Krauthammer: Obama ‘Wants To Punish the Rich Regardless of Its Effect On the Economy’

Columnist Charles Krauthammer argued that President Obama’s tax policy is “punish the rich regardless of its effect on the economy” on Monday’s “Special Report” on the Fox News Channel.

Krauthammer said “Obama was asked about whether rating a capital gains tax is something he would support even…in the run up to the ’08 campaign, even if it lowered revenues, which it does, which of course is totally illogical, [the goal of] taxes is to bring revenue. Obama’s answer was ‘yes, in the name of fairness.’ This is a man who wants to punish the rich regardless of its effect on the economy.”

Earlier, he stated, “for Obama, this is not at all an opening bid on a negotiation with the Republicans on tax reform because it’s not about tax reform. The fact that Obama is calling it that is extremely clever, but it’s a corruption of the language. We know what tax reform is. We had it in 1986 where Democrats and Republicans agree to three things, simplify the code, lower rates, eliminate loopholes. If you look at Obama’s proposal it is tax and spend which, of course, today is revenue enhance and invest…but it’s not at all tax reform. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. It complicates the code with all kinds of little curlicues and handouts under certain conditions…it raises rates, and it adds all kinds of loopholes, which is exactly the opposite of what we did in ’86.”

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