Santorum's economic plan

Although I realize that once a man gets into office, all the campaign glorious speeches go into the file, the promises made aren't kept, and the cronies and donors fill the czar and cabinet vacancies, let's look at what he says, and then take that apart instead of what the media filters say he said with snippets out of context:

Santorum's Economic Freedom Agenda
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 27, 2012

If he could even do these 3 things, it would be a start at saving America. But only baby steps. My generation is tired. The boomers have come to expect the good life. The gen-xers want more money to go to rock concerts performed by has-beens. Next-gen and Gen-Y are stumbling around paying off college loans.

1) "Unleash America's energy. I'll approve the Keystone Pipeline for jobs and energy security, and sign an order on day one unleashing America's domestic energy production, allowing states to choose where they want to explore for oil and natural gas and to set their own regulations for hydrofracking.

2) "Restore America's competitiveness. The corporate tax rate should be halved, to a flat rate of 7.5%. Corporations should be allowed to expense all business equipment and investment. Taxes on corporate earnings repatriated from overseas should be eliminated to bring home manufacturing. I'll take the lead on tort reform to lower costs to consumers."

3) "Repeal and replace ObamaCare. I'll submit legislation to repeal ObamaCare, and on day one issue an executive order ending related regulatory obligations on the states. I'll work with Congress to replace ObamaCare with competitive insurance choices to improve quality and limit the costs of health care, while protecting those with uninsurable health conditions."

The "rein in spending" promise--well, that's the one they all fail at. Too many people work for the government, plus millions in non-profits, churches and universities slurping at the grant trough. Their lobbyists would squeal like stuck pigs if their sector were cut. I just don't know if there is a way to reverse this form of indentured servitude. Most of the stuff I read is the medical and building sectors--and they are completely chained and stuck on the plantation. "Revive housing?" How does he think we got into this mess if not 40 years of government dabbling in and manipulating housing? On that one it's back to the drawing board!

Anyone else think it's possible?

Santorum and Romney tax plans, similarities and differences

Mitt Romney has proposed permanently extending the 2001-03 tax cuts, eliminating taxation of investment income of most individual taxpayers, reducing the corporate income tax, eliminating the estate tax, and repealing the taxes enacted in 2010’s health reform legislation. . . The Romney plan would lower federal tax liability by $600 billion in calendar year 2015 compared with current law, roughly a 16 percent cut in total projected revenue.

Rick Santorum has proposed permanently extending the 2001-10 tax cuts and further reducing individual income taxes; cutting the corporate income tax rate in half; eliminating the estate tax; and repealing the alternative minimum tax and the taxes enacted in 2010’s health reform legislation. . . The Santorum plan would lower federal tax liability by about $1.3 trillion in calendar year 2015 compared with current law, roughly a 40 percent cut in total projected revenue.

More information at The Tax Policy Center of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution.

Rick Santorum's Tax plan

THE SANTORUM SOLUTION

Cut and simplify personal income taxes by cutting the number of tax rates to just two - 10% and 28% and return to Reagan era pro-growth tax rate;

Simplify the tax code and reduce middle income taxes by eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT);

Simplify the tax code, encourage savings and investment, and reduces taxes by eliminating the Death Tax;

Lower the Capital Gains and Dividend tax rates to 12% to spur economic growth and investment;

Reduce taxes for families by tripling the personal deduction for each child;

Reduce and simplify taxes for families by eliminating marriage tax penalties throughout the federal tax code;

Retain deductions for charitable giving, home mortgage interest, healthcare, retirement savings, and children;

Eliminate the cap on deductions for losses incurred in the sale of a principal residence;

Cut the corporate income tax rate in half to make our businesses competitive around the world, from 35% to 17.5%;

Eliminate the corporate income tax for manufacturers to spur middle income job creation in the United States and benefit from the job multiplier effect in manufacturing;

Increase the Research & Development Tax Credit from 14% to 20% and make it permanent to spur on innovation in America;

Eliminate the tax on repatriated taxable corporate income invested for manufacturers equipment investment, 5.25% corporate tax rate on other repatriated income invested in the USA, and 100% expensing for new business equipment;

Santorum on abortion

From George Will's column today:

On Sept. 26, 1996, the Senate was debating whether to ban partial-birth abortion, the procedure whereby the baby to be killed is almost delivered, feet first, until only a few inches of its skull remain in the birth canal, and then the skull is punctured, emptied, and collapsed.

Santorum asked two pro-choice senators opposed to the ban, Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., this: Suppose the baby slips out of the birth canal before it can be killed. Should killing it even then be a permissible choice? Neither senator would say no.

On Oct. 20, 1999, during another such debate, Santorum had a colloquy with pro-choice Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Santorum: "You agree that, once the child is born, separated from the mother, that that child is protected by the Constitution and cannot be killed. Do you agree with that?"

Boxer: "I think that when you bring your baby home . . ."

Boxer Santorum exchange here so you can see how she tries to weasel out of a simple question.

I think there are two of Obama's czars (Sunstein and Emanuel) who believe that within one year of birth it would be OK to kill a baby born alive. Obama is the only (then) Senator, as I recall, who actually approved of partial-birth abortion as described here, but you can see from this account, how careless Democrats are with life and which why when carried to its logical end, having life totally under the control of the government is acceptable to them.

Worse economic analysis out there--today

Derek Thompson seems to think that married couples have children because of tax deductions. I've heard of welfare mothers having more babies because of the welfare check, the food stamps and housing allowance, but a deduction is hardly an inducement to go through 9 months of pregnancy and 20 years of dependency. Right now the tax code is quite anti-family--Thompson needs a lesson in history. You can tell Thompson is a Democrat--well, demographics tell us that, with 90% of reporters and journalists in bed with the party--but also, because the only way he can think to help the poor to to take more tax money from someone else, skim it for the politicians and government employees, and then look at a pie chart and feel good.

Atlantic opinion