This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Math matters. Gov. Mitt Romney says that his cure for the economy is to give everyone a 20 percent tax cut. That calculates out to lost revenue to the government of approximately $500 billion per year, or $5 trillion over 10 years.
He says he will close loopholes on the wealthy (the top 2 percent of taxpayers) so they do not pay less in taxes than they do now. That may save $1 trillion over the 10-year period, but the other $4 trillion is lost revenue for which savings must be found by spending cuts.
Medicare, Social Security, defense, veterans' benefits, government pensions and health care, and interest on the debt take approximately 70 percent of all government expenditures. There is not enough left to cut in the remaining programs (national parks, transportation, education, and other important programs) to offset these tax cuts.
Yes, there may be some growth that comes from lower taxes, but even former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, a very conservative disciple of the novelist Ayn Rand, said that tax cuts do not pay for themselves.
Romney's, and the Republicans' plan to stimulate the economy is fundamentally flawed, and that should matter to voters.
Mark Rothacher
Salt Lake City