Newt Gingrich: Stop the 2013 tax increases to promote stability in the economy. Job creation improved after Congress extended tax relief for two years in December. We should make the rates permanent. Make the United States the most desirable location for new business investment through a bold series of tax cuts, including: Eliminating the capital gains tax to make American entrepreneurs more competitive against those in other countries; Dramatically reducing the corporate income tax (among highest in the world) to 12.5%; Allowing for 100% expensing of new equipment to spur innovation and American manufacturing; Ending the death tax permanently. Move toward an optional flat tax of 15% that would allow Americans the freedom to choose to file their taxes on a postcard, saving hundreds of billions in unnecessary costs each year. This optional flat tax system will preserve deductions on charitable giving and home ownership, and create a new personal deduction of $12,000 for every American. This deduction is well above the current poverty level, ensuring that this new system does not unfairly target the poor. Strengthen the dollar by returning to the Reagan-era monetary policies that stopped runaway inflation and reforming the Federal Reserve to promote transparency. Remove obstacles to job creation imposed by destructive and ineffective regulations, programs and bureaucracies. Steps include: Repealing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which did nothing to prevent the financial crisis and is holding companies back from making new investments in the U.S; Repealing the Community Reinvestment Act, the abuse of which helped cause the financial crisis; Repealing the Dodd-Frank Law which is killing small independent banks, crippling loans to small businesses and crippling home sales; Breaking up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, moving their smaller successors off government guarantees and into the free market; Replacing the Environmental Protection Agency with an Environmental Solutions Agency that works collaboratively with local government and industry to achieve better results; and Modernizing the Food and Drug Administration to get lifesaving medicines and technologies to patients faster. Implement an American energy policy that removes obstacles to responsible energy development and creates jobs in the United States. Balance the budget by growing the economy, controlling spending, implementing money saving reforms, and replacing destructive policies and regulatory agencies with new approaches. Repeal and replace Obamacare with a pro-jobs, pro-responsibility health plan that puts doctors and patients in charge of health decisions instead of bureaucrats. Fundamental reform of entitlement programs with the advice and help of the American people. Source: http://www.newt.org/solutions/jobs-economy

Newt Gingrich: Understand our enemies and tell the truth about them. We are engaged in a long war against radical Islamism, a belief system adhered to by a small minority of Muslims but nonetheless a powerful and organized ideology within Islamic thought that is totally incompatible with the modern world. Think big. America currently lacks a unified grand strategy for defeating radical Islamism. The result is that we currently view Iraq, Afghanistan, and the many other danger spots of the globe as if they are isolated, independent situations. Only a grand strategy for marginalizing, isolating, and defeating radical Islamists across the world will lead to victory. Know our values. America’s foreign policy must begin by understanding who we are as a country. We are, as Ronald Reagan said, the world’s “abiding alternative to tyranny.” Therefore, America’s foreign policy must be to ensure our own survival and protect those who share our values. Military force must be used judiciously and with clear, obtainable objectives understood by Congress. Implement an American Energy Plan to reduce the world’s dependence on oil from dangerous and unstable countries, especially in the Middle East. Secure the border to prevent terrorist organizations from sneaking agents and weapons into the United States. Incentivize math and science education in America to ensure the men and women of our Armed Forces always have the most advanced and powerful weapons in the world at their disposal. Source:http://www.newt.org/solutions/tell-truth-about-national-security

Newt Gingrich: Remove bureaucratic and legal obstacles to responsible oil and natural gas development in the United States, offshore and on land. End the ban on oil shale development in the American West, where we have three times the amount of oil as Saudi Arabia. Give coastal states federal royalty revenue sharing to give them an incentive to allow offshore development. Reduce frivolous lawsuits that hold up energy production by enacting loser pays laws to force the losers in an environmental lawsuit to pay all legal costs for the other side. Finance cleaner energy research and projects with new oil and gas royalties. Replace the Environmental Protection Agency, which has become a job-killing regulatory engine of higher energy prices, with an Environmental Solutions Agency that would use incentives and work cooperatively with local government and industry to achieve better environmental outcomes while considering the impact of federal environmental policies on job creation and the cost of energy. Source: http://www.newt.org/solutions/american-energy-plan

