In yet another stunning display of the Romney campaign betting on the stupidity of the American people, today Paul Ryan steadfastly refused to offer any specifics on Romney's tax plan in an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace. His reason? "It would take me too long to go through all the math." Yes, he actually said that. We're just supposed to trust him.
Ryan insisted that Romney's tax plan would not cost $5 trillion over 10 years, as one study concluded, but would be "revenue neutral." Yet despite repeated questioning from Wallace about how he and Romney would make that happen, Ryan refused to answer this basic and critical question.
“It’s revenue neutral… Lower all Americans’ tax rates by 20 percent,” Ryan replied.
“Right, how much will it cost?” Wallace pressed. “It’s not revenue neutral unless you take away the deductions.”
“I won’t get into a baseline argument with you because that’s what a lot of this is about,” Ryan explained.
Huh?? WTF is Ryan talking about? Wallace asks Ryan a simple question about how they plan to pay for all the tax deductions, and Ryan responds with some gibberish about getting into a "baseline argument," whatever that means. And it seemed to me that Wallace was asking him simple questions, not arguing with him. Whatever.
The Ryan inanity continues:
“We’re saying, limited deductions so you can lower tax rates for everybody. Start with people at the higher end. … And every time we’ve done this - whether it was Ronald Reagan working with Tip O’Neil, the idea from the Bowles-Simpson commission on how to do this - there’s been a traditional Democrat and Republican consensus: lowering tax rates, broadening the tax base works.”
Really Paul?? There's complete bipartisan consensus on this?
Not really:
A new study by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) using data from the past 65 years found that there is no correlation (PDF) between top tax rates and economic growth.
But I digress. To his credit, Wallace continued to push Ryan on his BS:
“But you haven’t given me the math,” the Fox News host pressed.
“I don’t have the time,” Ryan laughed. “It would take me too long to go through all the math."
You dumb people you. (And by the way, don't you hate Ryan's sniveling, condescending laugh?) Teh awful continues:
"But let me say it this way, you can lower tax rates by 20 percent across the board by closing loopholes and still have preferences for the middle class for things like charitable deductions, for home purchases, for health care. So what we’re saying is, people are going to get lower tax rates.”
So there you have it. Romney-Ryan will reduce everyone's taxes by 20 percent and keep all the tax deductions everyone loves by simply by closing those loopholes! Puppies for everyone!
Ryan was supposed to be the intellectual giant, the numbers guy, the policy wonk. Yet he can't offer up even one number about how the Ryan-Romney (oops, I mean the Romney-Ryan) tax plan will work? Really?
The only time Ryan showed his hand even a wee bit was in this exchange with Wallace:
“If - just suppose - that the doubters are right, President Romney takes office the math doesn’t add up… what’s most important to Romney?” Wallace asked. “Would he scale back on the 20 percent tax cut for the wealthy?”
“No,” Ryan said.
“Would he scale back and say, ‘OK, we’re going to have to raise taxes for the middle class?’” Wallace continued. “What’s most important to him in his tax reform plan?”
“Keeping tax rates down,” the vice presidential candidate remarked. “That’s more important than anything.”
Well, we all know what that means. When Romney-Ryan's math doesn't add up, which it won't, they will absolutely, positively, never, ever raise taxes on the wealthy. Ryan has made that crystal clear. So it doesn't take a math genius to know what the only other alternative is: spending cuts. Cuts to Medicare. Cuts to Medicaid. Cuts to education. Cuts to Social Security.
Here's a video of the interview, if you can stomach watching it: