Brief Summation of Mitt Romney's Presidential Proposals

This is a very brief summation of Mitt Romney’s plan, found on his website {Click on "Issues" icon"}. Obama’s website here {Click on "Issues" icon} Not so much on the details on Obama's site, but some feel good stuff and dubious claims. Best of the best here is abolishing Obamacare, cutting spending (with a plan how to do it), opening energy production back up and how to do it, reducing taxes and which ones, and regulations that can be curtailed. Here are some of the details.

On Obamacare: On his first day in office, Mitt Romney will issue an executive order that paves the way for the federal government to issue Obamacare waivers to all fifty states. He will then work with Congress to repeal the full legislation as quickly as possible.

In place of Obamacare, he will pursue policies that give each state the power to craft a health care reform plan that is best for its own citizens. The federal government’s role will be to help markets work by creating a level playing field for competition. 

On Spending: Bring federal spending below 20 percent of GDP by the end of his first term: Reduced from 24.3 percent last year; in line with the historical trend between 18 and 20 percent, close to the tax revenue generated by the economy when healthy;

Requires spending cuts of approximately $500 billion per year in 2016 assuming robust economic recovery with 4% annual growth, and reversal of Obama-era defense cuts. Pass the House Republican Budget proposal, rolling back President Obama’s government expansion by capping non-security discretionary spending below 2008 levels.

On Taxes: Make permanent, across-the-board 20 percent cut in marginal rates

Maintain current tax rates on interest, dividends, and capital gains

Eliminate taxes for taxpayers with AGI below $200,000 on interest, dividends, and capital gains.

Eliminate the Death Tax

Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

Cut the corporate rate to 25 percent

Strengthen and make permanent the R&D tax credit

Switch to a territorial tax system

Repeal the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

On Energy:

Establish fixed timetables for all resource development approvals

Create one-stop shop to streamline permitting process for approval of common activities

Implement fast-track procedures for companies with established safety records to conduct pre-approved activities in pre-approved areas

Ensure that environmental laws properly account for cost in regulatory process

Amend Clean Air Act to exclude carbon dioxide from its purview

Expand NRC capabilities for approval of additional nuclear reactor designs

Streamline NRC processes to ensure that licensing decisions for reactors on or adjacent to approved sites, using approved designs, are complete within two years.

Conduct comprehensive survey of America’s energy reserves

Open America’s energy reserves for development

Expand opportunities for U.S. resource developers to forge partnerships with neighboring countries

Support construction of pipelines to bring Canadian oil to the United States

Prevent overregulation of shale gas development and extraction

On Labor:

Appoint to the NLRB experienced individuals with respect for the rule of law

Amend NLRA to explicitly protect the right of business owners to allocate their capital as they see fit

Reverse executive orders issued by President Obama that tilt the playing field toward organized labor

Amend NLRA to guarantee the secret ballot in every union certification election

Amend NLRA to guarantee that all pre-election campaigns last at least one month

Support states in pursuing Right-to-Work laws

Prohibit the use for political purposes of funds automatically deducted from worker paychecks

On Regulations:

Repeal Obamacare

Repeal Dodd-Frank and replace with streamlined, modern regulatory framework

Amend Sarbanes-Oxley to relieve mid-size companies from onerous requirements

Initiate review and elimination of all Obama-era regulations that unduly burden the economy

Ensure that environmental laws properly account for cost in regulatory process

Provide multi-year lead times before companies must come into compliance with onerous new environmental regulations

Impose a regulatory cap of zero dollars on all federal agencies

Require congressional approval of all new “major” regulations

Reform legal liability system to prevent spurious litigation