Newt Gingrich: Make health insurance more affordable and portable by giving Americans the choice of a generous tax credit or the ability to deduct the value of their health insurance up to a certain amount and by allowing Americans to purchase insurance across state lines, increasing price competition in the industry. Create more choices in Medicare by giving seniors the option to choose, on a voluntary basis, a more personal system in the private sector with greater options for better care. This would create price competition to lower costs. Reform Medicaid by giving states more freedom and flexibility to customize their programs to suit their needs with a block-grant program similar to the successful welfare reform of 1996. With that block grant, each state can focus on providing the assistance to low-income families that they each need to buy health insurance. Cover the sickest with a High Risk Pool set up by each state to cover the uninsured who have become too sick to buy health insurance. Protect consumers by reinforcing laws which prohibit insurers from cancelling or charging discriminatory rate increases to those who become sick while insured. Extend Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) throughout the health care system. Everyone on Medicare and Medicaid should be free to choose an HSA for their coverage. All workers should be free to choose an HSA in place of their employer coverage if they desire. Reward quality care by changing the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement models to take into account the quality of the care delivered and incentivizing beneficiaries to seek out facilities that deliver the best care at the lowest costs. Reward health and wellness by giving health plans, employers, Medicare, and Medicaid more latitude to design benefits to encourage, incentivize, and reward healthy behaviors. Stop health care fraud by moving from a paper-based system to an electronic one. Health care fraud accounts for as much as much as 10 percent of all health care spending, according to the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association. That's more than $200 billion a year. Compare this to the 0.1% fraud rate in the credit card industry thanks to its high-tech information analysis systems. Stop junk lawsuits that drive up the cost of medicine with medical malpractice reform. Speed medical breakthroughs to patients by reforming the Food and Drug Administration. Inform patients and consumers of price and quality so they can make informed choices about how to spend their money on care. Patients have the right to know this information, but finding it is virtually impossible. Invest in research for health solutions that are urgent national priorities. Medical breakthroughs--ones that prevent or cure disease rather than treating its symptoms--are a critical part of the solution to long-term budget challenges. More brain science research, for example, could lead to Alzheimer's Disease cures and treatments that could save the federal government over $20 trillion over the next forty years. With these Patient Power reforms, healthcare can be transformed from an anchor on our economy to an engine. From a broken, fragmented system to a coordinated, innovative system that delivers more choices at lower cost for all Americans. This comprehensive approach—cost, quality, competition, and coverage—can solve the problem of the uninsured with no individual mandate and no employer mandate. Everyone would be able to obtain essential health care and coverage when needed. For those who are too poor to buy health insurance, states will have more flexibility to provide them with the assistance they need to buy it. For those who nevertheless choose not to purchase coverage and then become too sick to do so, high risk pools will provide access to coverage. Once you have health insurance, you are assured you can keep it. By contrast, even Obamacare for all its trillions in taxes, spending, new entitlements, and new bureaucracy still does not achieve universal coverage. Source: http://www.newt.org/solutions/healthcare

Newt Gingrich: As President, I will approach solving America’s debt crisis by adhering to three principles. 1. Job creation must be job one. The most pressing challenge facing America is the crisis of the Obama depression. Therefore, all deficit reduction efforts must be made in the context of what would best return America to robust, long-term economic growth and job creation. This means that raising taxes must be off the table. Raising taxes in the middle of the current economic climate could permanently cripple the American economy. Tax revenues should be increased through economic growth, not by further burdening America’s job creators and killing more jobs. 2. Keep politics out of national security. America’s national security budgets must be based on fact-based assessments of what is needed to keep Americans safe, not on arbitrary political considerations. Our enemies and competitors will not cease being aggressive while we sort out our fiscal problems. 3. Cut spending by reforming and restructuring government. Trying to find enough savings within the framework of our current bloated, bureaucratic big government is impossible. Real, sustainable savings can only come from a fundamental overhaul of the way government works, including its arcane civil service rules. We want a smaller but also much more modern and effective government. For instance, Strong America Now, led by Michael George, believes that $500 billion per year can be saved by applying Lean Six Sigma to the federal government.Source: http://www.newt.org/news/newt-gingrich-statement-debt-ceiling-deal

Barack Obama: The candidate has not yet responded to this question.

