Rick Perry’s whacked-out ‘tax-reform’ plan
Gov. Rick Perry’s proposed tax-reform plan is not merely “loco”. As they say in Texas, it’s muy loco.
In the first place, it creates two tax structures that would co-exist side by side — the current system and a flat 20-percent system. Taxpayers would be able to choose which system they prefer to pay taxes under.
Perry’s proposed flat-tax system includes a standard deduction of $12,500 a person. It retains the mortgage-interest deduction for all those earning less than $500,000. It includes deductions for charity and for state and local taxes.
So pretend that you’re a family of five with an income of $88,500, roughly twice the median household income. You pay $15,000 a year in mortgage interest, make $2,000 a year in charitable contributions and pay $9,000 in state and local taxes. Under Perry’s plan, you would pay not a penny in federal income taxes. This, from a man who has been going around the country complaining that too many Americans pay no income taxes (even though most of them do pay significant payroll taxes.)
The 2014 income tax form, as presented by the Perry campaign and filled out for the Happy Taxpayer family.
Let’s give this mythical family a windfall of $11,500 in capital gains income, just to bring the total up to $100,000. Bottom line: No income tax owed.
In addition, no taxes would be charged on Social Security benefits. Or on dividends. Or on long-term capital gains. Or on estates. In fact, the combination of a 20 percent flat rate and the abolishment of capital gains taxes and dividend taxes would mean immense tax breaks for wealthy Americans amounting to hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.
Perry also proposes to cap federal spending at 18 percent of gross domestic product. Although I haven’t seen a revenue analysis yet, I have grave doubts whether, with all of his promised tax cuts, his proposal would produce even that level of revenue.
But in the overall spirit of his plan, let’s just pretend, shall we?
Reducing spending to 18 percent of GDP would require $900 billion in cuts from the current budget. To give you an idea what that would mean, one way to achieve savings on that scale would be to eliminate Medicare entirely.
Plus cut Social Security by 55 percent.
Or abolish Medicare AND cut defense by 50 percent.
Or abolish Medicare AND abolish the departments of agriculture, commerce, education, energy, homeland security, housing and urban development and interior.
The whole thing, in other words, is wildly unrealistic. Conservative economist Milton Friedman used to warn that there is no such thing as a free lunch, but Perry is promising Americans a free breakfast, lunch and six-course catered dinner served on the finest china, with tiramasu for dessert and Godiva chocolates on your pillow for bedtime.
Perry is apparently gambling that in a Republican primary, that won’t matter much. Are his opponents going to attack him for cutting taxes too much? Are they going to attack him for cutting spending too much?
His calculation seems to be that no, they won’t, and if they do, all the better.
– Jay Bookman
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198 comments Add your comment
getalife
October 25th, 2011
2:24 pm
There ya go heathen.
New con talking points.
Jay
October 25th, 2011
2:24 pm
Jimmy, the AMT is not a second tax system. It’s part of the current system. It’s not as if you get to choose whether to use the AMT or not.
AmVet
October 25th, 2011
2:24 pm
I really could give a $#!t less who “the historians” think is the worst President.
OK.
And had I voted for that Texas (sort of) debacle even once, much less twice, I’d probably have a similar take on the subject…
godless heathen
October 25th, 2011
2:25 pm
getalife,
At least a con talking point on Fox would be some kind of point instead of the broken-record Obama worship you repeatedly post day in and day out.
moonbat betty
October 25th, 2011
2:26 pm
“U libs do it all day long”
You’re right, jm.
Most of the regular libs here have already busted themselves before too.
But that won’t stop them from harping on YOU!
liberalefty
October 25th, 2011
2:27 pm
OBAMA got these repubs creating all kinds of insane tax “plans”? whose next, JOE THE PLUMBER?
St Simons - we're on Island time
October 25th, 2011
2:27 pm
oh lord this is just too stupid to comment on.
Unless there is accounting abuse, I’m just going to lurk,
a flat tax w/ a %GDP ceiling is a sneaky way of “drowning govt in a bathtub” and ending Medicare & SS, without arousing their unsophisticated base.
Now I get the “I’m a Birther” thing yesterday. Its con synergy, man
liberalefty
October 25th, 2011
2:28 pm
@godless
u mean like the REAGAN worshippers on the right?
jm
October 25th, 2011
2:28 pm
Jay 2:18. You seem to have left off corporate tax revenue, which is in addition to individual tax….. irrespective, I’d say if the plan in total produces 8% or less, its loco, and less than 15% and its dangerous.
