code is never revamped and taxes are rarely ever cut.
The general election will prove that the biggest fight will be who is more statist than the other.
Leave a Comment