John R. Houk
© November 16, 2011
Over the last several weeks I have been examining some GOP candidates running for the Presidential nomination. I started out looking at tax plans because Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 was simple enough to comprehend as a possible tax reform move that would raise Federal revenues and be fair taxation for American voters.
Not all the candidates are emphasizing tax reform as the fix. Many are looking at job creating projects based on Conservative principles that would in turn create more tax revenues without raising taxes using the current IRS tax system.
Because of the Cain success in connecting to American Conservatives with his 9-9-9 tax plan, some candidates have added some form of tax reform or lower tax principles to their American economy building plans which include issues dear to Conservatives such as the debt ceiling and lowering the Federal debt.
So far I have looked at:
The path of examination is of no particular order; however when I began I have to admit a proclivity for Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain. I have never been a Mitt Romney fan. The initial appearance of Rick Perry as a GOP candidate initially caught my attention because of his appearance to not be affected by political correctness by opening a Texas State Christian prayer event even with Leftist contempt for a Governor to pray as a Christian. I loved that! Since then I am convinced Perry could not defeat BHO because our Left Wing President would chew Perry out and spit him out in campaign debates. There are other issues of Perry concern however going toe-to-toe with Obama in campaigning is my principle concern. As of writing this post Herman Cain has been assaulted with he-said she-said accusations of unsubstantiated sexual harassment open to the judgment of public opinion rather than a civil or criminal court. Recently Cain has had a debate moment in which hesitation of a foreign policy question on Libya caused an uncomfortable pause. Michele Bachmann is a person I still like especially as a Tea Party candidate and as a Social Conservative but there is the appearance that Conservative media and voters (opinion polls) have lost sight of her.
Now I am looking at Newt Gingrich who has actually begun a steady rise in the polls. Newt has always been a bona fide Conservative; however I sense the knock on Gingrich is he is an establishment Conservative. Gingrich has a bunch of skeletons in his closet that might alarm Social Conservatives such as his humiliating demise from Speaker related to an affair scandal. On the other he has been married to Callista for some time now and past sins are meant to be forgiven.
On my part Newt is beginning to look very consistent, quick witted and an excellent debater. I might be actually moving with some other voters into the Newt camp.
Let’s look at Newt’s design for a better non-socialistic Conservative Christian influenced America. Newt is actually fairly precise for his plan for America. A good place for detailed information is Newt’s campaign website Newt.org. There is a wealth of details about a prospective Gingrich Presidency to rival if not exceed Mitt Romney’s campaign website.
Since I began this expedition on examining candidates via their tax plan, Newt’s website has a tax plan that is compared to Mitt Romney:
Personal Income Tax
· Gingrich: Choice of current system or 15% flat tax with personal, homeowner, and charitable deductions.
· Romney: Maintain current tax rates.
· Verdict: Gingrich Plan Better - he Gingrich plan gives Americans a choice to continue to file under the existing system, or to eliminate compliance costs and hours of paperwork by filing with a flat rate of 15%. The Romney plan hopes to make taxes “flatter” in the future, but offers no immediate choice and no immediate relief.
Capital Gains Tax for Individuals
· Gingrich: Eliminate tax completely
· Romney: Depends how much money the taxpayer makes. Romney’s plan eliminates capital gains taxes for those making less than $200,000/year, but maintains the current system, with rates of up to 35%, for the rest.
· Verdict: The Gingrich plan maximizes the capital investment and job creation that will accompany the elimination of this tax, and acknowledges that a tax reform is only fair if all Americans receive relief. The Romney plan determines that some Americans should pay no taxes on a particular investment, while other Americans should pay taxes of up to 35% on the same investment.
Capital Gains Tax for Corporations
· Gingrich: Eliminate tax completely
· Romney: Maintain current system
· Verdict: he Gingrich plan is modeled on the success of the 1997 capital gains cut, which spurred job creation and a 500% increase in venture capital in just 3 years. The Romney plan maintains the corporate capital gains tax, an unequivocal burden on American job-creators who need to be freed to grow, prosper, and compete in a 21st century global economy.
Corporate Income Tax
· Gingrich: 12.5%
· Romney: 25%
· Verdict: The Gingrich plan will create a boom of new American entrepreneurship by dramatically cutting the corporate tax rate to one of the lowest in the developed world. The Romney plan will still be average-to-high compared to the rest of the developed world, and still over 50% higher than our closest economic competitor Canada, which has a rate of only 16.5%. Gingrich rate makes U.S. more competitive than Canada.
Payroll Tax
· Gingrich: Eventually replace payroll tax with personal accounts, financing better results
· Romney: No information
· Verdict: Gingrich supports personal savings investment and insurance accounts that would eventually be expanded to finance all of the benefits now financed by the payroll tax, allowing that tax ultimately to be phased out altogether.
Medicare reform
· Gingrich: Choice between the traditional system or opportunity to purchase private insurance with premium support
· Romney: No information
· Verdict: Under the Gingrich Plan, any American who wants to enjoy the existing Medicare system will be able to do so. Americans can also opt to transition to a more personalized system in the private sector with greater options for better care, where they would receive premium support to purchase private insurance.
As I said Newt’s website has many details for righting the ship of America’s prosperity. I found this decent summary of Newt’s overall plan that should bring some interest:
…
The first part consists of 10 legislative proposals to be finalized and published on Sept. 27, 2012, the anniversary of the original 1994 Contract for America, Gingrich said. Gingrich was a co-author of the 1994 contract.
The contract’s second component is a First Day project consisting of 100 to 200 executive orders that he would sign if elected president after his inaugural address. The executive orders would be developed over the next year and published on Oct. 1 as part of the last month of his campaign. The very first executive order he signs, Gingrich said, would “abolish every White House czar.” Citizens can submit suggestions for the initial executive orders.
“Part of our goal by signing the executive orders that afternoon is by the time President Obama lands in Chicago, we will have dismantled about 40 percent of his government,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich proposes developing a “real, genuine, serious training program” for members of his presidential Cabinet, subcabinet and other appointees as the third element of the contract. “The level of change that I believe you want me to implement is so large that I do not believe we can just appoint people and hope they are smart,” he said.
The fourth part of the contract involves creating a citizen movement to provide feedback “because the fact is we’re gonna make mistakes” with this scale of change, he said. “I think it’s important to have a genuine citizens movement using things like Facebook. Google Plus, Twitter and other new devices to try to find a way to connect us electronically so we can have a permanent ongoing virtual town hall meeting of the entire country moving forward in a way no one’s ever done before.”
During his talk, Gingrich frequently referred to the 10 legislative proposals in his 21st Contract for America displayed on a banner next to the podium. The proposals include repealing President Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms, creating jobs through tax cuts and regulatory reforms, balancing the federal budget, increasing U.S. energy production, saving Medicare and Social Security, revitalizing the country’s security, and enforcing the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by transferring power from the federal government back to the states and the people. A complete list is available on his campaign website.
Gingrich announced he plans to challenge Democratic President Obama to seven Lincoln-Douglas style three-hour debates. He will be debating Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain Saturday in Houston on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, Gingrich said, and the debate will be televised on CSPAN. Also, Gingrich said he would like to engage GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a debate on the economy and the size of government.
“What I really want the Republican team to understand,” Gingrich said, however, “is that our real opponent is Barack Obama.”
… (Excerpted from: Newt Gingrich Outlines Plan to Transform America; By Faye Edmundson; Duluth Patch; November 3, 2011)
VIDEO: Newt Gingrich outlines his Jobs and Prosperity Plan at the Palmetto Freedom Forum
JRH 11/16/11
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