Barack Obama: The candidate has not yet responded to this question.

Barack Obama: The candidate has not yet responded to this question.

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Ron Paul: THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW The severe economic crisis America has experienced over the past several years, including growing inflation, rising gas prices, trillion-dollar budget deficits, immoral bailouts, and the ever-declining value of the dollar, is just the tip of the iceberg if our nation does not immediately change course. UNHEEDED WARNINGS As the crash approached, Ron Paul was heavily criticized by the establishment media and even many of his fellow Republicans because he would not back down from his warnings about where big government policies were leading America. When those warnings came true, however, our President and leaders in Congress didn’t let the crisis “go to waste” and used it as an excuse to expand government intervention and power on an unprecedented level. Excessive spending, artificial credit, and market manipulation crashed our economy, and no one should be surprised that these same policies continue to prolong the suffering for millions of Americans. We need a President who is not afraid to make the tough decisions necessary to restore America’s economy and guarantee future prosperity. REAL SOLUTIONS As President, Ron Paul will lead the way out of this crisis by: * Vetoing any unbalanced budget Congress sends to his desk. * Refusing to further raise the debt ceiling so politicians can no longer spend recklessly. * Fighting to fully audit (and then end) the Federal Reserve System, which has enabled the over 95% reduction of what our dollar can buy and continues to create money out of thin air to finance future debt. * Legalizing sound money, so the government is forced to get serious about the dollar’s value. * Ending the corporate stranglehold on the White House. * Driving down gas prices by allowing offshore drilling, abolishing highway motor fuel taxes, increasing the mileage reimbursement rates, and offering tax credits to individuals and businesses for the use and production of natural gas vehicles. * Eliminating the income, capital gains, and death taxes to ensure you keep more of your hard-earned money and are able to pass on your legacy to your family without government interference. * Opposing all unfunded mandates and unnecessary regulations on small businesses and entrepreneurs. These are just a few of the steps we can take to put America back in place as the world’s leading economy. Taking a stand for these principles has often been a lonely fight in Congress for Ron Paul, but, now more than ever, our nation needs a President who will champion sound money, responsible spending, lower taxes, and free market enterprise. Source:http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/economy/

Ron Paul: PROVEN LEADERSHIP “Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country.” – Ronald Reagan A PRO-AMERICA FOREIGN POLICY As an Air Force veteran, Ron Paul believes national defense is the single most important responsibility the Constitution entrusts to the federal government. In Congress, Ron Paul voted to authorize military force to hunt down Osama bin Laden and authored legislation to specifically target terrorist leaders and bring them to justice. Today, however, hundreds of thousands of our fighting men and women have been stretched thin all across the globe in over 135 countries – often without a clear mission, any sense of what defines victory, or the knowledge of when they’ll be permanently reunited with their families. Acting as the world’s policeman and nation-building weakens our country, puts our troops in harm’s way, and sends precious resources to other nations in the midst of an historic economic crisis. Taxpayers are forced to spend billions of dollars each year to protect the borders of other countries, while Washington refuses to deal with our own border security needs. Congress has been rendered virtually irrelevant in foreign policy decisions and regularly cedes authority to an executive branch that refuses to be held accountable for its actions. Far from defeating the enemy, our current policies provide incentive for more to take up arms against us. That’s why, as Commander-in-Chief, Dr. Paul will lead the fight to: * Make securing our borders the top national security priority. * Avoid long and expensive land wars that bankrupt our country by using constitutional means to capture or kill terrorist leaders who helped attack the U.S. and continue to plot further attacks. * Guarantee our intelligence community’s efforts are directed toward legitimate threats and not spying on innocent Americans through unconstitutional power grabs like the Patriot Act. * End the nation-building that is draining troop morale, increasing our debt, and sacrificing lives with no end in sight. * Follow the Constitution by asking Congress to declare war before one is waged. * Only send our military into conflict with a clear mission and all the tools they need to complete the job – and then bring them home. * Ensure our veterans receive the care, benefits, and honors they have earned when they return. * Revitalize the military for the 21st century by eliminating waste in a trillion-dollar military budget. * Prevent the TSA from forcing Americans to either be groped or ogled just to travel on an airplane and ultimately abolish the unconstitutional agency. * Stop taking money from the middle class and the poor to give to rich dictators through foreign aid. As President, Ron Paul’s national defense policy will ensure that the greatest nation in human history is strong, secure, and respected. Source: http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/national-defense/

