Sorry, Rudy. You're still a loser trying to ride a false sense of accomplishment while watching what was going on in New York.

Let's see… taking care of multi-millionaires? Check. Taking care of the heirs of multimillionaires? Check. Taking care of big oil, big pharma, any and all large corportaions? Check, check and check. Taking care of the working poor and the middle class?

Oops.

Now fully desperate, Rudy is trying to buy votes.

He's pathetic. And so is anyone who supports this clown.

oh dear…what….i'm just at a loss of words.

I'm more interested in knowing greater details about how he expects to pay for the tax cuts.

Why a 10% cut on corporations–who already are pretty much not pay "any taxes".

What government programs and services will remain unfunded or be scrapped to accommodate the reduction in government revenue?

What portion of "his" budget would be spent on Defense Spending?

Beware–this guys desire to win–is clouding his reality.

And leave nothing to pay off the deficit GWB created. Good thinking! Typical Republican thinking!
The Republican version of the "American Dream" is to borrow 10 times more than you could ever hope to pay off in your lifetime. Let the next guy (your kids) pay for the debt you created!
Do I hear a "Countrywide is on Your Side!"

Read his lips, folks.

He has now resorted to trying to buy votes. How pathetic.

HA!

This is what baffles me about Republicans (I'm an independent). They talk about "small government" and "fiscal conservatism". However, they also talk about having a huge military…

I don't like to be taxed, just like everyone else, BUT, Rudy, how do you plan on paying for healthcare and the needs of America AND a war that has already cost us trillions if you want to cut everyone's taxes, including the same corporations who send our jobs overseas?

Oh, nevermind I know the answer. We'll just keep borrowing the money from China and eventually bankrupt our government–especially if China decides to call the loans one day.

AMAZING. Do people really believe this stuff? Rudy, you should have put 9/11 in the commercial somewhere. That would have made this a tiny bit more believable.

Geez.

Rudi your dillusional hero days of 911 are over and so is your bid for the White House. Face reality and withdraw from the presidential race.

So I suppose he will reduce spending to balance the budget. Not!

Stick to 9/11 Rudy! You have less explaining to do that way!

Sorry Rudy, it's too late for tax cuts, just getting out of Iraq will save a trillion dollars a year. But, Exxon will like your idea.

I like the idea of a tax cut. But he is not helping me any.

I think we should increase the capital gains tax from 15 percent to 25 percent, put a 10% sales tax on all investment transactions, increase the sales tax on all luxury items, stop foreign investment in US Government securities, leave the corporate tax rate at 35 percent and eliminate income taxes for middle and lower incomes by getting rid of govenment waste.

Help the middle class for a change.

Ken in RI

Great comment! Priceless. LMAO
—————————————————
January 11, 2008 12:04 pm ET

Let's see… taking care of multi-millionaires? Check. Taking care of the heirs of multimillionaires? Check. Taking care of big oil, big pharma, any and all large corportaions? Check, check and check. Taking care of the working poor and the middle class?

Oops.

Come on Rudy, we (and our children, and their children) will have to pay back the China for Bush's multi-trillion dollar debt somehow?

The problem, Rudy, is that this is a silly proposition. The congress would NEVER approve a cut like that.

Come on Rudy, we (and our children, and their children) will have to pay China back for Bush's multi-trillion dollar debt somehow?

Ron Paul wants to end the Income Tax… wouldn't THAT be the largest tax cut in US History?
Wallace, Chicago IL - Check out Ron Paul. He's for real - he's for small government and he's a true fiscal conservative. He doesn't want the government to pay for healthcare OR the war OR borrow money from China.

In theory this would be perfect, but in reality? Well…its just goes to show what people will say or do to get elected.

Rudy talks about cutting taxes more than all other republican canidates combined. Well, duh you were mayor of a city! Not to mention, a high income city! Try running a state! A Country? This smal mindedness just proves he is in now wway ready to run our country! Im for low taxes and all, but these are all just pipe dreams.

I wonder if he's taking a lesson from the democrats here. "I will PROPOSE to raise minimum wage (that way people will like me, even though I KNOW it fiscally irresponsible and will INCREASE unemployment and inflation), and when it gets rejected, I won't be the bad guy!!" How is Rudy any different than this?

I'm all about cutting taxes, but where are his reductions in spending? First, he'll pay for healthcare by getting the government out of healthcare (at least he should). Second, he'll pay for the war by getting out of it and bringing most troops elsewhere in the world home (at least he should). He'll pay for increasing border security by putting the newly brought home troops on the border (at least he should). He'll cover Social Security by ending it for those born after 1980 and reallocating some of the new surplus from not being at war into the Social Security to cover any short comings from getting people out of the government retirement plan (wake up you earn more in CDs even with inflation than you do in Social Security). Cutting government and removing government from people's lives is how you have a eliminate the deficit.