I’d love to stay and continue this, but I’ll have to chime in more later tonight. So all you who want to take pot shots all evening, I’ll see you then.
Paul
October 25th, 2011
2:28 pm
Well let’s see.
Who’s going to opt for 20%? People who pay more under the current system. Who are they? Pretty well to do. Why will they opt for it? To pay less taxes.
If they pay less taxes, what happens to total revenue? It goes down. If revenue goes down, what happens to the deficit? It goes up.
It’s gonna be a great debate.
getalife
October 25th, 2011
2:28 pm
I think the gop should close the corporate welfare loopholes like they say they would do and it would pass.
The President would sign it so they should act.
But the gop are lying as usual.
Armed Liberal
October 25th, 2011
2:29 pm
Paul
October 25th, 2011
2:23 pm
Sssssssshhhhhhhhhhh…
It’s a secret. But I have it on good authority the gap isn’t really a gap and math is a left wing conspiracy…
jm
October 25th, 2011
2:30 pm
Paul 2:23
“Where’s the other 10% for spending come from?”
The same place Obama is getting the 10%. Debt.
couldn’t resist.
Can’t criticize Perry when Obama is running up the tab so much.
AmVet
October 25th, 2011
2:30 pm
The next debate’s gonna be painful to watch.
Like all the previous ones, Paul?!
I think they should interject some animation into the proceedings.
Perhaps after every stunningly stupid comment, they could flash this on the screen behind the candidates. (But then again, it might take all night to finish…)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUtl26ZW6so
liberalefty
October 25th, 2011
2:30 pm
the repubs have no actual plan. i can’t wait to see BACHMAN’S economic plan, it should be a hoot on late nite talk shows
Aquagirl
October 25th, 2011
2:30 pm
Perry wants spending at 18% of GDP, but income tax provides only 8% of GDP. Where’s the other 10% for spending come from?
Rick Perry: not good with the maths.
getalife
October 25th, 2011
2:32 pm
bachman’s moonbat plan is no taxes.
Not sure why she is still running.
Probably to steal con donations like cain.
carlosgvv
October 25th, 2011
2:32 pm
The key words here are “immense tax breaks for wealthy Americans”. Since The Republican Party is totally owned by the rich, it’s no supprise whatsover that Perry’s tax plan, like Cain’s, is a perverted Robin Hood scheme that robs from the middle class and poor and gives to the rich. The real mystery here is why so many middle class Americans would rather vote Republican and knowingly allow themselves to be thrown under the bus than vote Democratic. Looks like America is dumbing down even faster than we thought.
Paul
October 25th, 2011
2:34 pm
jm
“Can’t criticize Perry when Obama is running up the tab so much.”
Somehow, I don’t think “You think Obama ran up the debt? Wait ’till I’m elected!” is gonna resonate with the voters -
Armed Liberal
October 25th, 2011
2:35 pm
liberalefty
October 25th, 2011
2:30 pm
Her plan is simple: Debt, what debt? I’ve never met this debt you speak of… We need to PRAY the … wait wait, that’s hubby… I’ll get back to you… my my my New Hampshire team is working – wait, what? Nevermind, it’s Obama’s fault!!!
getalife
October 25th, 2011
2:36 pm
cain is still winning and perry is at 6%.
He will answer questions about his “plan” so that should be fun.
Sandy
October 25th, 2011
2:36 pm
Religion is the root of all evil!
Paul
October 25th, 2011
2:36 pm
AmVet
I thought it’d be neat if the audience and or those at home could vote after each answer. Just a “Answered the question: N%” and “Did not answer N%” flashing on the screen.
Then again, during the CNN debate Perry said they could ask whatever they wanted, he’d answer with whatever he wanted -
Jay
October 25th, 2011
2:38 pm
Perry wants spending at 18% of GDP, but income tax provides only 8% of GDP. Where’s the other 10% for spending come from?
Well, the payroll tax would remain in full effect, as would the gasoline tax and other excise taxes (alcohol, cigarettes). The corporate income tax would stay in effect but the rate would be cut to 20 percent from 35 percent, with some deductions eliminated so it’s hard to say offhand how much revenue it would produce.
philosopher
October 25th, 2011
2:40 pm
Saying that Rick Perry has been very successful in Texas is like saying that Herman Talmadge was very successful in Georgia…in other words- ain’t sayin’ much! Coming up with a cockeyed plan because he needs to to compete with crazy Herman is also NOT SAYIN”MUCH. Foolishness is foolishness under any guise-it does not sway a thinking person at all.
