Giuliani Flip-Flop-Flips on Flat Tax
| Thu Apr. 5, 2007 8:02 AM PDT
Rudy Giuliani is was one of the GOP's strongest opponents to a flat tax. When Steve Forbes was running for president on the idea in 1996, Rudy "disparaged a flat tax in general and Mr. Forbes's plan in particular," according to the New York Times. Rudy said a flat tax "would really be a disaster."
But what's a disaster between presidential candidates? In exchange for Steve Forbes' endorsement, Giuliani recently announced he was a big proponent of the flat tax. He said of a federal income tax, "maybe I'd suggest not doing it at all, but if we were going to do it, a flat tax would make a lot of sense."
Okay, so that's a flip-flop. Care to reverse your position again, and make it a flip-flop-flip?
[When asked how he could support a flat tax after long opposition, Giuliani said,] "I didn't favor it, I said something academic... What I said was, and it was not a joke, but it was half-jocular, was if we didn't have an income tax...what would I favor? First I would favor no tax. That would be my first position. My second position would probably be a flat tax."
But, he said, the tax "would probably not be feasible."
I love this attitude. Can you imagine him as president? "Oh, did I say we should bomb Iran? I was kidding. But kidding on the square. I was, like, half kidding. Oh, Ahmadinejad launch an attack on Israel as a response? Crap. You're kidding, right?"
The problem with Giuliani, and maybe this is a good problem, is that he isn't comfortable flip-flopping. McCain panders to people he once despised and Romney has reversed his entire playbook on social issues -- and both are sticking to their reversals, no matter how shameless or false they appear, and no matter how hard they get hammered for it. Giuliani, on the other hand, seems uncomfortable abandoning positions he has long held, and after he abandons them, he claims them back, or gets hopelessly muddled.
Maybe that's to his credit.
More on this at Bruce Reed's space on Slate. Also, Cameron blogged about the flat tax and Giuliani's relationship to the crooked Bernard Kerik in an earlier post titled "Giuliani Meltdown."
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Comments
First, I'd like to state that I have absolutely no problem with someone changing their mind in light of new data or as the result of increased learning and experience. This is what intelligent humans do.
That said, going back and forth like this in the space of one interview is moronic at best. Further, the flat tax, being non-progressive, is something to which I am strongly opposed.
I believe I should pay more, both as a total and as a percentage of my income, than someone who makes less than I do. That's a big part of what being liberal (i.e. generous) means.
What bothers me tremendously is that the very wealthy do not pay their fair share. Perhaps what is required is a system with no deductions and no tax-free income. Set the rates a bit lower. Create a nice simple form where we enter total income, look up our percentage, multiply one by the other and pay that amount. Done.
With this plan, I'd stop subsidizing other peoples' children, though still pay for schooling. Renters would stop subsidizing my mortgage. People who don't contribute to charity would stop funding the contributions of those who do, etc.
But, the topic was Giuliani's beliefs, or lack thereof. So, he can't make up his mind about a little thing like taxes. Do we really need someone who can make a decision in the white house?
One more aside: He does not even have the support of the NYC Fire Department!!
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