Ron Paul: The free market – not government – is the solution to America’s energy needs. Unfortunately, decades of misguided federal action have helped lead to skyrocketing fuel prices, making it even more difficult for hardworking families to make ends meet. Washington’s bureaucratic regulations, corporate subsidies, and excessive taxation have distorted the market and resulted in government bureaucrats picking winners and losers. In fact, much of the “pain at the pump” Americans are now feeling is due to federal policies designed by environmental alarmists to punish traditional energy production – like oil, coal, and natural gas – in hopes of making energy sources they favor more “economical.” Sadly, even with $4.00 a gallon gasoline, many are attempting to make our energy crisis even worse by working to impose job-destroying carbon taxes, or a “Cap and Tax” system. As long as we allow federal regulations and bureaucratic red tape to get in the way of energy exploration, our country will never solve its energy crisis, and Americans will continue to pay the price in high costs. A PRO-ENERGY PRESIDENT As President, Ron Paul will lead the fight to: * Remove restrictions on drilling, so companies can tap into the vast amount of oil we have here at home. * Repeal the federal tax on gasoline. Eliminating the federal gas tax would result in an 18 cents savings per gallon for American consumers. * Lift government roadblocks to the use of coal and nuclear power. * Eliminate the ineffective EPA. Polluters should answer directly to property owners in court for the damages they create – not to Washington. * Make tax credits available for the purchase and production of alternative fuel technologies. It’s time for a President that recognizes the free market’s power and innovative spirit by unleashing its full potential to produce affordable, environmentally sound, and reliable energy. Source:http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/energy/

Ron Paul: Dr. Ron Paul spent his entire career in the medical profession working to uphold this simple principle by ensuring his patients received the best care he could give them, even if they could not afford it. Dr. Paul understands the key to effective and efficient medical care is the doctor-patient relationship. Yet, federal bureaucrats continue to believe that their one-size-fits-all policies will lower costs, increase access, and cure an ailing industry. Instead, excessive regulation, immoral mandates, and short-sighted incentives have created a system where no one is happy, doctors pass quickly from one patient to the next, insurance is expensive to get and difficult to maintain, and politicians place corporate interests ahead of their constituents. FREEDOM NOT FORCE The answer to our nation’s health care crisis lies in freedom – not force. As President, Ron Paul will fight to put you back in control of your health care decisions, save you money on medical expenses, and institute reforms that will once again make America’s health care system the standard for other nations to follow. He will work with Congress to: * Repeal ObamaCare and end its unconstitutional mandate that all Americans must carry only government-approved health insurance or answer to the IRS. * Allow purchase of health insurance across state lines. * Provide tax credits and deductions for all medical expenses. * Exempt those with terminal illnesses from the employee portion of payroll taxes while they are suffering from such illnesses or are incurring significant medical costs associated with their conditions. * Give a payroll deduction to any worker who is the primary caregiver for a spouse, parent, or child with a terminal illness. * Ensure that those harmed during medical treatment receive fair compensation while reducing the burden of costly malpractice litigation on the health care system by providing a tax credit for “negative outcomes” insurance purchased before medical treatment. * Guarantee that what is taken from taxpayers to pay for Medicare and Medicaid is not raided for other purposes. * Make all Americans eligible for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and remove government-imposed barriers to obtaining HSAs. * Stop the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from interfering with Americans’ knowledge of and access to dietary supplements and alternative treatments. * Prevent federal bureaucrats from tracking every citizen’s medical history from cradle to grave by prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds for a national database of personal health information. Ron Paul proudly worked every day to honor the trust his patients placed in him, and he will do the same as President with the confidence of the American people, who deserve a government that “does no harm” to their health care. Source: http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/health-care/

