Mitt Romney's Tax Plan Strategy: Help the Rich; Hurt the Rest

Charles Dharapak/AP

The Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, found that if Romney keeps his tax plan revenue neutral, as he has promised to do, his plan will provide "large tax cuts to high-income households, and increase the tax burdens on middle- and/or lower-income taxpayers."

Romney has achieved master status at making general statements without providing the specifics of how he will achieve his aims. He promises to cut tax rates by 20 percent for all taxpayers, repeal the estate tax, and eliminate taxes in investment income for those earning up to$200,000. He says the reduction these tax cuts will have on tax revenue will be partially offset  by eliminating deductions and loopholes. However, he has not revealed which deductions and loopholes would disappear.

The Romney campaign quickly dismissed the information because they claimed the study had a liberal bias. Readers might find it interesting to note that the Brookings Institute was formed 90 years ago and identifies itself as non-partisan, stating that its scholars represent diverse viewpoints. In the case of this particular study, three Brookings economists, including William G. Gale, an economic adviser to President George H. W. Bush, conducted the study.They determined Romney’s tax plan, which would extend all Bush-era tax cuts, cut all income tax rates by 20% and reduce the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, would decrease federal revenues by $456 billion in 2015.

Ham on Wry wonders how long it will take for the average citizen to realize that when Romney speaks about America and Americans, he means America for the rich and Americans who comprise only a small percentage of the citizens in this country. He uses doublespeak to answer questions and circumvents hard issues with condescending comments designed to placate the masses. This blogger fervently believes that a Mitt Romney presidency would sharpen the divide between the classes, and the most impoverished citizens would be left in a heap. For those readers who have reached middle age, think back to the America of your youth and compare it to what your children and grandchildren are facing. We will gain nothing by electing Mitt Romney as President; instead, we will take a giant step backward. It seems the Brits provided an apt nickname, "Mitt the Twit."