Joel Kotkin of Chapman University has an article at Politico about the class warfare being used by the Obama team. I agree that fomenting class envy is not a winning strategy for a candidate that ran on hope and change, but that seems to be the only arrow left in Obama’s near empty quiver.
The 2012 election should concentrate on fixing the tax code in a way that is fair and not subject to political favoritism. While Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan sounds simple and elegant, I worry the 9% Federal sales tax opens the door to another way for our government to tax us. Once open, that door would be nearly impossible to close and probably would just get wider as politicians look for more taxes. In Los Angeles County, where I live, the sales tax rate is already at 8.75%. Adding 9% Federal sales tax would make it 17.75%. This amount would probably decrease consumption which means less than anticipated tax revenues. With lower revenues, tax rates would have to increase to make up for the loss.
We need a lower, flatter income tax without deductions. The current tax code allows politicians to be lobbied for special tax breaks by favored contributors. As a consequence, the corporate tax rate has been raised to make up the difference. But thanks to lobbied for tax breaks, General Electric paid no income taxes last year. A true capitalist market would not play favorites.
RicRx 