In theory? How about in Reality...
In Reality Romney inherited a boatload of money from his father. He used the political contacts and connections of his father to create a hedge fund. He opened bank accounts in Switzerland and funneled profits through Luxembourg to avoid paying taxes. He will not release his tax returns (even though his own father was the guy who campaigned on the idea that all candidates must make their financial records public for the safety of the voting public) because he has been so shady. Under the Ryan tax plan his 2010 tax rate would drop from the 13% he paid to less than 1% using actual numbers from the Ryan plan and his real 2010 tax return. His tax rate is so low due mostly to the 'carried interest' loophole he uses to profit off other people's money, not investment of his own money.
Meanwhile, the middle class American goes to work 5+ days per week, works overtime as much as possible, has a standard of living significantly worse than it was a generation ago and gets taxed at 2 to 3 times the percentage Romney paid in 2010 or more than 30x the rate Romney would have paid under the Ryan plan.
Fixing this country can be done in 10 simple steps:
1) Overturn the Citizens United decision and the notion that corporations are people
2) Add a national sales tax, close all tax loopholes and turn the entire US tax code into a two or three page pamphlet that allows a handful of basic subsistence exclusions which every American would be allowed.
3) Break up the banks similar to what was done with Glass-Steagall but go further and require them to be operated as partnerships which adds real criminal consequences to the board and executives of any bank or energy company that violates the law, instead of continuing to apply meaningless fines. Also add a per transaction tax on each share of stock traded to completely end momentum trading by brokers. (something Mark Cuban previously proposed)
4) Publicly fund elections. Zero use of campaign contributions and do not allow candidates to spend their own money on their campaigns. A strict limit on all campaign spending, end to soft money and PAC involvement.
5) Put through a real single payer health care system that allows for private supplemental insurance of anyone who wants to buy it, or cash payments to doctors by anyone who opts out.
6) Add means testing to Social Security and all other entitlement programs.
7) Require publicly funded preschool starting at age 3 rather than kindergarten at age 5 when too many kids are already behind. Make public school a full year system with classes scheduled from 9 to 5 rather than farmers hours.
8) Create a regulatory agency for all necessary services provided by the private sector including Education, Energy, Health and Food that requires price increases to be tied to expenses. Universities, Oil companies, Corporate Farming and Hospitals do not function properly as strictly 'for profit' entities and need to be regulated as public utilities.
9) Completely overhaul intellectual property law. The way patent trolling and piracy have been handled by laws that predate the digital age is laughable.
10) End all state sponsored support for religions of any kind. If a religious organization does something charitable it should get the same exemptions as any other organization. The notion that these groups should somehow be tax free is being exploited by many small groups and large religions as well.
That's what I would do in my first 100 days in office if elected... though attempting to do that would get me assassinated long before it ever happened even if I got elected.
