Jerry's Lies on the Capital Gains Tax

John Seiler:

Today I got the third mailing of Jerry’s hit piece on Meg’s proposal to eliminate the state capital gains tax. It says, “Meg Whitman’s $5 billion tax giveaway…it’s not for you.”

Actually, you lying fraud, it is for me. Because if rich folks keep their investment money — on which they already have paid income taxes — then they invest it in creating jobs and businesses. Most Democrats are so dense on economics  they don’t understand that. Believe me, I’ve tried to explain it to them in person — two being Cruz Bustamante and Loretta Sanchez — and they just don’t get it.

But Jerry gets it. In his 1992 presidential bid, he had a similar tax cut designed for him by economist Arthur Laffer, which would have instituted a flat tax at the national level. So he understands that, if you tax something less (income or capital), you get more of it. Which expands the overall tax base, creating jobs.

It’s obvious Meg made a mistake making this the cornerstone of her economic plan. It’s a great idea, but it just doesn’t sell by itself. Instead, as I have suggested, she should have come out for a 50% tax cut for everybody.

That way, when Jerry lied and said, “Meg Whitman’s $5 billion tax giveaway..it’s not for you,” she could respond, “Jerry, you’re lying. What part of ‘everybody gets a 50% tax cut’ don’t you understand?”

And she could have mailed out a piece saying, “Vote Meg. 50% tax cut. For you.”

I also got a flyer from Meg today, but it’s so amateurish compared to Jerry’s professional mendacity that I’m too disgusted to even talk about it.

Oct. 29, 2010