This guy is a weasel of the worst kind. In looking at the depressed state of our economy after a Republican presidency of tax cuts and fiscal irresponsibility, how can he even make a case that this approach works? It has proven NOT to work via Mr. Bush. Some people will say anything to vie for the votes of the uninformed. It's refreshing to know that Giuliani is behind in the polls. Lets hope no one else gets tricked by his pie-in-the-sky economic hallucinations and re-enactments of 9-11.

That seals the deal for me. There is no way I could possibly vote for Rudy now. With record deficits already threatening the lives of our children and grandchildren do we really need the largest tax cut in history. Who really benefits from lowering capital gains taxes? It's certainly not the middle class. It's certainly not the poor. Maybe Rudy can just eliminate all taxes paid by mutual fund managers and the ultra rich. When you've got guys like Warren Buffett stating that he pays less taxes than his secretary there is something very wrong in this country. How about instead of massive tax cuts we try to fix aging infrastructure, make college more affordable and fix social security.

Well done Rudy! You turned around NYC and you can lead the nation too. You're not buying votes any more than candidates proposing support programs to various groups - only difference - you'll let me decide how to spend that money!

Rudy wasn't happy with just destroying the middle class in New York City, now he wants to do the same for America. These are more of the same corporate welfare schemes that he perpetrated on NYC. Why should the rich not be contributing to social security and not paying a fair tax rate? Of course he wants oil companies and drug companies to benefit from his administration, they are his clients at Giuliani Partners and they have made him a multimillionaire. As for leaving massive debt to his children — well, they don't like him or talk to him now, so why should he care?

In another Giulian story below it states "…top staff members of Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign were asked to work without pay for the month of January, and perhaps longer,…" Is this what he expects if Prez, to cut taxes and then have people work for free because there are no revenues to pay them? And, he's all for tax cuts, but how will he (or Bush) pay for the endless wars they harp on about? There is more to life than tax cuts. But if the electorate is not savvy enough to see beyond those two words, then these snake-oil politicians will continue to deceive us.

Joe in Mobile, AL: Man, I wish YOU were running! You got it right, friend!

_________________________
January 11, 2008 12:23 pm ET

I like the idea of a tax cut. But he is not helping me any.

I think we should increase the capital gains tax from 15 percent to 25 percent, put a 10% sales tax on all investment transactions, increase the sales tax on all luxury items, stop foreign investment in US Government securities, leave the corporate tax rate at 35 percent and eliminate income taxes for middle and lower incomes by getting rid of govenment waste.

Help the middle class for a change.

So the part that affects me, as a middle income tax payer, is the simplified form that has a maximum of 30%. Sure, I'd get a tax cut of 3% or so, but the billionaire gets a 5% tax cut on top of the Bush tax cuts, his kids and their kids will NEVER pay taxes on that money as it passes down through the generations, and the corporations will be able to create more millionaires with huge executive pay packages after their 10% tax cut.

Makes sense…if you are rich.

Ron Paul wants to get rid of the income tax and start a national sales tax.

He is basically taking the burden off the workers/wage earners and putting it on the retirees and the poor.

Sounds good until you start thinking of the consenquences.

Do you people ever look at the national debt? its NVER GONE DOWN EVER EVER EVER..jesus..it was a PROJECTED SURPLUS …jesus….people DO YOUR HOMEWORK… here

10/14/1994 4,691,919,831,834.43
11/14/1995 4,987,139,764,503.11
11/14/1996 5,254,442,987,704.05
11/14/1997 5,431,087,031,356.83
11/16/1998 5,581,706,345,787.83
11/16/1999 5,689,775,697,887.62
11/16/2000 5,697,018,859,217.42

granted bush has doubled that in 7 yrs..BUT dont preach about the 90s and a surplus…never happened

ps– this is straight from the treasury website.. http://www.treasurydirect.gov

most people just believe what they hear….and everyone wonders why washington is soo screwed up? Its cause we americans really dont care..(most dont) .. We talk like we wanna do something.. BUT hey we might get our SUV dirty so we dont…. ..

And not one word about the deficit! Typical Republican fantasy thinking..if I say "tax cut" people will say "YES!" Not this time Rudy. Bush's tax cuts served no one but rich folks like you, who should have used that money to help out people in trouble. Americans are seeing the recession coming, which mean the rest of you will soon be where Michigan has been since Bush–on a downward spiral. To top that off, we owe everything but the kitchen sink to China, which is why Bush doesn't call for a boycott of Chinese toys until they are safe…we can't say anything bad about China when they're paying for the war.
Rudy is getting desperate…but if anyone will buy this crap, it may be Floridians. No where else!

What are the costs (consequences) of such massive cuts? Cuts are going to have to come from somewhere. Let me guess…cuts in an already UNDERFUNDED public education system? imposing new fees on Medicaid recipients? Trimming the food stamp rolls? Squeezing student lenders?

I can tell you where it won't come from…the PENTAGON'S budget!

Rudy and all of the REPUBLICANS should remember the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower - a true American hero, fellow Republican, and an amazing President:

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."

And let's not forget the warning from another American hero, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. whose birthday is quickly approaching us:

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching
spiritual death."

