Even if we put aside his terrifying foreign-policy vision, his 9/11-related scandals, his lack of experience, his record of absurd exaggerations, and the questions about his character, Rudy Giuliani made it abundantly clear in September that when it comes to domestic policy, he’s a clown. Yesterday, he put it in writing.
In September, Giuliani insisted that the only way to pay for trillions of dollars in tax cuts is to balance them in the federal budget with more tax cuts. (At the time, Giuliani was speaking to a group of technology executives near DC, who were apparently “bewildered” by the former mayor’s argument.)
Most political observers thought Giuliani had simply misspoken, as a result of confusion about tax policy. The campaign insisted, though, that Giuliani meant exactly what he said.
OK, everyone thought, but he was just pandering. Even the most unhinged lunatics know this is total nonsense, so there’s simply no way a credible presidential candidate could mean it.
This week, Giuliani put his madness in writing. Here’s the Reuters report, conveniently numbered by Kevin Drum.
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani has proposed what he called a multitrillion-dollar tax cut that would (1) lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent….(2) reduce the capital gains tax from 15 percent to 10 percent….(3) preserve the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush….(4) eliminate the estate tax….(5) give taxpayers the option of choosing a simplified tax form with three tax brackets with a maximum bracket of 30 percent….(6) index the alternative minimum tax to inflation and eventually repeal it.
Let’s unpack this just a little.
How much would all of this cost? About 4% of GDP — making it triple the cost of George W. Bush’s tax cuts, which, given that they produced the largest deficits in American history, we already know we can’t afford.
Best of all, when Giuliani is asked how he’d pay for these trillions of dollars in cuts, he effectively says, “That’s the beauty of it — the cuts won’t cost a thing.”
It’s as if Giuliani were trying to sound like a lunatic.
This press release from Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform should tell you all you need to know.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani today released a pro-growth tax cut package. This multi-trillion dollar tax cut would easily exceed the level of the Reagan or Bush tax cuts. This package is the most pro-growth tax cut of any GOP presidential candidate.
“This tax cut — the largest in history — would represent a monumental leap forward for the American taxpayer and the U.S. economy,” said ATR President Grover Norquist.
Sheer madness.