RB from Gwinnett
October 25th, 2011
2:40 pm
When are you going to tell us anything good about Obama?
getalife
October 25th, 2011
2:41 pm
Looks like a revenue loser and a huge tax cut for the 1 %.
The deficit talk from the gop is bs.
Paul
October 25th, 2011
2:41 pm
“so it’s hard to say offhand how much revenue it would produce.”
I think a safe answer is “not enough.”
Finn McCool
October 25th, 2011
2:41 pm
Fat cats get a tax cut while the middle class gets a tax increase?
Well, that parallels the tangent America has been on for the past 32 years.
getalife
October 25th, 2011
2:42 pm
rb,
perry tax plan.
Focus.
Your ods is really bad.
Finn McCool
October 25th, 2011
2:44 pm
Because the base is too stupid to understand the implications, even when it’s explained to them.
You can’t say that enough. Literally…they still won’t get it.
Paul
October 25th, 2011
2:44 pm
“the payroll tax would remain in full effect”
Yet that amount would drop because of younger workers opting out. So it causes more instability thru reduced revenue for current and future SS recipients.
And it presupposes part of the payroll tax is going to continue to be used for general obligations.
Time to pin Perry down on the ‘cut’ portion.
Or his supporters.
Any takers? Jay’s given the outline of the numbers required and the amount possible in major programs.
Paul
October 25th, 2011
2:45 pm
Finn
I generally don’t like to say things like that, but dang, sometimes…..
Granny Godzilla
October 25th, 2011
2:46 pm
November 9th, 2011 8pm ET on CNBC
Location: Oakland University in Rochester, MI
Sponsor: CNBC, the Michigan Republican Party and Oakland University
Participants: TBD
November 12th, 2011 Air Time TBD on CBS
Location: Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Sponsor: CBS News and the Republican Party of South Carolina
Participants: TBD
November 15th, 2011 8pm ET on CNN
Location: Washington, DC
Sponsor: CNN, The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute
Participants: TBD
3 within 7 days…..somebody will melt down
getalife
October 25th, 2011
2:48 pm
When your mindset is to “get the President” like rb, you will believe anything.
Joe COOL
October 25th, 2011
2:48 pm
Some Of PERRYs People:
-Ga. ‘birther’ found guilty of Obama plot-
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A jury convicted a Georgia man Tuesday of a federal firearms charge in what authorities said was a plot to take over a Tennessee courthouse and force President Barack Obama out of office.
Huff choked back tears as he told the jury Friday that he was humiliated because “my government has called me a potential domestic terrorist.”
^^^LOL LOL
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/georgia-man-convicted-in-1209536.html
We are 99%....of the problem.
October 25th, 2011
2:51 pm
Enter your comments here
Bosch
October 25th, 2011
2:52 pm
“I generally don’t like to say things like that, but dang, sometimes…..”
I thought that “other” Paul was posting!
Don’t feel bad Paul — sometimes ya’ just gotta call a spade a spade.
Bosch
October 25th, 2011
2:53 pm
jm/ We are 99%,
You’re not funny anymore, actually changing your name because you’re too embarrassed to keep posting as yourself isn’t funny to begin with — if you gotta go, go.
Bosch
October 25th, 2011
2:54 pm
Mrs. G.,
Are those GOP debates? Damn! How many are they gonna have???
getalife
October 25th, 2011
2:56 pm
Yeah, once you get busted for using other names to try to prove your point, it is time to go.
See ya at Kyle’s jm.
Jack
October 25th, 2011
2:56 pm
Changes to the tax code will have to be small and incremental with no tax increases in order for the Congressional tax law writers to understand it. If the EIC rule is enforced like IRS says it’s gonna do, no tax increase would be necessary. They’ve already removed the subsidy for big farmers. Being a small farmer, all I have to do if figure out which crop to lay aside and still be paid not to raise it. May decide not to raise pigs if the payment not to raise ‘em is big enough.
Jay
October 25th, 2011
2:56 pm
Bosch that most recent “99%er” wasn’t jm.
AmVet
October 25th, 2011
2:57 pm
Joe COOL, they sure grow them dumb and dangerous in Paulding County, don’t they?