Ron Paul: It isn’t too late to return to fiscal sanity. We could start by canceling out the debt held by the Federal Reserve, which would clear $1.6 trillion under the debt ceiling. Or we could cut trillions of dollars in spending by bringing our troops home from overseas, making gradual reforms to Social Security and Medicare, and bringing the federal government back within the limits envisioned by the Constitution. Yet no one is willing to step up to the plate and make the hard decisions that are necessary. Everyone wants to kick the can down the road and believe that deficit spending can continue unabated. Unless major changes are made today, the U.S. will default on its debt sooner or later, and it is certainly preferable that it be sooner rather than later. If the government defaults on its debt now, the consequences undoubtedly will be painful in the short term. The loss of its AAA rating will raise the cost of issuing new debt, but this is not altogether a bad thing. Higher borrowing costs will ensure that the government cannot continue the same old spending policies. Budgets will have to be brought into balance (as the cost of servicing debt will be so expensive as to preclude future debt financing of government operations), so hopefully, in the long term, the government will return to sound financial footing. Source:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-22/default-now-or-suffer-a-more-expensive-crisis-later-ron-paul.html

Mitt Romney: Mitt Romney will rebuild the foundations of the American economy on the principles of free enterprise, hard work, and innovation. His plan seeks to reduce taxes, spending, regulation, and government programs. It seeks to increase trade, energy production, human capital, and labor flexibility. It relinquishes power to the states instead of claiming to have the solution to every problem. Any American living through this economic crisis will immediately recognize the severity of the break that Mitt Romney proposes from our current course. He is calling for a fundamental change in Washington’s view of how economic growth and prosperity are achieved, how jobs are created, and how government can support these endeavors. It is at once a deeply conservative return to policies that have served our nation well and a highly ambitious departure from the policies of our current leadership. In short, it is a plan to get America back to work. Source:http://www.mittromney.com/jobs

Mitt Romney: Our country today faces a bewildering array of threats and opportunities. As president, Mitt Romney will safeguard America and secure our country’s interests and most cherished ideals. The unifying thread of his national security strategy is American strength. When America is strong, the world is safer. It is only American power—conceived in the broadest terms—that can provide the foundation for an international system that ensures the security and prosperity of the United States and our friends and allies. A Romney foreign policy will proceed with clarity and resolve. Our friends and allies will not have doubts about where we stand and what we will do to safeguard our interests and theirs. Neither will our rivals, competitors, and adversaries. The best ally world peace has ever known is a strong America. The “last best hope of earth” was what Abraham Lincoln called our country. Mitt Romney believes in fulfilling the promise of Lincoln’s words and will defend America abroad in word and in deed. Source: http://www.mittromney.com/issues/foreign-policy