New campaign slogans….RUDY IS RIDICULOUS or RUDY WILL RUIN AMERICA

May I suggest an alternate title for this post:

"Guiliani offers record-breaking bribe to American citizens for their votes."

I like low taxes as well, when it is part of an overall sound fiscal policy. But when you have a national debt which is increasing instead of decreasing, two major wars with no end in sight, and a budding super-power in China which holds a significant portion of your debt, lowering taxes without explaining how our country is going pay its debts, fund its wars, or manage its infrastructure, in addition to providing absolutely no coherent plans for health care, social security, or education, all a promise of an enormous tax cut amounts to is an enormous bribe.

sounds like Mitt Romney . . . . . . the dude's got no issues and will say anything

And how is Rudy going to reduce the cost of government, so less tax revenue is needed? The demand for tax revenue is directly related to the size and scope of your government, don't believe otherwise.
Taxes are a necessary evil…you cannot talk about cutting taxes unless you are also talking about cutting the cost of government in the same breath.
Ron Paul is very specific about how he intends on lowering YOUR tax burden.
-Eliminate the IRS- you shoudln't be taxed on the fruits of your labor anyways.
-Shrink the size of government- IRS gone, Dept of Ed gone, and so are other burdensome and ineffecient departments.
-Sensible foreign policy- no more America policing the world. Face it, we are borrowing from China to conduct an illegal war in Iraq and now there's even talks about spreading the war into Iran. What ever happened to capturing Osama? Did the government give up on that and decide attacking Iran is easier. America's goodness cannot be spread by force.
-Strengthening and stabilizing the US dollar's value. The US dollar is the stock certificate of the American people and it is losing value daily. This means that the hard-earned money you scrimped and saved and then put in a bank account is less worth today than it was a year ago.

Typical Republican; cut and eliminate taxes on the wealthy and their heirs, cut the already miniscule taxes paid by corporations and expect us working stiffs to pick up the slack either directly or by running the deficit to even greater heights. Then they wonder why we on the bottom hate them for destroying the very fabric of American society and the Constitution.
This simply confirms my feeling that we need a Second American Revolution to return this country to the ideals of our Founding Fathers.

I think this sounds great. With the huge gov't deficit this would create, the gov't would borrow/print even more money, hastening the imminent demise of the dollar and the US economy. I was not entirely sure I would see it my lifetime, but this would seal the deal. Get it over with, I say, the sooner the better. There's no way our elected officials would have the guts to actually cut spending enough to take care of the coming social security and medicare funding problem, and of course no one wants to raise taxes, so the only solution is to print/borrow forever until the dollar is useless.

Silly Rudy, more tax cuts for the wealthy? What about average, middle class and working class Americans? WE are the people who keep this country running, and we're the ones who deserve a fair break when it comes to taxes.

At least he's talking about something other than 9/11. "Sideshow Rudy" and his revisionist history - there's a reason the NYC Firefighters and the members of the IAFF do NOT support him.

We really need to be more informed about these things - it is our responsibility as Americans to keep a close eye on our government and question anything that doesn't sound "quite right." I bet 9 out of 10 Americans will hear "I'll introduce the largest tax cuts in history" and then stop listening - they won't even realize the tax cuts don't apply to them.

Great. Now I'll be able to afford some tar and go out and fix the pot holes on my street on the weekends!

The wise and conscientious way to do a tax cut is to:

PUT THE MONEY IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO WILL PUMP IT RIGHT BACK IN THE ECONOMY!
PUT THE TAX CUT IN THE HANDS OF LOWER INCOME CITIZENS!

Wealthy people, absorbed in greed, will just PUT THEIR TAX CUTS IN THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS; so as to make them richer and proud, while the economy suffers and the nation's deficit builds.

Now, poorer people WILL spend the tax cut; and the wealthier people can then get rich when the poorer people spend their money to buy rich people's goods and services, AS THEY WILL!

And how does this arrogant loud mouthed imbicile propose to pay for these tax cuts? More deficit spending. Thats the thing about Republicans, they havent figured out that running our nation costs money. For years you have been hearing about tax and spend Democrats. Dont you think,dont tax and spend Republicans are even worse. At this rate with another idiotic tax cutting Republican in the White House, our dollar should be worth about 7 cents in another 8 years. My advice, start buying foreign currency, NOW!!!!

Important to remember outright bribery, no matter the result, has worked recently (W)! Worth a try Giuliani!

As president you can send anything to congress for a vote, that does not mean it will become law unless it is passed…so this is like saying I will give all US citizens a million dollars each if I am elected president…

Joe, Mobile, AL

I'd be happy to contribute to your Presidential election!