The sad part is that that white trash had 300 rounds of ammo in his “Don’t Tread” truck.
Another deranged birther…
Paul
October 25th, 2011
2:57 pm
Bosch
I cannot fault the people who hear the outline of a plan and say “sounds good to me!” They make the assumption that if a candidate’s going to put it forward, it should make a bit of sense.
But when the numbers are laid out, when the implications are given, and they say ’so what??’ or “I don’t believe it, do it anyway” then the label seems to fit.
And it’s really rather sad.
Bosch
October 25th, 2011
2:58 pm
Okay, Jay, my bad.
Jimmy62
October 25th, 2011
2:59 pm
Carlosgvv: Check the facts, Wall Street and big business tend to donate more to Democrats than Republicans, with Obama being one of the largest recipients. Then he uses that money to fool folks like you in to thinking the Democrats are the party of the poor and middle class, when in fact they are the party of the rich, and all their plans tend to benefit the rich. They look good on paper, but the results of Dem plans over and over again are that the rich get richer, and the fools like yourself keep on voting for them. The “War on Poverty” has created more poor people in this country than any “evil corporations.”
Halftrack
October 25th, 2011
3:00 pm
Jay – - – Have you vetted the Obummercare like you have this flat tax plan. What we need is a fact-based budget from our Congress and not CBO scores for a political plan that is unrealistic. I would take the Heritage Foundation scoring before the CBO mess. We all know we are being lied to, we just go ahead an believe the best sound bites don’t we.
Granny Godzilla
October 25th, 2011
3:01 pm
Bosch
Besides the 3 above:
December 1st, 2011 Air time TBD on CNN
Location: Arizona
Sponsor: CNN and the Republican Party of Arizona
Participants: TBD
December 10th, 2011 Air time TBD on ABC
Location: Des Moines, IA
Sponsor: ABC News and Republican Party of Iowa
Participants: TBD
December 15th, 2011 9pm ET on Fox News
Location: Sioux City Convention Center in Sioux City, Iowa
Sponsor: Fox News and Republican Party of Iowa
Participants: TBD
December 19th, 2011 4pm ET on PBS
Location: Iowa Public Television in Johnston, IA
Sponsor: The Des Moines Register, Iowa Public Television, PBS NEWSHOUR, Google and YouTube
Participants: TBD
January 7th, 2012 Air time TBD on ABC
Location: NH
Sponsor: ABC News and WMUR
Participants: TBD
January 16th, 2012 9pm ET on Fox News
Location: Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Sponsor: Fox News and Republican Party of South Carolina
Participants: TBD
January 19th, 2012 Air time TBD on CNN
Location: Charleston, SC
Sponsor: CNN and the Southern Republican Leadership Conference
Participants: TBD
January 23rd, 2012 Air time TBD on NBC
Location:University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida
Sponsor: The St. Petersburg Times, NBC News, the National Journal and the Florida Council of 100
Participants: TBD
January 26th, 2012 Air time TBD on CNN
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Sponsor: CNN and Republican Party of Florida
Participants: TBD
March 5th, 2012 Air time TBD on NBC
Location: Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA
Sponsor: Reagan Library, NBC News and Politico
Participants: TBD
March 19th, 2012 Air time TBD on PBS
Location: Portland, OR
Sponsor: Oregon Public Broadcasting, NPR, PBS, and The Washington Times
Participants: TBD
More to come as they are announced. Please contact us if you find a mistake or omission on this page.
——————————————————————————–
Paul
October 25th, 2011
3:01 pm
Bosch
24.
But one may be derailed.
Here’s the schedule. You can even watch all the past debates, you masochist, you.
http://www.2012presidentialelectionnews.com/2012-debate-schedule/2011-2012-primary-debate-schedule/
Here’s the Rubio blowup affecting a FL debate
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-castaneda-univision-republican-debate-rubio-20111025,0,464229.story?track=rss
Bosch
October 25th, 2011
3:02 pm
Yeah, Paul, I know what you mean. In my neck of the woods, people are all agog over Cain, I ask them what part of you pay more taxes, lots more taxes, while the wealthiest people pay less, lots less is so great?
They usually go into the “Well, the welfare leeches need to start giving and stop taking”
And I’m like, “But YOU will be paying lots more in taxes”
Then they start talking about how we shouldn’t penalize the wealthy.
