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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Rick Perry flat tax - Too little, too late?

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry unveiled a sweeping economic agenda Monday, highlighted by a plan to level a voluntary 20 percent "flat tax" on all taxpayers who will accept it in place of what they're paying now.

The plan, outlined in a Wall Street Journal op-ed column a day before the Texas governor was set to announce it in South Carolina, also calls for capping federal spending at 18 percent of the country's GDP while allowing younger earners to privatize their Social Security accounts, reports the National Journal.

But the most significant feature of Perry's plan is his call for a flat tax rate of 20 percent.  Taxpayers who don't want to pay a 20 percent flat income tax, he said, can keep their current rate. Current marginal income tax rates range from 10 percent to 35 percent, depending on taxpayers' income.  His plan would preserve popular deductions for mortgage interest and donations to charity for households earning less than $500,000 a year.

Too little, too late?

It is good to see different flat tax plans coming out that attack the Marxist heart of the progressive income tax.  A 20% flat tax with few deductions moves America a bit closer to a more free society rather than a society based on the Marxist re-distribution of wealth.

But Perry has been in a total free fall since entering the GOP race at the top of the polls.  Here is Perry's standing in the very latest polls.
  • Iowa   -   Perry comes in at 5th place with 6% of the vote.
  • New Hampshire   -   Perry comes in at 6th place with a "massive" 2% of the vote
  • Nevada   -   Perry comes in at 5th place with 5%.
  • South Carolina   -   Perry comes in at 3rd place with 10%.
  • Florida   -   Perry is in 3rd place with 9%.
Considering that Perry entered the race at the very top of the polls, these are not good numbers.  It is very fair to say the voters have looked at Perry and rejected him.  Time will tell if Perry can attract the voters back to him.



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