Mitt Romney and the Economy 2012 Presidential Campaign Plan

Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign is focused on reversing President Obama's economic policies, which relied on government expansion. Romney's plan is to get the government out of business, because only the private sector has the economic muscle to create the millions of jobs needed. To do this, Romney proposes lowering personal, investment and corporate taxes. To offset the revenue loss, he wants to reduce non-defense government spending by cutting regulations and government departments. He is in favor of returning some of the federal power to the state level.

Romney says the Economic Stimulus Bill boosted growth, but only temporarily. Romney would eliminate Obamacare, which he claims increased taxes and regulations, created uncertainty and stifled business expansion. He blames unemployment on Obama's bowing to labor union demands such as mandatory arbitration.

Romney summarized "...the President’s failure to address the looming deficits, national debt, unfunded entitlement liabilities, ballooning Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae liabilities, and incalculable government pension obligations causes employers and investors to ask whether the dollar will be worth very much in the future, and thus, they hold back." (Source: Boston Globe, "Grow Jobs and Shrink Government," Mitt Romney Op-Ed, August 18, 2010)

Specifically, Romney wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, as he proposed in 2008. He wants to lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%, and permit businesses to write off capital investments made in 2010 and 2011. Romney would also eliminate dividend and capital gains taxes for all households earning less than $250,000 a year, and end the estate tax.

Enforcing government regulations costs $1.75 trillion, according to Romney. To reduce this, Romney would only allow new regulations if the cost was offset by eliminating other regulations. He would also streamline regulations so they no longer inhibit the energy production of nuclear power, coal, oil and gas.

Romney would introduce a Constitutional amendment that requires a balanced budget. He also calls for reducing Medicare except for current seniors -- similar to Paul Ryan's Road Map. Romney supports enabling the states to solve their unfunded pension obligations. Romney would tie unemployment benefits to worker retraining, which he would streamline "instead of the existing 47 separate programs run by nine federal agencies."(Source: My Plan to Turn Around the Economy.)

Romney proposes a "Reagan Economic Zone" that advocates a partnership among countries committed to free enterprise and free trade. He also wants to move forward with the free trade agreements with Colombia and South Korea. He would prosecute trade infringements with China, without starting a trade war.

Romney bravely outlines 10 action steps he would take his first day in office. To start, five Executive Orders would instruct the appropriate Federal agencies to:

1. End Obamacare by returning that authority to the states to design their own health care solution.
2. Order all agencies to eliminate Obamacare and all other regulations that inhibit job creation, and then cap annual increases of regulatory costs at zero.
3. Issue oil drilling permits for pre-approved areas.
4. Cite China as a currency manipulator and assess duties on Chinese imports if China does not float its currency.
5. Reverse Obama's Executive Order encouraging using labor unions on government contracts.

Romney would submit five bills to Congress to:

1. Reduce the corporate tax rate to 25%.
2. Approve the Colombia, Panama, and South Korea Free Trade Agreements.
3. Study how natural resources could be better utilized, and initiate all approved leases.
4. Consolidate federal retraining programs and return their funding and management to the states.
5. Cut non-security discretionary spending by 5% across the board.

(Source: Believe in America)

Research shows that general tax cuts create 4.6 jobs for every $1 million spent. Romney's proposals to cut personal taxes would put more money into consumers' hands, increasing spending and boosting the economy. However, extension of unemployment benefits would be a better tax cut, because it creates 19 jobs for every $1 million spent. That's because the unemployed are more likely to spend every dime they get.

Romney's corporate tax cuts won't trickle-down to workers. In the past two years, corporations have reported record-high earnings. However, instead of hiring workers, they've either hoarded the excess cash, or use it to pay higher dividends. The congressional Joint Committee on Taxation said Romney's cuts would increase the debt by $1 trillion over 10 years. (Source: Bloomberg, Romney's Tax Cuts Fall Short, November 11, 2011)

Imposing tariffs on Chinese imports, or insisting that China allow its currency to rise, will increase import prices, possibly triggering inflation. It would also ruffle relations with America's biggest banker. Returning health care and retraining to the states is like eliminating these services, since the states are cash-strapped and laying off workers. Romney's desire to reduce Dodd-Frank banking regulations could allow them to further invest in derivatives, which helped cause the 2008 financial crisis.

Romney has no proposals to help the housing market by reducing foreclosures. The pipeline of homes that are somewhere in the foreclosure process is hanging over the housing market, keeping prices depressed and prohibiting investors from buying homes. Until this problem is solved, a large engine of the U.S. economy is crippled.

Like other Republican candidates, Romney bases his platform on the theory of supply-side economics. This states that tax cuts stimulate growth, thereby increasing the tax base and ultimately offsetting the loss in revenue. Supply-side economics seemed successful during the Reagan Administration, when tax cuts did boost the economy out of recession. However, the maximum income tax rate was 70%, not the low 30% top rate we have today. Reaganomics proposed a reduction in the growth of government spending. In fact, government spending was stimulative, increasing by 2.5% a year. As a result, Reagan doubled the national debt. Finally, Reagan did reduce government regulations on banking. The result? The Savings and Loan Crisis of 1989.

Both supply-side economics and Reaganomics are based on the Laffer Curve. However, Laffer himself cautions that tax cuts might not stimulate the economy at all if the tax rates are already below 50% and the economy is not growing. In fact, tax cuts and reduced government spending could throw a weak economy back into recession by cutting unemployment benefits and other cushions right when they are needed the most. (Article updated January 26, 2012)

Compare the 2012 Presidential Candidates on the Economy

• The Republic Presidential Debate
• Newt Gingrich
• Barack Obama
• Ron Paul
• Mitt Romney
• Former Candidate Michele Bachmann
• Former Candidate Herman Cain
• Former Candidate Rick Perry

Conservative Economic Policies

• Learn About the Fair Tax and the Flat Tax
• What Is the Tea Party?
• Understand Supply-side Economics
• Trickle-Down Economics -- Does It Work?
• Reaganomics -- Still Relevant Today
• President Reagan's Economic Policies