A recent article in the Associated Press outlines Romney's response to Democratic allegations of favoring the wealthy in perspective tax reform. The presidential candidate insists that "his as yet-to-be disclosed tax plans will not benefit the well-to-do at the expense of others." He alleges that his tax plan will keep the burden on the upper-middle class and the wealthy the same that it is today.
Continuation of current tax rates of course is truly counter to his assertion of not benefiting the well to do. Since current tax rates are still under the Bush tax cuts which do benefit the wealthy at the expense of the rest of the nation. Romney is clearly presenting a moderate guise as the national election approaches. Such political maneuvering is to be expected to make him more appealing to the general electorate.
Romney is playing a delicate balancing act as he tries to appeal to the middle class while not estranging his wealthy donors. He mentioned the possibility of cutting the tax break on second home mortgages, however he got a huge push-back from wealthy constituents.
Perhaps this is a testament that no candidate can be successfully moderate in America's political landscape. As much as Presidential candidates try leading up to the general election, they are bound to their base for money - especially in this years Super-PAC mega-funded campaign season.
A blog and event series led by Professors David Schanzer and Don Taylor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy
With such hyper-partisan political parties, it is hard to see a Republican presidential nominee securing his party’s favor while simultaneously appealing to the entire nation’s political interests. As Romney seeks the Republican nomination, it is in his best interest to align his tax plans more closely with Republican ideology at this point in time. However, it is contradictory to maintain the Bush tax cuts, which greatly benefit the wealthier quartile of the American population, and to insist that his tax plans do not benefit the well-to-do at the expense of others. Inherently, with a perpetually increasing budget deficit, more money must be extracted from the wealthier portion of our population. If the Bush tax cuts were to expire, tax revenues will increase by more than 30% between 2012 and 2014, yielding a much need revenue boost of $3.8 trillion dollars over the next decade. Each of the four highest tax brackets will experience an increase of roughly 3%. Romney appears to be trying to appeal to the average American, but in reality, so few of us are the average American, so he runs the risk of ostracizing his wealthy, Republican constituency.
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