Ben Carson: People Should Tithe the Government
May 11, 2015 14:39:35 GMT -5
Post by schwartzie on May 11, 2015 14:39:35 GMT -5
I really, really like Ben Carson - I think he's the best of the candidates out there, and tries to do what's right. Unfortunately he's SDA and has some unbiblical beliefs, BUT....I still like him, and we really need to pray for him to be saved!
Ben Carson: People Should Tithe the Government
By Melanie Hunter | May 11, 2015 | 11:54 AM EDT
(CNSNews.com) – Retired neurosurgeon and GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson told “Fox News Sunday” that his idea of a flat tax is akin to tithing.
“I like the idea of a proportional tax. That way you pay according to your ability, and I got that idea, quite frankly, from the Bible, tithing. You make $10 billion a year, you pay $1 billion. You make $10 a year, you pay $1. You get the same rights. That’s pretty darn fair, if you ask me,” he said when asked to describe how a flat tax – which he proposes as a pillar of his economic program – would work.
“Some people say it’s not fair, because … the poor people can’t afford to pay that dollar. That’s very condescending. You know, I grew up very poor. I’ve experienced every economic level, and I can tell you poor people have pride, too, and they don’t want to be just taken care of,” Carson said.
Carson said a proportional tax would also make it more difficult for politicians to raise taxes.
“If everybody is paying, it makes it very difficult for these politicians to come along and raise taxes. It’s easy to raise it on 1 percent or 2 percent or 5 percent. It’s very difficult to raise it on 100 percent,” he said.
“But, Doctor, here is a problem with flat tax in the real world -- according to the Tax Policy Center, to raise the same amount of revenue we do now, the tax rate would have to be in the low to mid 20 percent range,” host Chris Wallace said.
“Wrong,” Carson said.
“Low and middle income families would get a big tax hike, while wealthy families would actually get a tax cut,” said Wallace.
“That's actually not -- I don't agree with that assessment, let me put it that way, because I've been in contact with many economists, and, in fact, if you eliminate the loopholes and deductions, then you're really talking about a rate somewhere between 10 and 15 percent,” said Carson.
Wallace cited “outside experts” who estimate the rate would be “in the 20s.” Carson challenged Wallace to “a battle of the experts.”
“We’ll have a battle of the experts -- I mean, that's right, but, for instance, you talk about low-income families. Not only don't they pay, they actually get an earned income tax credit. Now, you're going to have them pay 10 percent to 15 percent of whatever income they have, or 20 percent if my experts are right,” Wallace said. “I mean, is there danger -- I got to tell you, a lot of independent studies say the people that make out like bandits in this are the wealthy.”
“Bear in mind, Chris, this is part of an overall complex program, because it also involves re-orienting the way we do things in government, making the government run more like a business in this great, inefficient behemoth that we have now. It involves, you know, utilizing our energy resources the right way. We can get an enormous amount of revenue from that. It involves a balance budget,” Carson replied.
“You know, by the time you put all those things, and it involves getting rid of all of these things that are fettering the economic engine and revamping corporate taxes and bringing in money that's overseas, by giving a tax holiday, that's $2 trillion right there. I mean, there are a number of things involved in doing this,” he added.
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Ben Carson: People Should Tithe the Government
By Melanie Hunter | May 11, 2015 | 11:54 AM EDT
(CNSNews.com) – Retired neurosurgeon and GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson told “Fox News Sunday” that his idea of a flat tax is akin to tithing.
“I like the idea of a proportional tax. That way you pay according to your ability, and I got that idea, quite frankly, from the Bible, tithing. You make $10 billion a year, you pay $1 billion. You make $10 a year, you pay $1. You get the same rights. That’s pretty darn fair, if you ask me,” he said when asked to describe how a flat tax – which he proposes as a pillar of his economic program – would work.
“Some people say it’s not fair, because … the poor people can’t afford to pay that dollar. That’s very condescending. You know, I grew up very poor. I’ve experienced every economic level, and I can tell you poor people have pride, too, and they don’t want to be just taken care of,” Carson said.
Carson said a proportional tax would also make it more difficult for politicians to raise taxes.
“If everybody is paying, it makes it very difficult for these politicians to come along and raise taxes. It’s easy to raise it on 1 percent or 2 percent or 5 percent. It’s very difficult to raise it on 100 percent,” he said.
“But, Doctor, here is a problem with flat tax in the real world -- according to the Tax Policy Center, to raise the same amount of revenue we do now, the tax rate would have to be in the low to mid 20 percent range,” host Chris Wallace said.
“Wrong,” Carson said.
“Low and middle income families would get a big tax hike, while wealthy families would actually get a tax cut,” said Wallace.
“That's actually not -- I don't agree with that assessment, let me put it that way, because I've been in contact with many economists, and, in fact, if you eliminate the loopholes and deductions, then you're really talking about a rate somewhere between 10 and 15 percent,” said Carson.
Wallace cited “outside experts” who estimate the rate would be “in the 20s.” Carson challenged Wallace to “a battle of the experts.”
“We’ll have a battle of the experts -- I mean, that's right, but, for instance, you talk about low-income families. Not only don't they pay, they actually get an earned income tax credit. Now, you're going to have them pay 10 percent to 15 percent of whatever income they have, or 20 percent if my experts are right,” Wallace said. “I mean, is there danger -- I got to tell you, a lot of independent studies say the people that make out like bandits in this are the wealthy.”
“Bear in mind, Chris, this is part of an overall complex program, because it also involves re-orienting the way we do things in government, making the government run more like a business in this great, inefficient behemoth that we have now. It involves, you know, utilizing our energy resources the right way. We can get an enormous amount of revenue from that. It involves a balance budget,” Carson replied.
“You know, by the time you put all those things, and it involves getting rid of all of these things that are fettering the economic engine and revamping corporate taxes and bringing in money that's overseas, by giving a tax holiday, that's $2 trillion right there. I mean, there are a number of things involved in doing this,” he added.
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