Romney Will Be George W. Bush 2.0, Especially When it Comes to Taxes and Spending

Impact

There is a growing unrest among Republican voters regarding the comparison between Mitt Romney’s and George W. Bush’s policies about taxation, spending, and regulation.

What is fueling this agitation? Is it true that Romney’s 2012 platform mirror that of Bush’s in 2000? Is Romney just a Bush Jr. redux? Are the Republican voters afraid that the alleged similarities will destroy our nation’s fragile recovery?

Here is a at-a-glance look at Romney and Bush Jr.’s platforms on taxation, spending and regulation: 

 

Policies

 

          Romney 2012

              Bush 2000

Taxation

  

Permanent tax cuts from Bush era; across the board corporate tax cut of 25%.

Individual and corporate tax cuts. "Whoever pays taxes gets a tax break".

Spending

Cap spending at 20% of the GDP; cut government spending to reduce deficit.

Cut government spending (ended up spending and adding $5 trillion to the budget deficit).

Regulation

More deregulation; repeal and eliminate all Obama-era regulations to build business.

Less government regulations (encouraged risky financial derivatives)

Judging from the table above, it looks like Romney and Bush have the same campaign agenda as far as taxes, spending and regulation are concerned. The prevailing mantra is: less taxes, less spending and less regulation.

Alexandra Franceschi, Specialty Media press secretary of the Republican National Committee, stated during an interview that Romney’s policies are very similar to the “policies of the Bush administration … just updated.” The update includes more tax cuts, less spending, and increased deregulation.

Romney’s tax cut plan is bigger and more expensive than Bush’s and leaning favorably to benefit the wealthy. Romney promises that during his first day in the office  as president, he will pass the bill about the corporate tax cuts.

Like Bush, Romney promises to cut government spending. Bush did not keep his 2000 spending cut promise. The U.S. economy in 2000 is much better than this election year. There was room for Bush to spend in 2000 and not so much for Romney in 2012.

Bush vowed that he would pursue deregulation that would encourage business and would grow the economy in his 2000 campaign. Romney is blatant about his deregulation policy. He promises to repeal Obamacare and eliminate all Obama administrations' regulations to relieve "undue burdens" on businesses as soon as he is sworn for office. He also plans on amending the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).