Romney Campaign Admits Their Tax Plan Redistributes Wealth to the Rich

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Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 03:32 pm

The most inept and incoherent presidential campaign in history continues to shoot itself in the foot as Romney economic adviser Emil Henry admitted that the Romney tax plan redistributes wealth.

Here’s the video from Up With Chris Hayes:

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Transcript via MSNBC:

HAYES: the other thing I want to ask about is the redistribution thing. The president believes in it, Mitt Romney doesn’t. If that’s the case, why not advocate a flat tax ? If romney doesn’t believe in redistribution, he’s got the wrong tax plan. real belief would be at the very least a flat tax. I don’t understand why he doesn’t have the courage to go out there and advocate for a nonredistributive tax plan.

HENRY: Actually, if you look at his tax plan closely, it’s about as close to a flat tax plan as has existed since the Reagan years. What he’s done is he — and what he was advocating for is a highly simplified plan. The tax code , by the way, is 70,000 pages. 70,000. you know why it’s 70,000 pages? For the last multiple decades, politicians have sold for donations have sold exemptions to the code. Let’s simplify it. We can come to that one. let’s simplify it. let’s lower marginal rates and get rid of, not all, but most of the agregregious exemptions and taxes on the middle class will go down. and no — I have heard him say this 100 times and i know this for a fact, he says taxes on rich folks are not going to go down because of the elimination of exemptions. the more people hear about this —

HAYES: That’s intention with the nonredistributed thing. taxes on wealthy people have to go down. If he doesn’t believe in that, he has to reduce the burden of wealthy people. we have a barely, but progressive income tax . If he doesn’t believe in redistribution, he has to cut it for the wealthy. it’s not the case he is flattening the tax code and not lowering them for rich people.

HENRY: Your point — if your making — Chris, I always like talking with you. you think outside the box. If your point is that a progressive tax code, which is what the United States of America has and it’s the right thing, and it’s about fairness and fairness of opportunity, your point is there’s a technical element of redistribution by virtue of hiring —

HAYES: Not just technical — that’s redistribution. You are paying for it!

HENRY: Let’s be real about it. Let’s be real about this. when President Obama talks about redistribution, Chris, you know this is true, when he talks about redistribution, he is talking about a massive difference from the Romney plan, which is about simpler, lower marginal rates , getting rid of exemptions and lowering the corporate tax rate to attract business in America.

The Romney campaign’s argument is that when President Obama talks about cutting taxes for ninety eight percent of America, that’s redistribution. What Romney is proposing is tax fairness for the wealthy. When taxes are cut for the rich, that’s not redistribution. It’s fairness. Any sort of aid or cuts for everyone else is evil, Commie, socialist redistribution.

Emil Henry’s answer was based on the ideological concept, which we now know that Romney holds near and dear to his heart, that the wealthy are overtaxed. When pushed, Henry had to admit that technically the Romney plan is redistribution, because there is no technically about it. It is redistribution. Romney wants to shift the tax burden from the top down. He wants to place more of the tax burden on the middle class and poor. He wants to take the little bit of wealth at the bottom and shift it to the top.

That’s the Romney plan.

The Romney campaign decides to respond to their candidate’s 47% comments by claiming Obama is in favor of redistribution. This lasts for less than a week thanks to Romney’s own economic adviser admitting that their tax plan also redistributes wealth. Boom, the redistribution attack has been blown to bits by the campaign itself.

The Romney campaign is revealing itself to be one of the most inept runs for the presidency in American history.

How do they expect to win with beliefs like redistribution is for the wealthy only?

The redistribution lie about Obama didn’t work, and now under the slightest bit of questioning, the Romney campaign is cracking and letting their true objectives slip. The Romney camp can’t put out a unified message, and they look like a campaign that is in complete disarray.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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