Mitt Romney is set to deliver a detailed address on how he plans to turn around the economy this afternoon, but he offered up a preview in USA Today this morning.
“Tomorrow, I will introduce a plan consisting of 59 specific proposals — including 10 concrete actions I will take on my first day in office — to turn around America’s economy,” Romney wrote. “Each proposal is rooted in the conservative premise that government itself cannot create jobs. At best, government can provide a framework in which economic growth can occur. All too often, however, government gets in the way. The past three years of unparalleled government expansion have retaught that lesson all too well.”
Like rival Huntsman and most GOP wonks, Romney wants to lower corporate tax rates as part of a broader tax code reform package. Rival Jon Huntsman proposed a detailed plan to exactly that last week, but it would have included painful cuts to popular tax expenditures that benefit the middle class. Romney doesn’t get as specific, only saying that “Ultimately, I will press for a total overhaul of our overly complex and inefficient system of taxation.”
Cutting red tape and eliminating regulations is a hallmark of any GOP candidate’s rhetoric, but Romney offered a novel proposal in the op-ed on this front: “I will direct every government agency to limit annual increases in regulatory costs to zero,” he wrote. “The impact of any proposed new regulation must be offset by removing another regulation of equivalent cost.”
On trade issues, Romney suggested creating a “Reagan Economic Zone” (yes, that’s what it’s called) that would include fellow capitalist nations, but there were few details on how exactly it would work.
The rest is largely boilerplate: Romney wants to expand oil drilling and nuclear energy while fighting the unions and the National Labor Relations Board at every turn. He also wants a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. The op-ed is pretty vague on most issues, so it’s worth keeping an eye on how much further detail he offers later today in his speech and any accompanying white papers.
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