That’s when I just shake my head and walk away.
Bosch
October 25th, 2011
3:04 pm
Paul, Mrs. G., is that some kind of record? I mean, how many times do they want to get in front of the cameras to embarrass themselves???
Mighty Righty
October 25th, 2011
3:04 pm
Perry’s tax plan is a non starter. It is in the same category of madness as Obama’s real estate foreclosure madness and jobs program insanity.
stands for decibels
October 25th, 2011
3:04 pm
300 rounds of ammo in his “Don’t Tread” truck.
Bold Prediction: He’ll get approximately 1/300th as much attention from the blogniscenti as “Anonymous Guy With His Bare Backside Against Some Cop Car Somewhere Who Mighta Been Part of Occupy Wall Street”.
Mr. Snarky
October 25th, 2011
3:06 pm
Aye Carumba!!
Joe COOL
October 25th, 2011
3:06 pm
Amvet,
The worst part is that fool is in court about to cry because he was humiliated because “my government has called me a potential domestic terrorist”, Uhhhh, duhh!! Hes a “hero” in his parts!!
Bosch
October 25th, 2011
3:07 pm
Huff choked back tears as he told the jury Friday that he was humiliated because “my government has called me a potential domestic terrorist.”
Note to Mr. Huff: don’t ACT like a domestic terrorist and your government won’t call you one, or put you in jail for BEING one.
Bosch
October 25th, 2011
3:08 pm
Joe COOL,
So….how’s the inside of my head look since you seem to be in there right now? See anything??
Night Train
October 25th, 2011
3:10 pm
Yep this plan is right up there with Obamacare. How’s that ‘Hope & Change’, or is it ‘Yes We Can’, no no, it’s ‘Pass This Bill’, or is it ‘We Can’t Wait’ this week? It’s so hard to keep track as his “bumper sticker” philosophy changes every week or so. I guess that is a good thing though, it helps his supporters to with keeping their cars together.
The lefties, who have, and are still supporting this joke of a president have the balls (or ovaries as the case may be) to make fun of and ridicule the GOP candidates! Pot, meet kettle!
Mick
October 25th, 2011
3:14 pm
night
I’ll take the pot, you hold the kettle…
Joe COOL
October 25th, 2011
3:14 pm
Bosch,
lol..looks like a party going on in there! Whats the cover. As my friend says, “shots, shots, shots, shots……”
AmVet
October 25th, 2011
3:15 pm
Joe Cool, there is in fact, a Facebook page for the cretin. And it is full of equally loathsome pigs cheering him on.
Check the facts, Wall Street and big business tend to donate more to Democrats than Republicans…
I see this trumpeted from time to time, but have never seen the first scintilla of corroborating evidence provided.
Do you have some that you would like to share, 62?
Butch Cassidy
October 25th, 2011
3:15 pm
Night Train – “The lefties, who have, and are still supporting this joke of a president have the balls (or ovaries as the case may be) to make fun of and ridicule the GOP candidates!”
I’m not a “lefty” I’m simply a realist. The GOP needs to SERIOUSLY step up it’s game if it hopes to unseat Obama. I reccomend Jon Huntsman, but I doubt he’ll get any airtime, he’s not stupid enough. And as we’ve been seeing, the sheep sure do LOVE their stupid.
Joe COOL
October 25th, 2011
3:18 pm
“Note to Mr. Huff: don’t ACT like a domestic terrorist and your government won’t call you one, or put you in jail for BEING one.”
Thats the problem, in his mind, hes being “Patriotic”! 2 Different worlds, 2 different worlds.
ragnar danneskjold
October 25th, 2011
3:18 pm
Although I am a Cain partisan, I can get behind Mr. Perry’s reasonable alternative tax system. (Note that democrats, in 1969, gave us the current dual tax system, personal Federal income tax plus the Alternative Minimum Tax now so despised by the middle class.)
Now if you want to talk about “whacked-out” let’s discuss the Obamacrats’s legal strategy for ObamaCare before the Supreme Court. In its petition for cert, Obama’s henchmen tell the court that the individual mandate is not severable from the main law, and that the court will have to invalidate Obamacare entirely if it finds the mandate unConstitutional. No half a loaf for these people. Fortunately Obama has never done something really stupid like criticizing the Supreme Court majority on a similar “unConstitutionality” ruling while the main players were sitting right in front of him
Tommy Maddox
October 25th, 2011
3:22 pm
“but Perry is promising Americans a free breakfast, lunch and six-course catered dinner served on the finest china, with tiramasu for dessert and Godiva chocolates on your pillow for bedtime.”
