Obama criticized Romney for his five trillion dollar tax cut plan that benefits the wealthy and is not deficit neutral. Governor Romneys central economic plan calls for a $5 trillion tax cut on top of the extension of the Bush tax cuts, so that is another trillion dollars. And $2 trillion in additional military spending that the military hasnt asked for. That is $8 trillion.
Romneys response to this was not - as many had expected - to say that his tax cut costs less than that or that it would in fact be deficit neutral.
No, Romney responded by rejecting the hefty price tag all together.
I dont have a five trillion dollar tax cut, Romney said. I dont have a tax cut of the scale that youre talking about.
Who is he kidding?
The non-partisan, widely respected Tax Policy Center, has calculated that Romneys tax plan would cost $360 billion in year one before it is offset by closing loopholes and lowering deductions (Romney has not said which ones). Once Romneys plan is put in place, they say, it will cost a little over $5trillion in one decade.
This is simple mathematics. The constituent pieces of Romneys plan each cost money. Romney wants to lower income tax rates by 20% across all tax brackets. He wants to eliminate taxes on capital gains and dividends for those earning less than $200,000. Higher-income Americans will, by definition, get more money under his plan than the Obama plan. This. Will. Cost. Money.
