Jeb Bush is taking yet another page out of his brother and Mitt Romney’s playbook with his tax plan that gives massive handouts to the wealthy — to prove he’s the most fiscally conservative candidate in the field, he’s taking their plans even further. Jeb’s for cutting the corporate income tax rate to 20% — as compared with Romney’s 25% proposal — and slashing the the tax on top income earners to 28%, as compared with George W. Bush’s 35%. Jeb would also eliminate the estate tax in a proposal his own economists estimate would cost $3.4 trillion over the next decade. Mitt’s “revenue neutral” tax plan tanked his campaign… how could Jeb’s $3.4 trillion tax plan possibly backfire?
To boot, Jeb’s economists hinted he’ll have to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits — they use the “entitlements” code word — and acknowledged the necessity of “spending restraint” in education and other areas to pay for the massive cuts. Lest we forget, Jeb’s already on the record calling for fundamental changes to Medicare and alterations to Social Security — including raising the retirement age.
And despite Jeb’s “populist” framing of his plan, hedge fund managers are getting off relatively unscathed: Sure, Jeb’s eliminating the carried interest loophole, but his plan would simultaneously cut top income earners’ tax rate by “almost 12 percentage points.”
“You could argue the carried interest is a fig leaf compared to the broader tax cuts in the plan,” Matt Gardner, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s executive director, told MSNBC.
The “populist” nonsense is all rhetorical sleight of hand. As New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait puts it: “The Bush campaign bought some great press coverage very cheaply by having its minuscule tax hike on the rich obscure its overwhelmingly larger tax cuts for the rich.”
At the end of the day, Jeb’s plan is nothing more than the Bush Tax Cuts 2.0.
Here’re some reactions to Jeb’s $3.4 trillion Romney-Dubya tax plan:
New York Times:Jeb Bush’s Tax Plan Is a Large Tax Cut for the Wealthiest
Washington Post: Jeb Bush’s new tax plan could cost $3.4 trillion over next decade
Washington Post: Editorial Board: Jeb Bush’s tax plan doesn’t quite add up
MSNBC: The (new) Bush tax cuts: $3.6 trillion
MSNBC: Jeb’s tax plan makes George W. Bush’s policies look good
New York Magazine: New York Magazine: Jeb Bush Promises to Govern Just Like His Brother, But Even More So
Huffington Post: Jeb Bush Wants To Double Down On His Brother’s Tax Cuts For The Rich
Bloomberg Politics: Jeb Bush Updates Romney’s Tax Plan With Populist, Supply-Side Twists
Published: Sep 10, 2015