RUDy was talking last night about cutting corporate taxes from 30% to like 20 or 25% or something to that extent, he keeps saying over and over again corporations in america pay more in taxes then in the rest of the world. Where the hell else on this planet has a ecnonomy like we do? What a ridiculous stupid argument and people here in nebraka are walking around repeating it like it makes any sense what so ever, yeah its true. What should we compare our corporate taxation system too Bangledesh? Or maybe Hungrey? All the other canidates look like they agree, i really wonder if they have no idea how little sense that statement makes. The whole point of capitalism is for corporations to make as much money as possible to pay in as many taxes as possible, too keep a massive infustructer in place…AND GUESS WHAT CORPORATIONS ONLY PAY 30% WHEN THEY SHOULD BE PAYING 80 OR 90% AND OUR BRIDGES ARE COLLAPSING AND OUR ROADS OUR SHOT OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL ARE PATHERTIC MORE CUBANS CAN READ THEN AMERICANS AND FURTHERMORE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY AMERICANS ARE FORCED TO PAY THE ILLEGAL INCOME TAX WHICH STEALS EVEN MORE MONEY OUT OF YOUR POCKETS. We know where RUDYS intrests lie and who has their hands deep in his pockets

"the capital gains tax from 15 percent to 10 percent, preserve President Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, permanently eliminate the estate tax, and give taxpayers the option of choosing a simplified tax form…"

Gee, regular taxpayers - the entire middle and lower classes - get a simplified form.

Thanks, Rudy.

The rich and corporate get everything else.

Gee, thanks, Rudy.

Bush Part II: Rudy talks forever about 9-11.

Everyone likes lower taxes, but which programs does Rudy want to cut to do it?

Well folks, I was a resident of NYC during Rud'y terms, before he came to office,

there was rampant corruption, homeless people pissed in your doorway, the subways were filthy, people were getting robbed, mugged. Beggars and bums were in every neighborhood and intimidated old ladies. the whole city council was dominated by democrats so it was impossible for a republican mayors legislation to get passed, the cops were on the take, building inspectors were on the take. You could see rats running down the street, strip joints were in all business districts, sex shops were everywhere, drug dealers dominated neighborhoods. Traffic was gridlocked, the trains were late, buses were broken down. NY was an absolute disaster area.

Every single one of these issues totally changed after Rudy started going to work, not a little bit but totally and by the way, my business and property taxes all went down 25% during his term. Rudy Giuliani is not a smooth political operator, he doesn't deliver great speeches, he doesn't motivate you, but he goes to work everyday and he has a very reasonable and pragmatic sensibility, while everyone else is spewing flowery bull—- around, Rudy will get results.

What a joke!! How does he propose to pay down the 9 trillion dollar deficit hole that GWB has dug for us?

This war ain't free - and if the neo-cons and the Republicans love it so much, they are going to have to accept that they are going to have to pay for it.

Joe,
While your at it how about we I guess you might as well just add socialism to the pile because that is basically what your ideas amount to. Oh and I would suggest you read the Federalist Papers because you obviously have nary a clue on how the founding fathers intended taxation to go. They were completely opposed to a consumption tax because the people as a whole are responsible for taxes not just certain parts of the population or in your case just those who happen to have the most.They meant for taxation like everything else in this country to be uniform and currently taxation is anything but uniform (and that would include equal opportunity to get rich, not take someone elses money and redistribute it or in your case not tax those with less). If it was anything close to uniform everyone would be taxed the same across the board and then there would be no need for such a large IRS to sift through everything. They also never included for the government to be responsible for things like retirement and healthcare. This country was founded on personal accountability not on big brother taking care of you. That would be why it reads the "general welfare" in the Constiution and not something much more specific.

I find it hilarious that people are ranting about him "buying" votes when that is typical Democrat territory and that quite frankly nobody can compete with them on since none of the Republican candidates are proposing baby bonds, free universal healthcare, free education, or anything else free targeted at a select group.

Every time a republican promise a tax cut. It means tax cut for the rich. The man is not talking about the midle class.

Great, so Rudy will finish what Bush started: the complete and utter bankrupting of the United States (or at least we common folk in the US…like all Republicans, Rudy believes in enriching the rich to the detriment of everyone else).

I'm sure he intends to increase military spending, which already exceeds THE ENTIRE MILITARY EXPENDITURES OF THE REST OF THE WORLD. After all, with Norman Podhretz as his national security advisor, he'll need a much bigger military with which to attack Iran and Syria…the next two targets on the neocon wish list. Of course, to pay for it, he'll have to eliminate any kind of government programs that provide food, housing, heating, health care or educational assistance. No problem, that just gives the peasants motivation to join the Army and become cannon fodder for the next Republican dirty little war.

And I'm sure he has some rebate programs in mind for the oil and gas industries, the pharmaceuticals industries, the health insurance industries…who are already awash in tens of billions of dollars in PURE PROFIT (that's free money, folks, completely unencumbered) and tax rebates, too, even when they pay no taxes.

Yes, by all means, let's destroy what's left of working class and middle class America, and then Republicans can have their very own personal third world country to play with, right in their own backyards. They might not even have to hire so many undocumented workers from down south as more and more Americans are forced to work for peasant wages just to survive.

Is he forgetting about the deficit and the trillions of dollars being spent on the war?! Decreasing estate taxes and capital gains taxes helps the rich and doesn't do anything for the middle and lower classes. Issues like social security, health care, and education will suffer even more from a significant tax cut. Terrible idea. He's just trying to gain support by offering short term gains to a few that in the long term will negatively affect many government programs and leave the next generation with this generation's debt.

