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Rich Tarrant: Lockstep Supporter of Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy and Discredited Right-Wing Economic Theories
The Bush Administration and Washington Republicans are under the spell of "voodoo economics." The phrase was originally uttered by our current president's father, George H.W. Bush. In 1980, H.W. Bush accused Ronald Reagan of advocating "voodoo economics" for believing that tax cuts for the rich stimulate the economy and that tax cuts pay for themselves. It is also known as supply-side economics. The Bush Administration is currently in the thrall of this brand of right-wing economics--it has cut tax rates for the wealthy while ringing up the largest deficits in history.
Click here to read a Washington Post op-ed on the return of "voodoo economics."
So what does this have to do with Rich Tarrant?
In a mail piece and on his attack website, Tarrant makes the outrageous and dishonest claim that Congressman Bernie Sanders supports "a new federal wealth tax on everything you own."
The Tarrant campaign continues to mischaracterize a quote from Bernie in which he called for a "wealth tax"-on the wealthy. Everything else about the "wealth tax" the Tarrant campaign has simply constructed out of thin air.
Tarrant Claims Bernie Wrote : "It is also, high time, to establish a tax on wealth similar to those that exist in most European countries." - Congressman Bernie Sanders
What Bernie Really Wrote : "It is also time, high time, to establish a tax on wealth similar to those that exist in most European countries. Simply stated, a wealth tax would require the very wealthiest Americans, people worth millions of dollars, to pay taxes on their accumulated wealth, rather than enabling them to get ever richer without giving anything back to the society which makes their wealth possible . A tax on wealth could raise tens of billions of dollars a year." [Bernie Sanders, Outsider in the House, p. 224]
Click here for a copy of the page in the book.
Here's what Tarrant is trying to cover up: He supports more Bush tax cuts for the, well, rich, and he believes in the ol' "voodoo."
In an interview on the Mark Johnson show in November 2005, Tarrant called the Bush tax cuts prudent. He has also stated that he favors reducing tax rates for the wealthy.
Even more amazing, Rich Tarrant believes that the Bush tax cuts have helped to shrink the deficit. Bush is responsible for the four largest deficits in history and the national debt is now more than $8.4 trillion, about $28,000 for every man, woman, and child.
The truth is that Bush's own Treasury Department has stated that "the federal government will need to either cut spending or raise taxes down the road to pay for extending President Bush's recent tax cuts." Further, Bush's former top economic advisor and Treasury Secretary have admitted that tax cuts don't pay for themselves.
Click here for the info on what Tarrant has said.
Click here for the info on tax cuts and deficits.