Paul Ryan debuted the original version of the Republican Path to Poverty several months ago, but now that the Republican presidential candidates are competing for air-time and recognition, each of them are presenting their own visions for the course we must take if we want to become a third world nation.
Tim Pawlenty presented his version of the Path to Poverty last week by calling for a reduction of the top tax rate to 25% along with an elimination of taxes on capital gains, dividends, estates, and interest.
Michele Bachmann, not to be out-crazied, debuted her version today which goes a step further.
“In my perfect world,” she explains, “we’d take the 35% corporate tax rate down to nine so that we’re the most competitive in the industrialized world. Zero out capital gains. Zero out the alternative minimum tax. Zero out the death tax.” [...]
Her main goal is to get tax rates down with a broad-based income tax that everyone pays and that “gets rid of all the deductions.” A system in which 47% of Americans don’t pay any tax is ruinous for a democracy, she says, “because there is no tie to the government benefits that people demand. I think everyone should have to pay something.”
"In my perfect world"
Just to reiterate -- eliminating taxes on capital gains, dividends, estates, and interest would mean that the very wealthy pay almost no taxes, if any. In Bachmann's "perfect world," the rich would pay zero taxes while those who currently don't even earn enough money to pay taxes would be forced to in some way.
In my perfect world, Michele Bachmann and the rest of the so-called "fiscally-conservative" would be transported to a secluded island nation where they can live out their anarchist, Randian-fantasy to their heart's content.