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The Spectacle Blog
This is the best combination of principle with political practicalities, in terms of issues. Read it here. No corporate income tax. A flat personal tax. Pro defense. Pro life. There’s everything to like!
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More Blog Posts by Quin Hillyer
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/01/18/the-new-presidential-platform
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R Martin| 1.18.12 @ 6:44PM
Please stick with golf tournament prognostication, Mr. Hillyer. A wealth tax? Why in the world should wealth be taxed? It should be celebrated, even to the extent that growth in one's wealth produces tax benefits. It's capitalism, Mr. Hillyer, wealth is the goal. Geeeez.
Quin| 1.18.12 @ 6:51PM
Did you actually read the link explaining it? It actually makes very conservative arguments.
R Martin| 1.18.12 @ 8:06PM
Yes, I read it and now I've read it again. Mr. McKinnon's piece betrays any semblance of conservatisim when it open with this:
" Still, unemployment and income inequality remain justifiable concerns for tens of millions of Americans and are two of the most pressing issues in the 2012 presidential election."
Income inequality has not been an issue, let alone a pressing one, in this country until leftists focused on it as a political ploy. The occupy nonsense followed and Obama siezed on it to push his proposed tax increases. The issue is at the heart of Marxism.
A wealth tax is an absurd proposal. Think of the bureaucratic expansion necessary to analyze and quantify for wealth tax purposes every pied-à-terre or offshore equity account to determine or audit wealth tax returns.
Mr. Quinn, I have never questioned your conservative bonfides, but you are waaaay off base on this one.
Quin| 1.18.12 @ 9:14PM
The key thing is that it allows for a flat tax on income (and a ZERO, repeat ZERO, corporate income tax). I agree with you that when I first read the piece, I was thrown off by the same line about "income inequality" that you, very rightly, were. I agree with you. But his other arguments, most of them at least, really are quite conservative.
But, that said, I can easily agree to jettison that part of my plan. It doesn't make the math work as well to jettison it, but if economic growth comes through as I expect, it won't make THAT big of a difference. Note that the tax I propose would be limited in size by a constitutional amendment. Thus far, but no farther. It's a nice political sop to Cerberus.
R Martin| 1.19.12 @ 7:41AM
The zero corporate income tax is a terrific idea. I've never understood the logic of taxing business owners twice on the same income just because that income was generated by a certain form of corporate structure. Broad restructuring of the tax system is clearly necessary.
C Bowen | 1.18.12 @ 7:30PM
20% income tax? Commies.
Bob| 1.18.12 @ 7:41PM
Willard is a tax cheat, Willard is a tax cheat. This is wonderful! San Antone! Hallelujah! Another GOPuke bites the dust.
RJ| 1.18.12 @ 10:39PM
Let me offer a competing platform:
1. Enact a hiring freeze for the Executive Branch, excluding replacements for the military and Justice Department. Have a target to reduce the number of federal employees by no less than 33%. Propose legislation so that from now on, all federal pensions would be "defined contributions" rather than "defined benefits."
2. Propose a "Save Social Security Act" wherein each government program and department would be weighed as to whether the money spent on it would better serve taxpayers by shutting down the program and allocating the money saved to funding Social Security payments or paying off government debt. (It would be a target rich project) Among the departments closed would be HUD, Transportation, Energy, Education and Commerce. Perhaps we could offer Mitt Romney the job of closing down government agencies and departments.
3. Appoint Ron Paul as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank and support his efforts to audit and end it. Propose legislation to return US currency to the Gold standard.
4. Instruct the Justice Department that its top priority is to ensure that US government officials comply with US law.
5. Prioritize US military efforts to the defense of the United States and its interests. Re-evaluate all foreign deployments, defense treaties, including NATO and US bases. Adopt the Eisenhower model for the use of the military; no more nation building or committing troops in Libya just because we can.
6. Propose legislation to sell lands owned by the US government. Also, propose legislation to return the District of Columbia, excluding the Mall area, to Maryland.
7. Work to outlaw all bailouts, subsidies and government loans.
8. Propose replacing the income tax (and alternative minimum tax) with a 5% rate for low-income earners (adopting Michele Bachmann's philosophy that everyone should pay something) and a 10% rate for everyone else. The only allowable deduction would be for medical expenses (excluding cosmetic treatments, etc) above 7% of income. A 10% revenue tax would be proposed for businesses.
9 Agree about adopting Paul Ryan's medicaid to the states program and of course, repeal Obamacare. Propose that Medicare be changed to help fund insurance premiums for the elderly.
10. Propose legislation to evolve Social Security into a personal retirement account similar to what has been done in Chile.
11. Review all existing legislation to see what can be repealed. Davis-Bacon, Dodd-Frank, Sarbanes-Oxley, etc.
Mike 3/505| 1.18.12 @ 10:40PM
Quin,
A decent start, with some serious flaws.
You've already been beat up on the wealth tax part, so I won't add to the flogging.
Income tax...flat tax, 10 percent. All income above, call it 12K is taxed at that rate. NO deductions for wives, kids, houses, dogs or anything else.
Medicaid blocked to the states is a good start...as a transition to elimination of all federal funding for it. Same with food stamps, welfare and the like. Block them to states with eventual elimination of federal funding.
Innocent life doesn't trump liberty. Saying it does is how the leftists try and institute more and more restrictive gun laws. Liberty trumps all...except another citizens liberty. It's a fine point, but an important one.
Regards,
Mike