Romney Tax Policy Speech Bests Not Only Obama But Also Bush

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

When President Bush cut taxes, including his 2003 reduction in tax rates on investment, he always referred to it as putting more money in people’s pockets. I don’t want to be unfair, because the 2003 tax cuts were his best policy move. But Mr. Bush was never a supply-sider. Putting more money in people’s pockets is a demand-side argument.

Contrast that with Governor Romney’s tax-policy speech today at the Detroit Economic Club, where he touted his new across-the board 20% reduction in personal tax rates. The language is crucial: “By reducing the tax on the next dollar of income earned by all taxpayers, we will encourage hard work, risk-taking, and productivity by allowing Americans to keep more of what they earn.”

This is supply-side language. It is incentive language.

Many of us have been asking whether Mr. Romney understands the incentive model of growth. Namely, keeping more of what you earn, invest, or risk provides a bigger reward. Those rewards translate into a fresh tonic for economic growth.

President Reagan understood this when he famously told people that he quit working as an actor because he only made about 10 cents on the extra dollar earned from the extra movie. Mitt Romney seems to understand this incentive model.

His tax-cut plan is not perfect. Instead of retaining all six brackets of the personal income tax, I wish there were only two brackets or maybe three for a modified flat tax. But it’s clear that Mr. Romney understands the incentive value of his 20% marginal rate cut. He is satisfactorily answering the question that I and others have posed about his understanding of the supply model.

Reward more and you’ll get more. It’s not just a one-time benefit of more cash. New tax incentives at the margin change economic behavior for the better.

I will have more to say on the Romney plan overall, and about how it contrasts hugely with President Obama’s massive tax-rate hikes. For now I am satisfied that Mitt gets the supply-side approach.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use