What an irresponsible proposal! How does Rudy plan to "stay on offense" in the war on terror, maintain a military commitment to Iraq, AND reduce the deficit with such massive tax cuts? This is particularly pernicious when the theoretical "trickle-down" effect of Reaganomics is largely going overseas, as jobs are outsourced.

We to maintain tax breaks targeted at the middle class, and eliminate those for businesses that outsource jobs overseas. This is the worst combination of misguided thinking and political pandering I have yet seen in this election.

Where will that money come from? More borrowing? Just print more bills?

Oh yeah, let's just borrow more money from China to pay for everything. After the wealthiest Americans just don't have enough money yet.. What do the poor need all those social services for anyways. Throw middle class a bone, I'm sure they will be happy and oblivious to what you've done. After as above Ronald Reagan started the roller coaster debt problem and he is thought of as one of the greats.

Poor laboring Art said:
"Well done Rudy! You turned around NYC and you can lead the nation too. You're not buying votes any more than candidates proposing support programs to various groups - only difference - you'll let me decide how to spend that money!"

You're one of those slow, earnest and loyal Neanderthals, aren't you, Art?

Rudy wants to give even MORE taxpayer money to the rich, on the backs of the middle class AGAIN. You won't have any money to spend anywhere.

I can see you slap your head like Homer. "Doh!"

You can thank me later.

Mr. Giuliani,

That proposal is madness. A tax cut of that level would either balloon the deficit to one trillion or more a year or, programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Student Loans, farm subsidies etcetera would have to be completely eliminated. There are only two good things about this proposal:

1) No one in Congress would vote for it
2) Such a crazy proposal would ensure that you are not elected president.

What a disappointment! I once had high hopes of voting for you - now I realize that we cannot put our country into your hands; gridlock would be incredible - unless congress ran the country by constantly overriding your veto.

I suggest that you return to private business, sir. There is no real support for such a proposal - it is nothing more than extremist dogma for the ultra-rich.

Ron Paul, as well as the tax cut of shutting down the IRS, also wants to cut the government in half and bring home all our troops. Rudi wants to just cut taxes and then invade Iran.

He may be one of the lesser evils, but I didn't see anything about eliminating income tax in there. I'd rather see a high sales tax, at least then I have a choice in the matter. Although there'd have to be limits on that considering they would be getting a lot more money from a sales tax rather than an income tax. And noone should have a right to the peoples hard earned money.

Wow, unless I am mistaken, the US GDP is only about 13 billion dollars. According to the Wikipedia, the Federal budget in 2006 was 2.6 trillion dollars. However, last night in the Republican debate, Giuliani said he would cut taxes by trillions (that's plural). So is he going to cut the budget from 2.6 trillion dollars to 600 billion?? How is he going to even pay for the war, let alone Medicare, Social Security, protecting the borders, etc? This is the same mindless "my tax cut is bigger than your" dribble that lost the election for Bob Dole. I would rather see a balanced budget than a tax cut, and in fact both would be nice. However, merely calling for huge tax cuts is mindless if he isn't going to account for reduced revenues.

There isn't a tax out there that socialist democrats don't like.

That's brilliant, Rudy. Our nation is already burdened by record debt thanks to the Federal government's brazen irresponsibility, and now he wants to further burden future generations with debt.

Sorry…Romney gets my vote.

It is incredible to me that people have such an emotional reaction to the words "tax cut" that they totally ignore the reality that you need money to run any operation. In any business enterprise reducing the revenue does not increase the profit. The premise is that if spending is reduced, then the tax cuts for the corporations and the wealthiest people will cause more investment and grow the economy. I have researched that extensively and most of the information I have found indicates that the growth caused by the tax cuts has only recovered anywhere from 17% to 50% of the lost revenue. It seems obvious that this strategy sounds nice, but doesn't actually work. How do you think we always end up with such staggering increases in our debt when people with this philosophy are in charge? The reduced spending seems to always be applied to education, social programs, environmental programs and infrastructure, which are already seriously underfunded, while huge amounts of money are spent on weapons, war and, massive no-bid government contracts. No reduced spending there. I don't see how anyone can think that taxes on the people who make the least money, and deep reductions of taxes on the people that make the most, is going to produce enough money to run a country the size of this one. I am one of the majority in this country who make less than $250,000. I see nothing in Rudy's plan that would benefit me.

How about eliminating the federal income tax altogether?

Now, that is conservatism!

Cut spending on all entitlement programs….let people get by on their own labor and investments and quit letting the government be the caretaker of people.

For those that need help, that's what churches and civic organizations and families are for.

BTW, Rudy is a tool of the neo-con warlords.

Any monkey in a suit can promise a tax cut.

All sounds good . . . . . . . . . but. . . . I agree with ejr1953 but, , , , , and Giuliani carries as much baggage with him as the clintons. Just too liberal on too many other issues as with McCain. Check their records not what they're saying in 2008.

