So where is the debate today? Quite frankly, it’s a one-sided discussion. Rather than fight like Reagan on the issue – and build a new consensus – Republicans have been near silent on taxes subject to arguments such as these, almost without rebuttal:
1) the rich are not paying their fair share, andSince the top 1% pay over 37% of income taxes and the top 10% pay over 70%, it’s hard to imagine that isn’t fair. Romney should point blank ask Obama in the debates: if 37% isn’t enough and 70% isn’t enough – what would be enough?
2) the Republicans want to go back to the policies of Bush.
But the real point is that the Democrats are winning the argument because the discussion is about fairness instead of how to jumpstart the economy and therefore revenues.
As for the Bush tax cuts, the national Republicans have virtually ceded the argument that the Bush policies, i.e. his tax cuts, led to the economic downturn. Of course, it is economically absurd to claim that people keeping a greater share of their own money caused an economic decline. That didn’t happen under Bush and has never happened in history.
