For reasons unfathomable, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is running for president. Apparently, one loud-mouthed Republican from the tri-state area wasn't enough for this race.
Anyhoo, Greg Kyte pointed us to this video of Jon Stewart welcoming Christie to the race in true Daily Show fashion, noting a strange comment from the Governor around the 5:25 mark:
You heard right! "We need a tax code that's simplified and will put CPAs like my dad out of business."
Alright, so wanting to put your dad and his professional brethren out of business is an odd platform, but something may be amiss, as Greg noticed that the speech transcript doesn't match Christie's words:
We need a tax system. We need a tax system that's simplified and won't put CPA's like my dad out of business.
Despite the confusion, I think we can all agree on a few things:
1) A simplified tax system in our country is about as likely as Chris Christie taking responsibility for the GW Bridge closings;
2) In the highly unlikely event that a simplified tax code is enacted by our government, it won't put CPAs out of business;
3) Chris Christie isn't going to be president.
Democalypse 2016 – 10 Pounds of S**t in a Five-Pound Bag [TDS]
Full text of Christie's presidential announcement speech [NJ.com]
“My conscience has compelled me to come to the floor today to voice concerns I have with the influence Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, has on the political process in Washington,” Wolf read from a statement on the floor of the House of Representatives today. Wolf listed a series of associations that he said undermines Norquist’s credibility as a policy advocate. Among them, he cited a relationship Norquist had with former lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff. “Mister Abramoff essentially laundered money through ATR and Mister Norquist knew it,” Wolf said. [
To trigger job growth, Gingrich proposed to cut the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 12.5 percent, a deeper cut than some other Republican politicians have offered. He would extend income tax cuts that expire in 2013, which were the subject of a pitched battle late last year when President Barack Obama tried to let tax reductions for wealthier Americans expire. And he would completely eliminate the capital gains tax on stock profits. Gingrich, proposed that the country move toward an optional flat tax for Americans of 15 percent, and strengthen the dollar by returning to “Reagan-era monetary policies,” and reform the Federal Reserve to promote transparency. [