I'll agree with the democrats loving taxes statement. They love to take peoples money to support all the needy people. Well it's one thing to be needy, it's another thing when the government is what is putting you in that position in the first place. Look around… A lot of the world is in debt because of the amount of taxes we pay. We shouldn't have to take care of the world. And we should have a choice in a lot of the things that we are MADE to do now.

Its about time the stop taxing hard working Americans. I prefer Ron Paul's approach however, why do we tax income at all?

If someone EARNS money why should they share it with others? You work hard make more, isnt that the American way? Not you make more, you give the government a bigger cut.

Time for a flat tax or no income tax at all. Charge consumption and not earnins so people have incentives to work and save, not be lazy and spend.

Interesting how CNN left out the tax rates that Giuliani is proposing. I consider myself a middle income american (I'm a third year High School teacher), and under Giuliani's plan my tax rate would be cut 10%. The idea that this cut does nothing for middle income americans is just not true as i would receive a relatively huge cut. Under this plan, I'll have more money to save or better yet, spend, and stimulate growth in the economy.

As for how to get rid of the deficit, i remember from Econ 101 that tax cuts stimulate growth, which increases goverment revenue. And to everyone complaining about a Corporate Tax cut, don't corporations provide jobs to people so they can make money? If Corporations have more money to spend, they can provide jobs to Americans, instead of shipping them abroad. Also, Giuliani is proposing massive spending cuts, such as eliminating pork projects, cutting back on government programs, and not hiring as many government workers. Will it completely balance the budget? Probably not. However, its better to stimulate the economy with across the board tax cuts and increase revenue than to raise taxes, stop investment, and halt government revenue. If we do that, then there's no way we can pay off the deficit.

So, i'm for Giuliani on this one. This tax cut empowers middle income americans by putting more money in their pocket. Don't let CNN or anyone else mislead you to believe otherwise.

Good old George W. Bush has doubled our National Debt during his "long" eight years in office. You think old Rudy is trying to do him one better. The line that is appropriate here is the one that George W. could never say. "Fool me once, you are the fool, fool me twice I'm the fool." It aint going to happen Rudy. I'm tired of seeing the Republicans adding all of this debt onto our grandchildren's shoulders and I believe most Americans feel the same way.

Ron Paul for President 2008 ! The only candidate that understands the U.S. Constitution. The choice is clear !

Hey Art:

Who the hell said Rudy turned NYC around? Rudy told you, that's who. And you are stupid enough to believe him. God help us all if people like you get to vote. I'm increasingly infavor of IQ tests for voters.

I couldn't actually type because I was laughing.

Ken in RI, I too thought you were right on.

He's just coming across as an elitist panderer.

Bush: Dictator-lite
Giuliani: Dictator. That sound you hear is the shredding of the constitution.

Look, I love tax cuts, but I really wish Republicans would start from the bottom and work their way up. Then they wouldn't look like a bunch of rich guys helping themselves. Those at the top don't really need tax cuts.

And we're also $9 trillion in deficit and likely to go deeper to fund your "war on Islamic extremism" and expanding the military like you've proposed.

Rudy to cut the greatest tax cut in U.S. history ? that is very scary ! why? because that means all the corporations will be the rule of the law ! that is very scary!

What an IDIOT. He is not even paying his staffers now. We've had 8 years of the "richer getting richer and the poor getting poorer".

Pretty laughable right? But there are millions of toothless morons who will be bought off by it…..and they are all in one party….and look where that's gotten us. He's trying sooo hard to be a tough right-winger, that he's eating charmin everytime a wingnut goes to the bathroom.

And just WHAT is your point "Chris"? That the 90's weren't all that good afterall? That the republican baloney they are handing out is not all that much of a lie? You do YOUR homework, and then continue your list into the 2000's, and then tell us why the rate of increase has been soooo much more in the 2000's than in the 1990's. Are you trying to imply that because those numbers went up in the 90's that the budget deficits were not low, and even in the black? Why DID the debt continue to grow in those years (in the 90's) when the budget was in the black? If you have the answer, I'll be surprised. And certainly the wing-nuts don't….nor do they want to. They just want to pile on any mis-guided incomplete "facts" that people like you feed to them, so they can use it to justify the right-wing lies and dogma.

Here's what I learned over the past 15 years. A truly moderate rebalancing of the tax scheme (to override the Reagan give-away to the rich) in the early 90's as put in place by a short-lived combination of a democratic administration and congress, followed by strong fiscal leadership by a democratic administration who masterfully kept at hands-length a thoroughly distracted Repub-nut Congress led by our old friend newt, led to the strongest economic showing this country has ever enjoyed.

Now we can debate about whether or not the "rebalancing" of the early 90's was moderate. But as middle class person, I neither benefited significantly from Reagan's tax cut, nor did I suffer from Clinton's tax increase. And no matter how you want to label it, the effects of the Clinton tax increase to the rest of the economy speak for themselves….the economy BOOMED. Now these facts stand in stark contrast AGAINST the brainless wing-nut tax and economic dogma spewed out by their talking heads. They love to tell you that you are really not in pain, after they cut your leg off. And certain people actually fall for it, and they will fall for it again with the current brood of [R] monkey candidates.

