This, it seems impossible to deny, is a pretty gigantic tax cut. Yet according to Debate Romney, it's not a tax cut at all, and "6 studies", or perhaps 7,  have confirmed it's not a tax cut, the arithmetic is impeccable & irrefutable, and we should be ashamed of ourselves for suspecting Romney of wanting to cut taxes. "My client deserves an apology, Senator! An apology!"

The connection between Romney  and the Bush-era GOP of, "We found the Weapons of Mass Destruction", and "By far, the vast majority of my tax cuts go to people at the bottom", becomes stronger every day.

I guess the reason Romney/Ryan are denying their tax cuts is they're realizing, correctly, you cannot sell a message the country is bankrupt and needs to cut health care and pensions to the bone, at the same time you are proposing (large) tax cuts. Bigger than Romney/Ryan, there is a general sense of hysteria and anxiety in the DC establishment because they're trying to sell hard work & shared sacrifice for the old, the sick, the poor, the young, and the laborers, at the same time as they want, not just a slight reduction in the inheritance tax, but a complete elimination of the inheritance tax, and huge cuts in corporate and capital taxes. Easy bankruptcy and default for private equity and airline executives, hard bankruptcy and default for the poor, the middle class and the young. The message of hard work & shared sacrifice is not entirely wrong (IMO), but it cannot be combined with the elimination of the inheritance tax, cuts in corporate and capital taxes, and an inconsistent bankruptcy code. Hard work & shared sacrifice has to mean hard work & shared sacrifice for everyone.

next post: 12/14/2012