Mitt Romney: As president, Mitt Romney will make every effort to safeguard the environment, but he will be mindful at every step of also protecting the jobs of American workers. This will require putting conservative principles into action. Significant Regulatory Reform The first step will be a rational and streamlined approach to regulation, which would facilitate rapid progress in the development of our domestic reserves of oil and natural gas and allow for further investment in nuclear power. • 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 Increasing Production The United States is blessed with a cornucopia of carbon-based energy resources. Developing them has been a pathway to prosperity for the nation in the past and offers similar promise for the future. • 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 Research and Development Government has a role to play in innovation in the energy industry. History shows that the United States has moved forward in astonishing ways thanks to national investment in basic research and advanced technology. However, we should not be in the business of steering investment toward particular politically favored approaches. That is a recipe for both time and money wasted on projects that do not bring us dividends. The failure of windmills and solar plants to become economically viable or make a significant contribution to our energy supply is a prime example. • Concentrate alternative energy funding on basic research • Utilize long-term, apolitical funding mechanisms like ARPA-E for basic research Source: http://www.mittromney.com/jobs/energy

Mitt Romney: Mitt Romney believes that Obamacare must be repealed. On his first day in office, he will issue an executive order paving the way for waivers from Obamacare for all 50 states. Subsequently, he will call on Congress to fully repeal Obamacare, and advocate reforms that return power to the states, improve access by slowing health care cost increases, and make health insurance portable and flexible for today’s economy. The central advantage of our federalist system is that different states will experiment with and settle on the health care solutions that suit their residents best. We can empower states to expand health care access to low-income Americans by block-granting funds for Medicaid and the uninsured. Mitt Romney’s reforms also offer the states resources to help the chronically ill, to improve their access to care, and to improve the functioning of insurance markets for others. The tax code currently offers open-ended subsidies for the purchase of insurance through employers. Mitt Romney will expand the tax deduction to also include those who buy their own health insurance. This simple change creates the best of both worlds. Absolutely nothing will change for those who like their current coverage. And individuals who don't get coverage through their employers will have portable, lower-cost options. The current medical liability system encourages defensive medicine and drives up health care costs. To address these problems, Mitt Romney will cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice litigation. He also believes in providing innovation grants to states for additional medical liability reforms, such as alternative dispute resolution or health care courts. Make health care more like a market and less like a government program Mitt Romney will strengthen health savings accounts (HSAs), which help consumers save for health expenses and choose cost-effective insurance. For example, he believes that we should permit HSA funds to be used to pay for health insurance premiums. The market reforms Mitt is proposing will drive down costs, better inform consumers, and improve the quality of health care in our nation. Source: http://www.mittromney.com/issues/health-care

Mitt Romney: Exercise fiscal responsibility to restore economic opportunity. Washington is addicted to deficit spending. As President, Mitt Romney will cut spending to finally move our nation toward a balanced budget. During the Bush years, the nation’s deficit—the gap between what Washington collects and spends each year—hovered between 2 percent and 4 percent of GDP. These levels were already problematic and a cause for concern. During the Obama administration, however, the deficit exploded to 10 percent of GDP. One major problem with sky-high deficit spending is that it necessarily leads to another practice that undermines the nation’s fiscal foundation: borrowing unhealthy sums to pay for what we already cannot afford. America is on an unsustainable path that, within just a few short years, will cripple the economy and foreclose any opportunity for recovery. Mitt Romney will bring fiscal restraint to Washington by placing a hard cap on federal spending to force our government to live within its means and put an end to deficit spending. Mitt will also curb federal spending by repealing Obamacare, the federal takeover of health care that is scheduled to cost taxpayers one trillion dollars over the next ten years. He will also focus on eliminating wasteful government spending and right-sizing the federal government to save taxpayer dollars. Mitt Romney’s goal is to put the federal government on a course toward a balanced budget and true fiscal responsibility. Source: http://www.mittromney.com/issues/fiscal-responsibility

Rick Santorum:

I am excited about America and her future. In this election the American people have an opportunity to restore her greatness and to focus once again on protecting liberty and creating opportunity for all. No longer should it be harder for people to succeed economically than it was for their parents. No longer should upward mobility be better in parts of Europe than in America. We need a renewed focus on creating opportunity, not dividing Americans by class; on creating wealth, not distributing it; and on promoting savings rather than dependency.

