Ben Carson Gets Slapped Down On Fox News For His ‘Biblical’ Flat Tax

For those of you keeping score at home, Ben Carson is now 0 for 1 when it comes to his supposedly great ideas which he plans to use as the basis for his 2016 campaign. Seems even Fox News knows this guy is a joke.

Carson, appearing on the usually sycophantic airwaves of Fox, specifically “Fox News Sunday,” was asked by host Chris Wallace about his flat-tax proposal. Most economic experts say such a tax would give a gigantic tax break to the wealthiest Americans.

But the good doctor began by telling Wallace that his tax plan was based on Biblical principles:

“I got that idea, quite frankly, from the Bible — tithing. You make $10 billion a year, you pay a billion. You make $10 a year, you pay one. You get the same rates. That’s pretty darn fair if you ask me. Now some people say poor people can’t afford to pay that dollar. That’s very condescending. I can tell you that poor people have pride too. And they don’t want to be just taken care of.”

As much as I hate to correct a neurosurgeon, I have to say this: Yes, tithing is described as giving ten percent. But nowhere in the Bible does it say taxation should be at the same rate! Also, how many poor people do you suppose Dr. Carson hangs out with?

Chris Wallace immediately took the chance to school Carson on the reality of his proposal:

“Doctor, here is the problem with the flat tax in the real world. According to the Tax Policy Center, to raise the same amount of revenue we do now, the tax rate would have to be in the low to mid 20 percent range. Low and middle income families would get a big tax hike while wealthy families would actually get a big tax cut.”

So Carson decided to pull an old debating trick and agree with his adversary:

“That’s actually not — I don’t agree with that assessment. Because I’ve been in contact with many economists. And in fact, if you eliminate the loopholes and the deductions then you’re really talking about a rate somewhere between 10 and 15 percent.”

And again Wallace took Carson to task and reminded him:

“I’ve got to tell you that outside experts we talked to, you’re talking in the 20s…For instance, you talked about low-income families. Not only don’t they pay, they actually get an earned income tax credit. Now, you’re going to have them paying 10 to 15 percent of whatever income they have or 20 percent if my experts are right. I’ve got to tell you, a lot of independent studies say that the people who make out like bandits in this are the wealthy.”

Exactly, Chris! Because that’s the real purpose of any Republican tax plan: Give more money to the rich and take more from those that have the least. It’s the old reverse Robin Hood trick the GOP has been playing for decades.

All Dr. Carson could say in response is that there are “a number of things involved.”

Strike One! Something tells me it won’t be long before Carson is sitting on the bench watching the real competitors play the game of Presidential politics.

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This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.

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