2012 voter guide: Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney is the former governor of Massachusetts. He was the head of Bain Capital, an investment firm that bought troubled companies, and also managed the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Read a full biography of Romney by the Atlanta Elections Examiner here.

Campaign website: mittromney.com

Supporting PAC: restoreourfuture.com

Ga. website: gaformitt.com

2008 Ga. results: 30.2 percent/third place (RCP)

Latest 2012 Ga. poll: 15 percent/second place (RCP)

Taxes: Mitt Romney would maintain current tax rates on personal income and capital gains. He would eliminate the death, capital gains, interest and dividend taxes for taxpayers with an AGI of under $200,000. He would reduce corporate tax rates to 25 percent (from 35 percent currently) and push for a complete overhaul of the tax system.

Obamacare: Romney favors a repeal of Obamacare.

Energy: Romney would amend regulation to allow expedited approval of resource development projects, including nuclear plants. He would open America’s energy reserves for development, including shale oil and gas. Romney supports the construction of pipelines to bring Canadian oil to the U.S. Romney believes that the government should not be involved in “steering investment toward particular politically favored approaches,” but should limit its funding to basic research.

Life: Romney’s website does not address abortion or other life issues. He is formerly pro-abortion, but says that he had come to believe abortion was immoral before his first presidential run in 2008. His record on abortion is mixed. Romneycare, the Massachusetts health plan, covers abortion, but it did not do so in the original legislation. In a veto message regarding an emergency contraception bill, Romney cited his belief that life begins at fertilization and his support for parental consent laws. (aboutmittromney.com, prolifeprofiles.com, Factcheck.org)

Iran: Mitt Romney wrote in the Wall Street Journal that he would back up American diplomacy with a “very real and very credible military option.” He states explicitly that he will act with U.S. allies to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Immigration: Romney supports the right of states to restrict illegal immigration. He would veto the DREAM Act and opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants. He supports secure borders. (Fox News)

National Security: Romney believes that military spending should be increased to four percent of GDP and would increase the active duty work force by 10,000. He would pursue military, nonmilitary and diplomatic avenues against the jihadists. He believes that the FBI should have the power to wiretap mosques and investigate suspected domestic terrorists. He regrets not having served in the military. (boston.com, 2012.republican-candidates.org)

Spending: Mitt Romney believes that “we have a moral responsibility not to spend more than we take in.” He would end deficit spending and work toward a balanced budget. He would have the federal government publish a balance sheet each year.

Entitlements: Mitt Romney would reform entitlements as a path toward balancing the federal budget. Romney will not cut benefits for current retirees.

Second Amendment: Romney supported gun control while governor of Massachusetts. He became a life member of the NRA in 2007. He now opposes a nationwide “assault weapons” ban and supports the second amendment as an individual right. (thepoliticalguide.com)

Gay marriage: Mitt Romney opposes gay marriage, but has stated his opposition to discrimination against homosexuals in the past. (LA Times)

Where possible, the positions of the candidate were taken from the campaign websites cited above. When this was not possible, the source of the information presented is cited in parentheses and linked.

Read this article on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/elections-2012-in-atlanta/2012-voter-guide-mitt-romney

Herman Cain unveils economic plan

In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Georgia native Herman Cain unveiled the specifics of his economic plan for the first time today. Cain’s plan, called the “9-9-9 plan,” appeared on the editorial page of the September 15 Journal.

The core of Cain’s plan is a tax reform proposal that would replace current personal and corporate taxes with flat taxes at a 9 percent rate. Businesses would deduct business-to-business purchases and capital investment and then pay a nine percent flat tax on the remainder of their income. Individuals would deduct charitable deductions and pay a 9 percent tax on their remaining income. Capital gains would be excluded from taxation.

The third “9” would be a 9 percent national sales tax. This federal sales tax would be levied only on the sale of new goods. In a nod to the Fair Tax, Cain’s plan excludes used items from taxation. Cain would also eliminate the taxes on profits from international operations that are returned to the U.S., the payroll tax and the estate tax.

Cain believes that his tax reform plan would make U.S. businesses more competitive and help the economy begin to grow again. According to Cain, the tax reforms would be revenue neutral when they are implemented, but revenues would increase as the economy grows.

Cain also notes that he would repeal three laws that have caused severe damage to the economy. He calls the repeal of Obamacare, the Dodd-Frank financial reform, and Sarbanes-Oxley “critical steps” toward an economic recovery.

Cain’s plan also calls for taking steps to stabilize the dollar’s value, reducing spending and paying down the federal debt. He also favors free enterprise (empowerment) zones as a way to encourage investment in urban areas. In another recent WSJ editorial, economist Arthur Laffer describes free enterprise zones as areas where the government would suspend minimum wage laws, suspend or lower tax rates, and offer expedited approval of burdensome regulations.

Herman Cain is one of two Georgians competing for the Republican presidential nomination for 2012. He is a former business executive and radio talk show host on Atlanta’s WSB AM-750. A Tea Party favorite, Cain polled well initially, but has slipped over recent months. In the most recent Real Clear Politics average of polls, Cain claimed less than 5 percent of the vote. He trailed Perry, Romney, Palin, Paul, Bachmann and was in a statistical tie with the other Georgia candidate, Newt Gingrich.

Read the rest of this article on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/elections-2012-in-atlanta/herman-cain-unveils-economic-plan