This is what my father and grandfather came to America for. This is our time to reclaim it. In contrast, Obamanomics has brought one in six Americans to poverty. President Obama’s philosophy of “spreading the wealth” in fact spreads poverty and economic decline.

I have a bold economic plan that will move our country forward — a plan that will create jobs, renew confidence in the free-market place and reward families for their hard work. My plan will cut spending and ensure future fiscal responsibility through a balanced budget amendment; lower and simplify taxes for families and businesses to promote growth; return federal programs to the states to promote freedom; and promote sustainable health-care and retirement solutions for young people and seniors.

First, I will cut spending by $5 trillion over 5 years, repeal ObamaCare and other onerous regulations and cut non-defense spending to 2008 levels. I support legislation to prevent members of Congress from being paid if they don’t pass fiscally responsible spending bills on time. We will pass a balanced budget amendment to discipline Congress and limit federal spending to a maximum of 18 percent of gross domestic product. I will eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s federal housing role, reduce non-defense related federal workers by at least 10 percent and eliminate all energy and most agriculture subsidies. We will unleash America’s domestic-energy production.

Second, I will lower personal income and corporate tax rates and dramatically simplify the tax code for families, workers and businesses. To promote marriage, families and the high calling of parenting, I will triple the child deduction and eliminate all marriage tax penalties. The family is the foundation of our country. We need to have an economic policy that supports families and freedom and encourages marriage.

Instead of adding new taxes like President Obama has, I will fight to simplify the tax code by moving from six to two rates and lowering personal income tax rates to 10 percent and 28 percent respectively and eliminating most deductions. This will get us back to Reagan-era pro-growth tax rates. My goal is for the American economy to be growing at least 4 percent to 4.5 percent a year in my first term as president, more than double President Obama’s; by one estimate this would help create 10 million jobs in three years.

I also support two corporate tax rates: 17.5 percent for most businesses — half the current rate — and zero for manufacturers. This will multiply job opportunities for struggling middle-income families and renew communities that have lost critical manufacturing jobs.

Third, I will support social innovation in the states and local communities, modernize our social safety net and be fiscally responsible by block granting to the states Medicaid, housing, job training, food stamps and education programs. We will promote dignity and control costs through time limits for able-bodied people, as we did successfully in welfare reform.

Fourth, I will work to implement key reforms to Medicare and Social Security. Those approaching retirement can only be confident if these programs are on sustainable footing. I support Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare reforms, which include private-sector innovation, competition and consumer choice. While I whole-heartedly support cutting taxes, I believe that changes to payroll taxes should be tied to sustainable reforms in Medicare and Social Security.

I don’t believe that poverty is a permanent condition. How do we effectively address poverty in rural and urban America? We promote jobs, marriage, quality education and access to capital and embrace the supports of civil society. I believe in equality of opportunity. I believe that American entrepreneurs and business owners create jobs and that skilled and committed workers sustain them, not government. Source: http://www.ricksantorum.com/bold-solutions-america%E2%80%99s-families

Rick Santorum:

My passion for protecting and preserving freedom is a gift that comes to me from my grandfather, an immigrant who brought my father to this country and whose well-weathered hands mined coal in Southwestern Pennsylvania until he was 72. He left the totalitarian regime of Mussolini's Italy to bring his family to freedom.

He worked hard and committed himself to creating a better life for his children and grandchildren. He taught me how to treasure the gift of freedom, to have faith in God's grace, to achieve what American liberty offers to those who work hard and to love and support a family. The Pennsylvania town my grandfather called home is just a few miles down the road from the field where Flight 93 crashed on that beautiful, blue-sky September day; a day when radical jihadists declared war on America, in America, on our own soil. The passengers and crew bravely stood up for freedom.

