Friday, former Sen. Rick Santorum will address the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
Fresh from his triple win in Republican presidential contests on Tuesday, and following his Iowa victory last month, this is Santorum’s opportunity to lay out his message to thousands of conservative attendees.
Presidential candidates don’t need dozens of different economic policies that Congress is unlikely to adopt. Voters don’t read their white papers. They mostly want to hear, in general terms, what candidates will do to fix the economy, alleviate the debt burden on future generations, and put old-age entitlement programs back on a sustainable trajectory.
One of the most carefully crafted proposals for entitlement reform is by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who will also speak at CPAC. Santorum supports Ryan’s plan. For Medicare, it would allow workers who retire in 10 years to choose from a variety of plans, with some part of the premiums paid by the government. Premiums would vary, depending on income and health. Current retirees, and those retiring before 2022, would stay on traditional Medicare.
Santorum wants to balance Social Security by gradually raising the retirement age for younger workers and changing indexing of benefits.
On spending, Santorum wants to cut non-defense spending back to 2008 levels. He would end energy subsidies and other wasteful government programs, for $5 trillion in cuts over 5 years.
On economic growth, Santorum wants to simplify the tax code. Uncertainty over taxes is hobbling American business decisions and undermining consumer confidence. The complexity of the tax code means that many Americans must use software programs or accountants.
Santorum wants to create just two rates — 10 percent and 28 percent — eliminating many deductions and expanding the personal exemption for children. This is in contrast to President Obama, who regularly proposes new taxes on different classes of Americans.
Santorum would also abolish the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, adjusted downward every year by Congress, is now paid by millions of Americans, particularly those with large families in high-tax states.
Santorum would halve the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent (the highest in the world) to 17.5 percent, and allow the cost of all business equipment to be deducted in the year of purchase. Manufacturing operations would have a corporate tax rate of zero.
One improvement would be to eliminate the corporate tax rate altogether, so that all sectors would be treated equally, ensuring a flow of investment into, rather than out of, the United States. The new business investment would stimulate job creation, generating additional tax revenues.
One of Santorum’s highest priorities is to repeal the new health care law, and replace it with competition and choice for health insurance, the way people easily purchase auto, home and life insurance.
Health care is just the tip of the regulatory iceberg in Washington. From transportation to the environment, from energy to education, the current administration cranks out endless rules that stifle both American employers and workers.
That’s one reason why hiring has slowed and Americans have withdrawn from the labor force. The labor force participation rate has declined precipitously over the past three years. It’s now at 63.7 percent, the same as it was in May 1983. America needs a 21st century labor force, not a 1980s labor force.
Santorum understands these problems and is determined to end them. His stance on smaller government and a strong defense, as well as his natural authenticity, should resonate well with CPAC attendees today.
Examiner Columnist Diana Furchtgott-Roth ([email protected]), former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