Over the last 28 years repubs have consistently trashed our economy, and dems have consistently improved it. And there is a primary policy cause for this difference in results: dems have consistently dealt with and improved the deficit problem; the repubs have consistently exacerbated it.

How about we just sell America to the Chinese and Arabs and say screw it. Or better yet, I know, you'll love this. I can get rid of the debt in one swoop. America declares Chapter 11-BANKRUPTCY and were back at ZERO! Yeah!

Rudy, has absolutely nothing to run on except 9/11. What about 9/12? Giuliani can’t win in a million years, what a joke!

This cracks me up.

All these people bashing Republicans for wanting to lower taxes.

Geesh you people are sheep.

Keep supporting the democrat establishment of expanding government programs and higher taxes, and see what that gets us.

Lets not forget, Bush already took a trillion dollars out of our Government in 2000, before 9/11 and before Katrina. There are only some many Trillions Rudy. We're gonna need at least a couple to get through the next 4 years!

Giuliani concludes: "I'm the one who, who's lowered taxes, and lowered spending, and actually gotten it done where it was more difficult to do it than even in Washington, DC."

Can some explain to me how running the federal government is easier than running New York City? I realize that New York is God's gift to the planet and all (intense sarcasm), but this statement is just ridiculous. Much like Rudy's plan to put the dollar on par with Zimbabwe's currency

Anyone who asks how do we pay for tax cuts does not understand economics or history. History tells us that any time there is a tax cut, it stimulates the economy and thus tremendously increases revenue. The ONLY problem with the scenario is that as soon as the revenue shows up in Washington the Congress finds a new half assed program to spend it on and that program remains through eternity whether it is needed or not.

Tommy - The Founding Fathers were against a consumption tax (or 'fair tax', which Joe was not advocating) because it would screw the poor and middle class.
Say I make 50k a year and spend 10k on food and clothing (which is taxed). A guy who makes 50 million is not going to buy 10 million worth of food and clothing! I would then be taxed at a rate (as a percentage of my income) thousands of times higher than the millionaire!!!

I think we have a 0% tax rate up to the poverty line, and a flat tax rate beyond that. I would set a very high estate tax rate for anything over a reasonable amount of money, so billionaires cannot pass the wealth to their undeserving children while the rest of America suffers. This massive influx of cash would allow the flat tax rate on the middle and upper classes to be much lower than any of the rates currently charged these groups and help pay back the national debt.

The only reason Rudy's camp came out with this ad is because they've noticed the polls showing that the economy is now the number one concern of U.S. citizens–not the war/terrorism. So much for his banking on 9/11…

Anyone who believes in cutting taxes is anything other than cutting government spending should not be allowed to have a credit card. All the spending has to be paid one way or another either through debt or now. Rudy if you have a plan to cut spending tell me where you plan to cut or please stop blowing sunshine up my you know what.

Hey Rudy,

Where are you going to get money to make up from the Trillions of Dollars in taxes? Oh wait, isn't the govenment in debt already….

Stupid.

Whaddaya know….theys a startin to sound more and more like RON FACKING PAUL…Don't drink this man's Kool-Aid - he's a fraud…live free by voting for the real McCoy……

Giuliani is a tool of the party….

This man is delusional…Rudy "Snickers" Giuliani is a walking talking paradox of a two faced canine barking at a moon he'll watch China walk on before he'll ever be President…

He laughs at Ron Paul and then immitates him in his platform because Paul is robbing him of his place in the polls…oh and RP has tons of money bombs lined up….

Ron Paul will use the Bully Pulpit to push for the following;

1.) Reduce personal income taxes - or repeal the personal income tax altogether.
2.) Reduce the size and scope of the DOD's overseas presence lowering annual costs for taxpayors.
3.) Reducing subsidies to foreign governments.
4.) Reducing subsidies to US corporations
5.) Reducing the cost and size of the Federal Governmentand shifting costs to their rightful place - the State and Local governments.
6.) Repealing drug laws for what is and has alweays been readily available to anyone who wanted them, in s[pite of hundreds of billions spent on the so-called drug-war and the prison industrial complex.
7.) Getting our federal fiscal house in order.
8.) Addressing healthcare issues through congressional efforts.

Ron Paul is the Real McCoy - Giuliani is not ther right stuff…

Rudy, Did I get that right…reduce taxes when our government has to borrow money
from China and Russia to continue it's operation? I'm sure it will get you elected
by minus-IQ supporters who can't see beyond next weekend. Maybe you should
concern yourself with the future, when our children will (eventually) have to face the debt that "W" has managed to dig us into. Frankly, it may be time to trash our
two party political system and find a "benevolent dictator" to run the country (with
the option of deposing him/her when their approval rating gets as low as "W's").
I'm looking for a copy of Lou Dobbs book…he may be one of the few sane people
commenting on the actual condition of this country.

