Sanders-Cruz Tax Debate

On October 18th, Senators Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders held a debate about the current tax issues in America. Granted, I have a plethora of issues with Bernie Sanders and his inability to confront the reality of the American economy, but that night he seemed particularly shallow; Cruz unleashed facts and raw data that easily debunked his ideological platitudes. Sanders seemed to have a particularly difficult time explaining how the Obama era of regulation, anti-business policy, and tax hikes created the greatest rise in income inequality in our nation's history. America’s wealthiest control more assets today than they did when President Obama entered office, and the American people know it. A continuation of Obamanomics will not bring needed relief to the middle class, nor will it solve America’s income inequality crisis.

Americans pay the most taxes of any country in the world. Our corporate tax rate exceeds that of nearly every other developed nation on earth. If high corporate taxes and increased rates for wealthy individuals were the solutions, the effects would have manifested themselves by now. Instead, America is experiencing its slowest GDP growth since World War II; income inequality grows with each fiscal year, our national debt rises, and yet 45 million Americans live in poverty. More of the same hardly the path forward.

Americans need a simplified tax code. Last year, American individuals and companies spent more than $168 billion and six billion hours just to comply with existing IRS rules. American families need a tax cut that allows them to spend more, save more, and invest more. Corporations need a tax cut that will bring overseas profits back home and reestablish America as a business-friendly nation capable of competing with our Asian and European counterparts. As tax rates rise in the U.S., businesses become disinclined to invest in capital expansion here, and they invest instead in nations with more favorable rates. This exodus of industry and capital is apparent in the life of every American.

Three basic economic principles govern growth: regulation, interest rates, and taxes. America has experienced an era of regulation and high taxes that has left us with a struggling economy and debt so immense it can hardly be quantified. I hope the current Congress can come together to enact policies that stimulate our economy and help Americans everywhere.

- Hal Rogers '18