Wasn’t this the kind of stuff coming out of Obama’s campaign back in ‘08? I’m still waiting on the manna…
Butch Cassidy
October 25th, 2011
3:23 pm
Here’s the best and the brightest running for President on the GOP side:
Cain: I got 999, all we have to do is throw out the tax code. Oh Yeah, Repeal Obamacare!
Perry: I got a flat 20% tax that gives you “options”. Oh Yeah, Repeal Obamacare!
Romney: If it was up to me we’d be in Iraq for ever! Oh Yeah, Repeal Obamacare!
Paul: I’ll take us back to the dawn of the industrial age and let you die in the streets. Oh Yeah, Repeal Obamacare!
Santorum: Repeal Obamacare!
Bachmann: Screech, Screech, Screech, Oh Yeah, Repeal Obamacare
Gingrich: Repeal Obamacare and……………..
Huntsman: I think by working together we can accomplish great things.
Obviously Huntsmans a LOSER!
Mighty Righty
October 25th, 2011
3:23 pm
The only difference between the Perry program which I disagree with, and Obama’s is promising Americans a free breakfast, lunch and six-course catered dinner served on the finest china, with tiramasu for dessert and Godiva chocolates on your pillow for bedtime all to be paid for by money borrowed from China. Under the Obama program our children and grandchildren will repay the money.
md
October 25th, 2011
3:25 pm
“And where do you come up with that “free” education that you love to speak of if not from a Utopian wonderland. Last time I checked, the bulk of my county property taxes go toward k-12.”
May want to notice the quotation marks around the word free……or did they quit teaching that in school too…….
Butch Cassidy
October 25th, 2011
3:25 pm
Mighty Righty – “Under the Obama program our children and grandchildren will repay the money.”
Not at all, they’ll be to busy burning to death from Global Warming. So relax.
Jay
October 25th, 2011
3:25 pm
sheets
md
October 25th, 2011
3:31 pm
“Romney: If it was up to me we’d be in Iraq for ever! Oh Yeah, Repeal Obamacare!”
Hmmm…..I believe a real realist would have noticed the man actually said the people have the right to hear what the military minds were recommending………unless I missed that quote about forever……
Adam
October 25th, 2011
3:33 pm
jm: Jay only busts those he opposes
U libs do it all day long
I do not post from multiple handles as a way to get my point across. And anyway my writing style would surely give me away.
Adam
October 25th, 2011
3:38 pm
Bosch: That above conversation is with someone who only knows talking points. Ask them how they would react if you took away Fox News, Rush, and conservative blogs from their daily media. I bet you would get an IMMEDIATE response.
George P. Burdell
October 25th, 2011
3:57 pm
Jay:
It appears to me that you have misrepresented the way the Perry tax would work although probably not intentionally. Under our current tax code you get either the standard deduction or itemized deductions. You also get exemptions per person. I don’t think under Perry’s plan you would suddenly be allowed to itemize and take the standard deduction. If that is true, the family in the above example would get a little over a $1,000 reduction but they would still pay over $7,500 in federal taxes. Am I wrong on this?
Jay
October 25th, 2011
3:58 pm
George, the tax form reproduced on this page is taken directly from Perry’s campaign website. What do you think?
George P. Burdell
October 25th, 2011
4:11 pm
Not really a fan of the plan in the first place and I have to say that makes absolutely no sense. If that is how he intends for this to work, then he really is as bonkers as you say. I do have to wonder if someone there made a mistake. At $12,500 per person and taking some of the larger deductions, its hard to imagine many scenarios where a taxpayer wouldn’t pay a lot less in taxes under this plan. Thank you for the clarification and I’ll go do some digging to see if he really is this crazy.
Jay
October 25th, 2011
4:19 pm
Just to make sure there’s no confusion, the blank form was taken from Perry’s site. I filled it out myself, using the numbers for the hypothetical family cited in the blog post above.
George P. Burdell
October 25th, 2011
4:33 pm
I found it there as well and you are absolutely correct in how you applied it. We’ve probably found some rare ground to agree on here but this plan is muy loco. You could spend a couple of decades writing about the unintended consequences on this one. I had long ago decided that there was no chance I’d be voting for Perry in the first place, but this one pretty much clinches it for me. That doesn’t mean I’d be voting for Obama if it came down to the two, but rather I’d probably be voting for a third-pary candidate.
