Gingrich — joker of many trades, master of none

Awhile back, we talked about the proposed tax plans of the Republican presidential candidates.

At the time we were missing Gingrich’s ravings on the matter. However, the wait was worth it. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center crunched his numbers, and delivered a bit of transparency and grim humor in one stroke:

Please note the theme prevalent here and in most of the Republicans’ plans. A small increase or decrease (a very small example of the latter in this example), but a huge tax cut for the rich.

Do these idiots really think they can sneak this past the public? If so, they’re not bright enough to pound sand, much less hold the highest office in the U.S.

(And if anyone thinks that Gingrich signing that silly-damn anti-gay hate pledge that “guarantees marital fidelity” will prevent him from gingriching again, I’ve got some swamp land in Jersey that I’ll sell to you cheap.)

“What do the simple folk do?”

This song title, from Camelot, is a musing by the king and queen as to what poor folk do with their time and money.

Republican presidential nominees don’t seem as curious.

~~~

Herman Cain:

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has been touting his “new” tax plan as a way to get the U.S. economy moving again. He calls it the 9-9-9 plan, and its main components are a 9% personal federal tax rate, a 9% corporate federal tax rate, and a 9% national sales tax.

Cain claims this plan will straighten out the economy and stimulate job creation, although when pressed he cannot begin to tell anyone exactly how it will do that.

That’s okay, Herman, The Tax Policy Center has done your work for you. Here’s the result of the changes in the individual federal tax structure, broken down by income level:

Note that two charts are required to show the magnitude of the tax cut for the very wealthy.

Under this tax plan, those making less than $200,000/year will see a moderate tax increase, while those in the $200,000-$1 million bracket will see a substantial tax decrease. Those making more than $1 million/year will see an average savings of over $400,000. Must be nice, being rich.

~~~

Mitt Romney:

Governor Romney’s tax plan is this niftykeen idea to eliminate all taxes on capital gains. The Tax Policy Center has done the numbers on that one as well:

So, an average household making $50,000 would get a $54 tax break if capital gains taxes were eliminated (0.1%). Those who make a $1 million would see $141,005 (14.1%).

Compare this to one of President Obama’s suggested tax relief programs, reviled by Romney as a “temporary band-aid”, that would give middle-class households a tax break of $800-$1000.

~~~

Michele Bachmann:

In her own words:

“In my perfect world, we’d take the 35% corporate tax rate down to nine so that we’re the most competitive in the industrialized world. Zero out capital gains. Zero out the alternative minimum tax. Zero out the death tax.”

In other words, enrich corporations and the rich, and to hell with everyone else. ‘Nuff said.

~~~

Rick Perry:

In his own words:

“We’re dismayed at the injustice that nearly half of all Americans don’t even pay any income tax.”

That’s true. A family of four with a $30,000/year income pays no net federal taxes due to the tax structure. However, such a family does pay state income taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes on gasoline and liquor, and (most importantly) payroll taxes for Medicare and Social Security. Perry proposes to increase federal taxes so that everyone pays them, but he balks at increasing any taxes for the rich:

“Spreading the wealth’ punishes success while setting America on course for greater dependency on government…”

~~~

The Republican pack running for their party’s nomination are all aiming at the target of raising taxes for the poor and middle-class, while attempting to lower taxes for their rich corporate masters.

Gee, I guess taxes aren’t as hard to figure out as it seems as long as you know what your goals are — the further enrichment of the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.