Rush' Bipartisan Stimulus Plan

Today's Wall Street Journal editorial page carries an offering from the revered talk show host Rush Limbaugh. His suggestion being to combine the facets of the President's stimulus plan with supply side facets of the conservative right. As Rush hopes to amend the stimulus package....

As a way to bring the country together and at the same time determine the most effective way to deal with recessions, under the Obama-Limbaugh Stimulus Plan of 2009: 54% of the $900 billion -- $486 billion -- will be spent on infrastructure and pork as defined by Mr. Obama and the Democrats; 46% -- $414 billion -- will be directed toward tax cuts, as determined by me.

I say, cut the U.S. corporate tax rate -- at 35%, among the highest of all industrialized nations -- in half. Suspend the capital gains tax for a year to incentivize new investment, after which it would be reimposed at 10%. Then get out of the way! Once Wall Street starts ticking up 500 points a day, the rest of the private sector will follow. There's no reason to tell the American people their future is bleak. There's no reason, as the administration is doing, to depress their hopes. There's no reason to insist that recovery can't happen quickly, because it can.

I like the idea but doubt that the dimocrats would even consider anything resembling Republican dogma. Tax increases have more to do with answering to the class warfare promises made during campaigns. There is no reasonable hope that any tax decrease could happen after the dimocrats have railed for eight years about how Bush coddled the rich with tax relief. No, the dimocrats have no choice but to raise (remove temporary reductions) taxes, fulfilling their promises to inflict taxation punishment on those that have won life's lottery.
Therein lies reasoning for why the FairTax or FlatTax will not become law. Politicians use government revenue to redistribute wealth, with purpose of maintaining voter tendencies. Dimocrats are are the simpler side of the issue. They purport to be protectors of the little man, this places them in position to bribe large sections of lower income with trivial rebates and refunds. The lower income folks are never magically transported to a higher caste, they are poor, financial assistance becomes only a delaying tool. People actualize when they accept opportunities presented, some couldn't see it if you smashed them in the face with it, other grow and ascend. Opportunities come from economic and productivity growth. Tax structures don't change because of what the politicians want, not citizens.
The idea about suspending capital gains taxes and restarting at 10% would initiate increased investment, stabilizing the stock market, and take some of the cheap money out of the system that will soon be there, fueling inflation.