Mitt Romney says Tax the Rich!
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Mitt Romney advocates raising the FICA income cap, limiting the "stepped up basis" for the estate tax and the "1031 exchange" provision, closing the "carried interest" loophole.
On the "cut spending" front, he wants means-testing for Social Security and Medicare benefits.
And he acknowledges that the "faster growth" promises that accompany tax cuts may never come true.
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He is what used be called a conservative, before the "read my lips" people joined with the White Nationalists to capture the GOP.
Kill the carried interest loophole!
I'm OK with limiting the stepped up basis, somewhat. Capital gains taxation has always been messy because you pay on pure inflation as well as on real capital gains. This is why we have all sorts of provisions to allow people to avoid paying capital gains taxes on large increases in the price of homes that have been held for a long time, through lots of inflation.
By all means, raise the FICA cap. It's so easy to ensure the long term viability of the social security system by doing that.
Means testing for benefits? Oooh, much more controversial, especially if done ex post. I have paid into the system my whole life. You tell me that I can't collect next year (or significantly cut my long-expected benefits) and you'll lose millions of elderly voters. Third rail stuff. Don't go near it. The beauty of the social security system is that it's the almost perfect example of "targeting within universalism." It's a program whose main beneficiary is lower-income elderly, but it's a popular program because that targeting is wrapped in a universal system that also benefits everyone who pays in.
