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Stay in touch | E-News SignupThe Rich Are Taxed Enough
- Volume 66, Presented On: October 15, 2012
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From the Panel
For: Glenn Hubbard
- Obama’s Budget Means a Tax Increase on Everyone
Glenn Hubbard, Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2012Maintaining the president’s higher spending levels will require raising taxes for all American’s, including an 11% increase on those earning less than $200,000. - Tax Reform Is the Swiftest Path to Growth
Glenn Hubbard, Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2011Broadening the tax base and sharply lowering marginal tax rates can raise gross-domestic-product growth by a half to a full percentage point per year over a decade. - The Romney Program for Economic Recovery, Growth, and Jobs
Glenn Hubbard, August 13, 2012The Romney economic program will change the direction of policy to focus on economic growth. - 10 Economic Questions for the 2012 Campaign
Glenn Hubbard, Huffington Post, September 18, 201210 questions that will enable voters to understand the candidate’s economic philosophy and evaluate their proposals. - The Problem with Obama’s Arithmetic
Glenn Hubbard, Financial Times, September 5, 2012Differences between the Romney and Obama budget approaches. - A Conservative Growth Agenda for the U.S. Economy
Glenn Hubbard, Financial Times, July 17, 2012The U.S. is on an unsustainable fiscal trajectory, with a debt-to-gross domestic product ratio projected to rise to second world war levels in the coming years. - Taxes and Debt: Left and Right Dare to Agree
Glenn Hubbard and Alan Blinder, CNN Money, September 18, 2011Bipartisan agreement can start with the recognition that the status quo won't hold: The U.S. government's deficit and the national debt are now on unsustainable paths. - Romney’s Go-To Economist
David Segal, New York Times, October 13, 2012To the job of in-house economist, Mr. Hubbard brings a rare ability to translate complex policy into plain English, as well as a conservative’s love for small government and a faith that cutting taxes will spur growth. For: ART LAFFER
- The Tax Cliff Is a Growth Killer
Art Laffer and Ford Scudder, Wall Street Journal, July 15, 2012No matter what happens from now on, 2013 will be a very tough year. - Laffer and Moore: A 50-State Tax Lesson for the President
Art Laffer and Stephen Moore, Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2012Over the past decade, states without an income levy have seen much higher growth than the national average. Which state will be next to abolish theirs? - Arthur Laffer on Income Inequality, Raising Taxes
Jeff Horwich interviews Art Laffer, Marketplace Morning Report, July 26, 2012The problem with raising taxes on rich people is rich people have many options open to them that other people don't have, and you won't get the money. - Why Gingrich’s Tax Plan Beats Romney’s
Art Laffer, Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2012Newt's flat tax would do a lot more to attract capital, spur growth and reduce compliance costs. - Taxes: How High Is Too High?
Paul Solman, PBS NewsHour, January 11, 2012Because a low top rate encourages the rich to work harder and earn more, says Laffer, they'll invest more, create more jobs and increase total tax revenues in the long run.
Against: ROBERT REICH
- The Truth About Obama’s Tax Proposal (and the Lies the Regressives Are Telling About It)
Robert Reich, July 10, 2012To hear the media report it, President Obama is proposing a tax increase on wealthy Americans. That’s misleading at best. He’s proposing that everyone receive a continuation of the Bush tax cuts on the first $250,000 of their incomes. - Why Taxes Have to Be Raised on the Rich and End the Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy
Robert Reich, June 6, 2012America has a huge budget deficit hanging over our heads. If the rich don't pay their fair share, the rest of us have to pay higher taxes -- or do without vital public services like Medicare, Medicaid, Pell grants, food stamps, child nutrition, federal aid to education, and more. - Romney’s and Ryan’s Economic Plan
Robert Reich, August 27, 2012The 5 basic features of the Paul Ryan economic plan. - How the Fiscal Cliff Turns Into a Gentle Fiscal Hill
Robert Reich, Christian Science Monitor, October 12, 2012Hyper-polarized Washington hasn’t shown itself capable of rational behavior, Reich writes; It's why the nation is heading over a fiscal cliff that may begin to look more like a hill whose slope remains uncertain but will almost surely be gradual. - Mitt’s 13% Tax
Robert Reich, August 17, 2012Romney admits to an income of over $20 million a year for the last several decades. Which makes his 13 percent — or even 20 percent — violate the principle of equal sacrifice that lies at the core of our notion of tax fairness. - Why the Buffet Rule Sets the Bar Too Low
Robert Reich, April 10, 2012The Buffett Rule would generate only about $47 billion in extra revenues over the next decade, according to congressional estimates. Why not restore top rates to what they were before 1980, and match the capital-gains rate to the income-tax rate? - Hardball with Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews, Robert Reich and Stephen Moore, April 10, 2012Robert Reich and Stephen Moore discuss taxes on the Chris Matthews show. Against: MARK ZANDI
- Raising Taxes on High Earners Is Sound Policy
Mark Zandi, July 29, 2012Extend tax cuts for everyone except high-income taxpayers. The economy isn’t great, but it is strong enough to handle higher tax rates on the wealthy. - U.S. Macro Outlook: Slow and Steady Isn’t Enough
Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics, October 9, 2012Moody’s Analytics U.S. macro forecast. - Moody’s Chief Economist on Romney’s Tax Plan: ‘The Arithmetic Doesn’t Work’
Annie-Rose Strasser, Think Progress, October 12, 2012Zandi acknowledged a study by the Tax Policy Center that shows Romney’s plan to lower taxes by 20 percent across the board, while making up those losses in government revenue by closing loopholes on the wealthy, doesn’t add up. - It’s Time to Address the Wealth Gap
Mark Zandi, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 29, 2012Income inequality is nothing new in this country. But the disparity between haves and have-nots is widening, and policymakers need to take action. At stake: our long-term economic success. - How to Cut the Deficit
Mark Zandi, Washington Post, July 15, 2011In 2010 Zandi supported a middle ground that would forestall any tax increases in 2011 and to phase in higher rates on upper-income households in 2012. - The Tax Cut We Can Afford
Mark Zandi, New York Times, August 14, 2010The Food and Drug Administration plan to revoke approval of the drug Avastin for the treatment of advanced breast cancer is ‘the beginning of a slippery slope leading to more and more rationing under the government takeover of health care.’