Peter
October 25th, 2011
5:37 pm
Paul . Obama didn’t run up the debt… he merely did the right thing..he added the War debts Bush kept separate to the over all debt…..Duhhhhhhhh.
javone
October 25th, 2011
6:03 pm
perry, romney and cain’s plans: cut taxes for rich people and cut government benefits for lower income people. I’m getting tired of rich republicans trying to cut my benefits more. They are low enough already. Obama needs 4 more years to get more government money to the people and away from these greedy republicans to get richer!
Rickdiculous
October 25th, 2011
6:26 pm
Rick Perry’s Tax Plan is a revised tax code for the RICH. He said – “The people who are complaining about people making more money than they do – he said – I DON’T CARE.
In other words – F**k the MIDDLE CLASS AND THE POOR.
REPUBLICANS YOU ARE BEING BAMBOOZLED BY YOUR OWN PARTY!
midtownguy
October 25th, 2011
6:26 pm
Blatant discrimination against single, childless people. I ran the numbers for myself, they are fairly identical to those in the example except I don’t give $2,000 to charity (I give it to my 401k) and I ended up paying $14,500.
Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil
October 25th, 2011
6:29 pm
@Peter October 25th, 2011 5:37 pm
What is your point? Is it Bush put us in a hole and President Obama tried to dig us out?
Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil
October 25th, 2011
6:36 pm
@Mighty Righty October 25th, 2011 3:23 pm
Obama’s is promising Americans a free breakfast, lunch and six-course catered dinner served on the finest china, with tiramasu for dessert and Godiva chocolates on your pillow for bedtime all to be paid for by money borrowed from China.
What are you ranting about? How many people do you know have gotten a free breakfast, lunch, 6 course dinner served on fine china with tiramasu for dessert…yata yata yata?
ATF
October 25th, 2011
6:39 pm
Does this mean Gov. Deal won’t get the $500 million to dredge Savannah harbor? Does it mean that Chairman Lee of Cobb County can’t get the hundreds of millions he wants to get in federal money to build a nine mile stretch of light rail from Cumberland Mall to Mid-Town Atlanta?
I think maybe our local elected TeaGOPers need to talk to thoseTeaGOPers running for President about what has priority. I mean, in order for the local TeaGOPers to cut taxes, they have to have a federal government to pay for all the stuff. And it isn’t going to get paid for on Cain’s 9-9-9 or Perry’s voluntary 20% plan.
Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil
October 25th, 2011
6:40 pm
@Soothsayer October 25th, 2011 12:48 pm Jay, who said it has to make any sense? It’s the “chicken in every pot” mentality.
Anybody can afford a chicken what we need now is jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. Hell I eat chicken almost everyday and that is by choice.
Parade of Knuckleheads
October 25th, 2011
6:41 pm
No Tax Left Behind.
RON PAUL 2012
October 25th, 2011
6:42 pm
Enter your comments here
Richard
October 25th, 2011
7:03 pm
Bookman and his fellow travelers are the reason the AJC is crashing and burning. He may have an audience with the moocher and looter class, but thankfully the majority of Metro Atlanta sees through the bull..it put out by Krugman, Dowd, Tucker and Bookman, and is fleeing the AJC in droves. I’m not a particular fan of Perry’s, but at least he’s offering an alternative to our current system that is a mess. Bookman makes about as much sense when he posts an article as that boob from Occupy Atlanta on YouTube, who takes incoherent to new heights.
Waheema
October 25th, 2011
7:23 pm
OOOOHHHHH! Jay Bookman does not like a republican tax plan. What a surprise.
Bookman stoped being an honest broker a long time ago. He just pukes back up whatever he reads on Huffpo and pawns it off as a “column”.
Yawn.ZZZZZZZZZZZ
RGB
October 25th, 2011
7:25 pm
Until recently, the federal government “got by” on 18% of GDP.
Perry’s plan is not muy loco.
Obama’s [non] “jobs plan” is loco.
Spending $1.5 trillion we don’t have is muy malo y estupido. Ah, to be a liberal. Next stop: Greece.
Peter
October 25th, 2011
8:31 pm
Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil …… Perhaps you didn’t notice the debt went up substantially as one item the minute Bush left office ?