Some wonder why conservatives like me have such a problem with the oppressive Castro regime of the relatively tiny Island nation of Cuba. We do because we believe in freedom and don't like the stink of oppression next door. We believe in the God-given dignity of all human beings, and we believe, like the American founders, that religious freedom and freedom of conscience is the foundational freedom for civil and political freedom and rights. Dictatorships like the former Soviet Union and Cuba believed and continue to believe this as well. This is why they seek and sought to oppress the Church and others who believe in the inalienable rights of life and liberty.

It is no surprise that the same Cuban regime that locked hands with the Soviet Union is aligned today with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Though Iran is not secular, the Iranian Mullahcracy opposes freedom, including religious freedom. They are not radical secularists but radical Islamists and the result is the same: They oppose liberty. Tehran has already demonstrated its desire to thwart freedom with whatever tools at its disposal. The U.S. must halt them in their march toward a nuclear weapon before it's too late.

Some wonder if I can get along with the Muslim world. I understand that there are 1.3 billion Muslims in the world and that many of our allies are majority-Muslim countries. I want to work with those nations and challenge them where and when they are wrong. I also understand, unlike President Barack Obama, that radical Islamists are not going away in 2012, and that we still need to be capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time in our foreign policy. We need to defend America and her interests and values while also engaging with "Three Cups of Tea" (or as many as are necessary) around the world. Conservatives, along with most Americans, desire peace, but we know that freedom is worth defending. Standing with strength and core principles separates the pursuit of peace from appeasement...Source: http://www.ricksantorum.com/oped/no-more-leading-behind-america

Rick Santorum: Rick Santorum believes we need to stop being naïve, put aside our dreams of "green jobs," and focus on the great domestic resources at our disposal. This means we need an all-of-the-above energy policy that utilizes oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy to power our economy and empower the American worker. To do this, we must start by eliminating the Obama Administration's roadblocks to oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, along the Outer Continental Shelf, and onshore - including in ANWR. Furthermore, no new natural gas regulations, such as those being debated by Congress, should be enacted. The states are regulating the natural gas industry and there is no reason for the federal government to get involved. Federal regulation for federal regulation's sake serves no purpose - and in this instance it not only impedes job growth, but weakens our national security. Source:http://www.ricksantorum.com/news/2011/07/courage-fight-american-jobs

Rick Santorum: Senator Santorum said, “I am so proud that Pennsylvania Judge Chris Conner stood up for the constitution. Now the nation sees what I saw in Chris when I recommended him for the bench under President Bush in 2002. Judge Conner has done a constitutional service for the state of Pennsylvania and the nation by striking another legal blow against Obamacare. I’ve never waivered on this issue and I have consistently fought against universal healthcare – including leading the charge and defeat of HillaryCare, while Gov. Perry was busy pushing for its expansion. I’m not a recent convert to the fact that universal healthcare is wrong – whether at the state or federal level. And I pledge to repeal ObamaCare on day one as president. ObamaCare has crippled this country and crushed any potential to create jobs. Judge Conner’s ruling is a victory for freedom, for American jobs and for the constitution.” Source:http://www.ricksantorum.com/news/2011/09/santorum%E2%80%99s-pick-judicial-appointee-under-bush-2002-%E2%80%93-now-rules-against-obamacare

Rick Santorum: Establishment politicians got us into this mess, and they cannot get us out of it by tinkering at the margins of a system that is completely and utterly broken.

Living Within Our Means: Cutting $5 trillion over 5 years

Spending Core Principles

• Live within our means so that America, our families, and our future generations will have a brighter future unburdened with oppressive debt and high taxation.
• Prioritize our national security and defense
• Refocus the federal government on constitutional priorities and parameters
• Consolidate duplicative programs and agencies
• Promote competition for provision of essential services
• Eliminate outdated, ineffective, and wasteful programs
• Empower State and Local Governments through partnership, block grants, and reserving functions for the States
• Reform and Modernize Medicare since reducing healthcare costs is a prerequisite for our long term success and economic strength
• Reforming Social Security which is essential for solvency, sustainability, and real retirement security

Source: http://www.ricksantorum.com/spending-cuts-and-entitlements-reform