Candidates' Tax Proposals - Summary Table

As we take a wintry slide into the first round of presidential primaries, it seemed like a good time to take stock of the tax plans seen thus far.  Even though the candidate may not survive, some of his or her ideas may, and ultimately could be a part of the party's platform.

For reference, see proposal found here submitted by your humble blogger. 

This will not be detailed, as you are busy people and, frankly, taxes are boring enough as it is.  I'm not going to argue whether 15% will be too little, or just how progressive a tax rate should be, as those numbers can morph as needed and small changes made.  But in our Tax Reform Beauty Contest, there are some prime criteria for the contestants:

• Simplification - I have long been a big fan of simplifying the U.S. Tax Code, so points are awarded for this in my mind
• Compliance - How does this eliminate loopholes and confusion, and how easy for the government to enforce?
• Practicality & Palatability - Is it realistic and will it go down easily?
• Corporate - Anything here to garner more income or lower rates, keep companies in U.S.?
• Comments - Highlights of proposal

NOTES:

1. VAT = Value Added Tax; popular across Europe.  Those proposed here are on the parts and labor added at each step, and are on the total revenue garnered, not just the profit.  This means prices go up across the board, which are generally offset by increasing incomes.  But it is regressive as it affects what people purchase - wealthier customers purchase less as a percentage of their income.
2. Tax Foundation: What a site! - Some specifics on what each candidate proposes for Tax Reform
3. The Washington Post take on Donald Trump's proposal
4. Fine article by Fortune on Ted Cruz’s tax proposal
5. NPR's take on Everything You Wanted To Know About Jeb Bush's Tax Plan  
6. NPR: ClintonWould Raise Taxes On The Wealthy. Here's What You Need To Know 
7. Aptly titled from Forbes:  BernieSanders Releases Tax Plan, Nation's Rich Recoil In Horror   

The Face of Hypocrisy is Never Pretty

(But Apparently It's de Rigueur in Politics...aye, aye, wink wink)

Mrs. Hillary Clinton apparently felt "outraged" at the Republican Governor of Michigan for his role in the Flint water crisis (succinct summary timeline here and decision info here), but somehow that kind of righteous umbrage doesn't apply when it comes to the many Democratic leaders and constituencies involved in this mess, or elsewhere for that matter.

HRC:  “Well, Lester, I spent a lot of time last week being outraged by what’s happening in Flint, Michigan, and I think every single American should be outraged,” Clinton told NBC anchor Lester Holt. “I issued a statement about what we needed to do, and then I went on a TV show and I said it was outrageous that the governor hadn’t acted.”   

(Polls must have said Mrs. Clinton does not get "outraged" enough, so she told us she was.)   

This scree occurred at the DNC debate, in addition to Mrs. Clinton's blasting Governor Snyder on the Rachel Maddow Show the day before.  This kind of nationally-televised cherry-picking of enemies does nothing to help the residents of Flint, but it must be helping her campaign somehow.  Still, Mrs. Clinton mentioned nary a word about the other players in this mess:

Flint's mayor drinks water from tap to prove it's safe

• Nothing about former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling (DEMOCRAT) who was mayor from 2011-2015 while the city was in receivership under the Emergency Manager, but apparently bought into all the decisions as he demonstrated to the protesting Flint residents by making a big show of publicly drinking the Flint River tap water.
• Nothing about current Flint Mayor Karen Weaver (DEMOCRAT).  Ok, to be fair, she's kicking ass.  She was elected on the basis of the water crisis and declared a state of emergency in mid-December shortly after taking over. 
• Nothing about the local water authority failing to add anti-corrosion additives (as required by law) that would have protected Flint's pipes 
• Nothing about the state government’s Department of Environmental Quality, “which repeatedly told Flint residents the water was safe to drink despite the fact that they had reports in their hands showing that the lead levels were off the charts.” **
• Nothing about the Obama Administration's EPA knowing all about this lead problem more than a year (Feb 2014) BEFORE the Michigan Governor did (sometime in 2015; Oct 2015 for the official report) and taking no action.  
• And, frankly, nothing about Flint (and the neighboring Detroit) being so mismanaged and stuck in government largess under a series of DEMOCRATIC mayors and governors that they bankrupted the cities leading to these terrible cost-cutting choices.  Never mind the fact that they absolutely polluted their waterways in the first place.   

Compare & Contrast
Mrs. Clinton's drummed up outrage didn't end there, however.  She saw fit to express it at the Chicago police shooting video, BUT NOT AT THE MAN IN CHARGE OF THE CITY AND POLICE, WHO KEPT IT LOCKED AWAY FOR OVER 14 MONTHS.

“Clinton's Sunday remarks were more measured than they were in December, when she told a Bloomberg reporter she was ‘confident that he's going to do everything he can to get to the bottom of these issues and take whatever measures are necessary to remedy them.’”

“Since [the release of the McDonald video], three other videos showing police shootings of young black men and teens have been released. In all four instances, the city's law department or police fought to keep the videos under wraps.” ++

Conceivably, both the Governor of Michigan and the Mayor of Chicago could both be held equally to blame for the way the situations were handled in these cities.  So why the hypocrisy on the part of Mrs. Clinton?

We should be outraged.

...

Side note:

In juxtaposition to the hypocrisy of Mrs. Clinton, it should be noted that Senator Bernie Sanders was similarly outraged (as is his usual state) at Governor Snyder AND Mayor Emanuel.  Last month he told an audience in Chicago:

  

“If the question is, do I want or need Rahm Emanuel's support for president -- with all due respect to the mayor, no, I don't.”

...

More of HRC's recent "outrage":

• Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Outraged by Bernie Sanders Ad on Wall Street - NYT piece; seems like a pretty reasonable statement (on the Bernie-Scale)
• OUTRAGE: Hillary Clinton Campaign Demands Famous ComedyClub Remove Video – HILARIOUS VIDEO! - (likely liberal) comedians taking some shots