Giuliani's First Year as President

1. Expand the war in Iraq
2. Borrow money from China
3. Invade Iran
4. Borrow more money from China, destroying the US dollar
5. Give out bazillions of worthless dollars in tax cuts woohooo!!
6. Sell Hawaii to China

If Rudy or any candidate had the ability to do this while at the same time to pulling the US out of the United nations, throwing the United Nations out of New York, stopping ALL foreign aid and weapons sales, putting the money back into building America and American citizens, and stop running Spanish ads in Florida while making English-speaking a cornerstone of his campaign, I still don't think I would consider him a viable candidate.

Short of that, Rudy may as well stay in Florida, retire and start a 911 fan club, since 911 seems to be the single moment in history that he is fixated on. ANYONE who is capable of building a campaign on one iconic moment is doesn't have a campaign.

Rudy Guiliani, you are pathetic, you are in the same class as Hillary and Bill Clinton.

P.S. Rudy… please consider cutting the Spanish ads and using the savings to pay your paid staff for January.

Ron Paul is the dumist person I ever heard of. He shouldn't even be on the podium for president. Everyone laughs at him.

Anyway, Guillian will cut taxes. He did it for New York and he will do it for the country. He has my vote!!!!

Seth from Minneapolis - you forgot a couple of items:

1. Expand the war in Iraq
2. Borrow money from China
3. Invade Iran
4. Borrow more money from China, destroying the US dollar
5. Give out bazillions of worthless dollars in tax cuts woohooo!!
6. Sell Hawaii to China
7. Give out bazillions more of worthless dollars in expanded foreign aid
8. Sell Alaska to China
9. Sell American citizens to China to use as cheap domestic labor in China
10. Import more non-citizens to fill the void created by having sold American citizens to China

Guiliani should change his tax plan to this:

Cut the income tax to 9%.

Institute a national 11% sales tax.

It's the 9/11 tax plan!

My vote is not for sale.

1. I remember Bush 41's tax pledge it doomed his re-election
2. With all these pledges it is so easy to forget that the 535 member Congress always have an awful lot to say and do about taxes. All the candidates can do is declare they will fight for one thing or another, they cannot really promise anything because they have Congress to deal with!

Republicans, make up your mind, would you? Do you want unnecessary, criminal wars that cost us 10-12 billion a month OR do you want tax cuts? You can't have both.

When I become president, I will extend recess one hour.

And Rudy, how do you propose to pay for government?

Other than the usual GOP mantra - let the middle class handle it?!?!?!

Rudy's trailing and getting desperate!

But you know, the GOP-sheep will just eat it up, like they always do!!!

Don't worry folks, Rudy's finished as soon as the GOP folks in Dixie realize he's Catholic!

What is this strange SM fascination between republicans and the "WORD" tax cuts

Rudy loves to use his credit card.But who pays the bill when its due.You and I and our kids have to pay the Commie Chinese loan off at what percent??

Jordan in Seattle, that is pure genius.

What are you going to do for the single taxpayer in this country???

All I hear from any candidate is nothing but tax credits and programs for the married couple with children.

We, single people, get the shaft again.

The entire tax code is discriminatory againest single people and we pay for the excesses of the married.

Any new tax code should be the same for single or married persons. No additional tax credits/programs for married with/without children. Particularly, in terms of education. All the federal government does is continue to throw huge sums of money into Education with NO visible results. All politicians suggest nothing is to good for the children in terms of education, medical care, etc. but again, large sums of money are appropriated with minimal results. Its time we get a return of this money or cut it off. Again, no accountability, just like throwing money away after 911

Gobama January 11, 2008 1:09 pm ET

The wise and conscientious way to do a tax cut is to:

PUT THE MONEY IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO WILL PUMP IT RIGHT BACK IN THE ECONOMY!
PUT THE TAX CUT IN THE HANDS OF LOWER INCOME CITIZENS!

Wealthy people, absorbed in greed, will just PUT THEIR TAX CUTS IN THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS; so as to make them richer and proud, while the economy suffers and the nation's deficit builds.

Now, poorer people WILL spend the tax cut; and the wealthier people can then get rich when the poorer people spend their money to buy rich people's goods and services, AS THEY WILL!

Gobama I agree with you 100%

I hate it how the Republicans only interests are the corporations. They'll destroy the country and the economy who will then blame the so-called socialist communist Democrats (who have been moving toward the center since Clinton) just to get elected and continue their corporatist agenda.

The only Republican I like is Ron Paul as he is anti-war and I like his social libertarian positions.

Giuliani will destroy the country, don't vote for him. Your better off with Alan Keyes

you do realize that pretty much ANYONE gets ALL there money back if they make roughly 50k a year..so NONE of them really pay any taxes..since they get it all back(except for the SS tax and the medicare tax)

Soo.. that said… what kinda tax cut does the poor need now??

I have to disagree with you chris, since I'm in that category and end up having to pay money every year. Wanna know why? I'm single. I don't get any tax credits. So yeah keep thinking people get all their money back when they don't. I think income tax should be done away with, it's wrong and unfair.

I would vote for him on the basis of these tax cuts alone… not that I think they would ever pass.