You should know it was never part of ” His ( the Bush ) Deficit ” ? It was the Wars Deficit !
tom
October 25th, 2011
9:12 pm
Unless a sitting President can enact a new tax structure by Executive Order, the plan introduced by two of the Republican candidates mean nothing. All talk. Congress would have to approve a new system and that is unlikely. They don’t want to eliminate or reduce the power of the IRS, Alot of talk by all the talking heads in the media for nothing.
Thernisa
October 25th, 2011
9:24 pm
Apparently Gov. Heart made his tax plan so complicated that the other GOP candidates can’t figure it out, let alone criticize it.
And forget about the average American taxpayer, who can’t even fill out a Form 1040EZ without H&R Block, ever understanding it.
Atlanta1
October 25th, 2011
9:32 pm
That’s right. Let’s keep this God Forsaken Tax System that we have now, that is requires billions in corporate and personal tax payers to figure out and comply. Let’s keep the same system that empowers K Street on a daily basis.
And why do that? Because the democrat base is too stupid to understand that in this case, Change really is good.
Clowns…
NJ
October 26th, 2011
1:25 pm
No new idea at all here. When Reagan ran for office his “original” tax plan was almost exactly the same. Except by the time he was done his own party changed it.
The LAST president to even get CLOSE to having government spending at around 18 percent of GDP was FDR. That was between 1933 and the start of WWII.
Roosevelt’s New Deal
in 1933: $8.7 billion
in 1934: $10.5
in 1935: $10.9
in 1936: $13.1
in 1937: $12.8
in 1938: $13.8
in 1939: $14.8
Average government spending as percentage of GDP, 1933-39: 15.4%
The fact is that Republicans have now had decades of some of the LOWEST tax rates in American history. It has not worked all that well. Since the top marginal tax rate was dropped below 50 percent, growth of GDP has been about HALF of what it was before that reduction. Between 1950 and 1979, GDP growth averaged about 4 percent per year over that entire period.
With the start of the Great Depression the monthly data for industrial production show a near three-year collapse under President Hoover, ending when FDR came to office in March 1933. Production rocketed by 44 percent in the first three months of the New Deal and, by December 1936, had completely recovered to surpass its 1929 peak.
GDP, only available as annual averages, plunged 25.6 percent from 1929-1932, including by 13.0 percent in 1932. It stabilized in 1933, and then soared by 10.8 percent, 8.9 percent and 12.0 percent, respectively, in 1934, 1935 and 1936. Real GDP surpassed its 1929 peak in 1936 and never again fell below it. After-tax personal income, consumer spending, real private investment and jobs all reached or surpassed their 1929 peaks by late 1936. The reason. In 1932, Hoover finally gave up on the idea that tax cuts were “good” for the economy. Between 1921 and 1925 Coolidge and Hoover cut the top marginal tax rate from 71 percent to 25 percent. A “liquidity driven” bull market started and then ended abruptly with the real estate speculation of 1929…the markets all crashed.
In fact, like every decade between 1850 and 1990, the 1930s suffered two distinct downturns. The official U.S. Business Cycle Dating Committee established that the downturn that began in August 1929 ended in March 1933 with the remarkable economic expansion that started within days of FDR’s bold—if trial and error—New Deal programs. By any normal definition, the Great Depression had ended by late 1936, with all major indicators surpassing their previous peaks.
A second cyclical downturn officially began in May 1937 when FDR, always a fiscal conservative, mistakenly thought the economy had become self-sustaining and slashed public spending programs to balance the budget. These harsh and premature spending cuts caused another severe recession that ended after 13 months in June 1938.
Even in this severe downturn, annual GDP did not fall back below its 1929 peak. And although many suffered and most economic measures did fall back below their 1929 levels, not one fell anywhere close to its March 1933 low. For example, although industrial production fell sharply in the 1937-38 recession, at its low point, in April 1938, it remained 49 percent above its level of March 1933.
When the economy again contracted sharply in late 1937 and early 1938, FDR quickly reversed course and rapid growth immediately began again. GDP soared by 10.9 percent in 1939 and industrial production soared by 23 percent.
gat
October 26th, 2011
7:54 pm
Are you sure that under Perry’s plan you can take both the standard deduction AND itemized deductions? Currently, you have to choose one or the other, but not both. If you can take both, the low-income earner with no house is definitely screwed. A single renter earning just $22,500 would end up paying $2,000 (20% x 10,000).