Ryan’s Tax Plan: Does It Make Sense?

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Since the announcement my Mitt Romney that Paul Ryan would be his running mate, a more intense interest has grown on the tax reform plan proposed by Ryan. While there are some positives in the plan that would make major differences in the working class poor, those who fall into Ryan’s second and higher tax bracket are taking up verbal arms and discourse to fight back. Let’s break down what all the hubbub is about.

Paul Ryan refuses to explain how to pay for tax plan.

Pros:

Ryan wants to simplify the tax brackets and tax filing procedures. Anybody who files taxes in this country knows this would be a boon because the multiple laws and rules governing what tax breaks you can take and whether or not you qualify is a headache to navigate. The two tax brackets are 10% and 25%, of which every taxpayer falls into, and it would mean more money for the poor and less for the rich (supposedly). The argument comes when the elite 2% of the nation would pay in the least amount of all, so the burden wouldn’t fall on them but everyone in the upper 40% of the economy underneath that 2%. That has a lot of upper middle class and lower to middle upper class citizens going out of their minds.

The Ryan Budget Tax Plan

The one thing that everyone can agree on is a repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which is both confusing and annoying to those who have to pay more because of it. It’s not something taxpayers are even aware of until they go to file their taxes.

Changes in Medicare are part of his plan too. Instead of taxing Americans for Medicare, Ryan hopes to pass into law the government’s promotion of “get your own health insurance” when they retire. Americans who are not currently 55 and older will have to shop around for health insurance when they are ready to retire.

ABC News:  Paul Ryan Tax Plan Could Raise Middle Class Taxes

The government then sends you an assistance check to help pay for the insurance, rather than support you medically until you kick the bucket. While this seems like a reasonable idea on the surface, (and even socialism seems reasonable on the surface), if you outlive the assistance check’s value and your health insurance policy, you’re S.O.L.

Cons:

Taxes are elevated on imported goods, making it cheaper to buy American. Unfortunately, not everything made in America is as good as its imported counterpart. Those who can’t afford the import taxes on their purchases will be forced to buy a lesser quality product. Many tax cuts are given to corporations, which isn’t a surprise for a Republican VP candidate, but the trickle down theory of economics doesn’t work as well in practice as it does on the chalkboard. The tax cuts and “tax filing simplification program” are viewed as phony and a distraction from the major issue at hand; the top 1% of society gets to keep all its money.

Paul Ryan Attempts to Create a Huge Tax

The repeal of the American Jobs Creation Act is another unfavorable part of Ryan’s proposal. While this really hasn’t worked as well as Obama had hoped, the incentives for businesses to at least make the effort will be revoked. Even more Americans than before are looking at unemployment because the companies that received these incentives to create jobs will have to lay off workers they had hired. Ouch.

Related articles

• Ryan: Obama would raise middle class taxes (upi.com)
• In Which Paul Ryan Denounces Paul Ryan’s Voucher Plan for Medicare (delong.typepad.com)
• Paul Ryan Looks Like Somebody Kicked Him in the Gut When Romney Admits Obama Didn’t Raise Taxes (politicususa.com)
• The world’s most basic math question about Romney-Ryan’s tax plan (amytiemann.com)
• Paul Ryan Scrubs Already Washed Soup-Kitchen Pots Because That’s How Much He Cares (nymag.com)

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