ARTICLES FOR & AGAINST
FOR
- The U.S. Tax System: Who Really Pays?
Stephen Moore, Manhattan Institute, August 2012There is little doubt that government can redistribute wealth: taxing high-income individuals can and has increased equality. But there is little evidence to suggest that this results in increased economic mobility for the poor. - Obama’s Soak-the-Rich Tax Hikes Won’t Work
Alan Reynolds, Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2011The president’s insistent desire to raise taxes is a distraction. It won't solve our nation's fiscal problem. - Setting the Tax Record Straight: Clinton Hikes Slowed Growth, Bush Cuts Promoted Recovery
Curtis S. Dubay, Heritage Foundation, September 6, 2011A favorite liberal argument is to attribute the economy’s strong performance during the 1990s to President Clinton’s economic policies, chief among which was a huge tax increase. The economic defense of the Clinton tax hikes does not hold up against the historical facts. - Large Changes in Fiscal Policy: Taxes Versus Spending
Alberto Alesina and Silvia Ardagna, NBER, October 2009Fiscal stimuli based upon tax cuts are more likely to increase growth than those based upon spending increases. - Warren Buffet’s Proposed Tax Hikes Would Provide Insignificant Revenue
David S. Logan, Tax Foundation, August 19, 2011Warren Buffett's recent call to increase taxes on the super- and mega-rich would have little effect on reducing the nation’s deficit and debt. - Share of Total Income Taxes Paid by Millionaires
Veronique de Rugy, Mercatus Center, September 26, 2011The president spends a lot of time talking about the fairness of the tax code, and the notion that people making over $1 million should not pay lower taxes than the middle class. The real question at hand is: ‘Do the rich pay their fair share in taxes?’ - I Can Afford Higher Taxes. But They’ll Make Me Work Less
N. Gregory Mankiw, New York Times, October 9, 2010Reasonable people can disagree about whether and how much the government should redistribute income. But don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that when the government taxes the rich, only the rich bear the burden.
AGAINST
- Extending High-Income Tax Cuts Is the Wrong Answer for the Recovery
Christina Romer, White House, July 28, 2010Some have argued that extending the high-income cuts is necessary for the economy. This is simply wrong. - Fact Versus Fiction in Latest Supply-Side Debate
Michael Linden, Center for American Progress, September 22, 2011To sustain supply-side myths, Heritage Foundation miscalculates economic growth and ignores the job creation records in the Clinton and Bush eras. - The Case for Raising Top Tax Rates
Eduardo Porter, New York Times, March 27, 2012There is a case to be made that the rich can pay much more. The reason has nothing to do with fairness, justice or ideology. It is about economics and math. - Stop Coddling the Super-Rich
Warren Buffet, New York Times, August 14, 2011I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. - Raise Taxes on Rich to Reward True Job Creators
Nick Hanauer, Bloomberg View, November 30, 2011Rich people don’t create jobs, nor do businesses, large or small. What does lead to more employment is the feedback loop between customers and businesses. - Are the Bush Tax Cuts the Root of Our Fiscal Problem?
Bruce Bartlett, New York Times, June 26, 2012One factor underlying the hard-line Republican position that taxes must not be increased by even $1 is their assertion that the Bush tax cuts played no role in creating our deficit problem. - Raise Taxes on Rich to Reward True Job Creators
Rick Newman, US News & World Report, July 13, 2011The biggest problem in the U.S. economy, in fact, is a shortage of job creators to reward and protect. Part of the Republicans' plan is to lower taxes, streamline regulation, open more trade and take other steps that will stimulate job creation. But we've already tried some of that, including several rounds of tax cuts since 2008. - On the Distributional Effects of Base-Broadening Income Tax Reform
Samuel Brown, William Gale and Adam Looney, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, August 1, 2012This paper concludes that a revenue-neutral individual income tax change that incorporates the features Governor Romney has proposed – including reducing marginal tax rates substantially, eliminating the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) and maintaining all tax breaks for saving and investment – would provide large tax cuts to high-income households, and increase the tax burdens on middle- and/or lower-income taxpayers.
