bruce bartlett, conservative economist and former adviser to president reagan said, in my opinion regulatory uncertainty is a canard invented by republicans allowing them to use current economic problems to pursue an agenda supported by the business community year in and year out. we have an obligation to make sure that our regulation is good. that it keeps us safe. that it keeps our air clean. that it keeps our banks alive without quashing the entrepreneurship and economic vitality. we should do that every day. but what we have heard the ideology, this notion that regulation is the problem in our economy is just what bruce bartlett, is a canard. i'm sorry that this bill has been spoiled by the antics of the republican majority. i'm thrilled that this bill includes hr-1965. at the end of the day, i mentioned reagan, reagan said you get a lot done in washington, d.c. if you didn't care who get the credit. there may be only one way to spell potato, but there are a lot of ways to skin a cat. if we're going to skin this cat this way, i'm okay with that. because small banks need the flexibility t

host: bruce bartlett served as deputy assistant to the treasury secretary 1988 to 1993.columns in "forbes" and "politoco." emma ask about mitt romney's tax plan. let's look at "the wall street journal." mitt romney michele tweets -- guest: value added tax is a type of sales tax that anybody who's been to europe or canada is familiar with. it is different from our retail sales tax that we have at the state level here because it is collected in parts along the distribution and production process. so it is embedded in the price of goods rather than collective all at once bought at the end -- at the retail level. this has proven to be a very effective way of raising revenue. i estimate we could raise about $50 billion per percentage point for the value added tax and some european countries have raised 20%. erratically, there is $1 trillion per year of additional revenue that could be raised. i am not suggesting a $1 trillion tax increase, but i am saying this is money that could be used to reform the tax system. could, for example, abolish the corporate income tax. this woul

bruce bartlett has served as an economic advisor to two republican presidents, ronald reagan and george has a terrific new book out, "the benefit and the burden." welcome. >> thank you. >> first, you make a distinction between obama and romney's plan. what do you think the big difference is? >> well, the big difference is that romney's plan is a huge tax cut, especially for the rich, and it's really written primarily not really to be enacted into law, but to appeal to the republican electorate. i think obama's plan is more an opening bid in in terms of doing something substantial where the two sides are close enough to deal. i think the real problem with obama's plan is that he talks about evening the playing field, but at the same time he wants an extra low rate for manufacturing companies, and i think that in a way he is going in opposite directions simultaneously. >> when you look at the u.s. tax code and its incredible complexity and you compare it to other countries, the thing that stands out is what is called tax expenditures. these kind of tax breaks that cost the government mone

it all documented so would you please and october 4th, 2011, very interesting op ed written by bruce bartlett, he held senior policy roles and served on the staffs of jamp camp and ron paul. soits really interesting and i'm going to put it in and here's the opening. republicans have a problem. people are increasingly concerned about unemployment but republicans have nothing to offer them. the gop opposes additional spending and a fact favor big cuts in spending and likely lead to further layoffs and concludes by saying, in my opinion, regulatory uncertainty is invented by republicans supported by the business community year in and year out. it's a case of political opportunism. obviously, senator sessions and inhofe would disagree with this. i believe when people come to you and tell you, i wrote what you said, the impact on our lives from the epa is nothing that they've ever seen before. that's basically what you said. and i totally agree with you, that that happened in your state. i want to just say, i have never, never heard that when i go home. i haven't had one person come up to me and s

this week's book of the week is by last week's guest bruce bartlett.ed "the benefit and the burden, tax reform, why we need it and what it will take." if you caught last week's show, you know bartlett is in favor of a value-added tax, a v.a.t., and he lays out his case eloquently, but the book is much broader than that. now, if you missed bartlett on last week's show, remember, you can go to itunes where you can get the audio podcast for free or buy the video version. go to itunes.com/fareed. now for the last look. if imitation is the highest form of flattery, we should be very flattered, and by we i guess america's movie poster artists. it seems china likes america's movies. likes them a lot. likes them so much that they sometimes use them quite liberally as guides for their own work. take a look. here's the poster for the american movie "daddy day camp." i somehow missed that film, but here three years later the chinese movie. is that head photo shopped on? how about this one? valentine's day in the u.s., and then "hot summer days" in china. hour van

. >> tomorrow i'm "washington bruce bartlett offers ideas on how to simplify the tax code. stephanie schriock talks about the role her group will play in the elections. todd jacobsen details the president's $11 billion request for the national nuclear safety administration. "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span.

. >> bruce bartlett, thank you so much for joining me. >> thank you. >> and we will be back.w a scene that looks like something out of "kill bill" or an asian "james bond" is actually geopolitics in action. i'll explain. >>> wednesday was leap day. progresso. it fits! fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. packers. vikings. packers... vikings... red state. blue state. vegan. carnivore. announcer: we come from different places. uptown. downtown. optimist. cynic. announcer: we come to different conclusions. half-empty. half-full. announcer: but when we live united, we create real, lasting change in the building blocks of life. the education, income, and health of our communities, our families, even the person next to us. both: live united. announcer: real change won't happen without you, so give. advocate. volunteer. live united. sign up at liveunited. org. new capzasin quick relief gel. (announcer)

. >>> this week's book of the week is by last week's guest bruce bartlett.burden: tax reform. we why we need it and what tell take." he's not in favor of a value-added tax and lays out his case eloquently, but the book is broader than that. if you missed last week's show, you can go to itunes where you can get the audio podcast for free or buy the itunes version, itunes.com/fareed. >>> if imitation is the highest form of flattery, we should be very flattered. by "we," i guess i mean america's movie poster artists. it seems china likes america's movies. likes them a lot. likes them so much that they sometimes use them liberally as guides for their own work. take a look. here's the poster for the american movie "daddy day camp." i somehow missed that film, but here, three years later, the chinese movie -- is that head photo-shopped on? how about this one, "valentine's day in the u.s." and "hot summer days in china." our vantage point, their 721. >> one day i'll be rich and famous. >> in april, 2010, there was "diary of a wimpy kid." two years later, china's ve

but what we have heard, the ideology, this notion that the problem in our economy is what bruce bartlett calls it, a canard. i'm sorry this bill has been spoiled by the antics of the republican majority. i'm thrilled this bill includes h.r. 1965. at the end of the day, i mentioned reagan, reagan said, you get a lote done in washington, d.c. if you didn't care who gets the credit. there may be only one way to spell potato but there are a lot of ways to skin a cat. if year going to skin this cat this way, i'm ok with that because small banks need the flexibility to go public when they should go public. because we should for those companies who want to go public provide them with some relief from the regulations that might be more appropriate for larger companies. all of these things that we have passed, many of these measures on the floor, are important. marred though it has been by the antics of the republican majority, this is fundamentally a bipartisan, good bill and it is a rare step forward for this house of representatives, something that i think will cause every american to say they

host: bruce bartlett is our guest. let's see what erin has to say, a republican in louisiana. caller: my question, i have a disability. why am i getting that cut? why is this? host: do you have a question related to taxes? caller: yes, my house taxes, why is it so expensive and i cannot afford it? that's what i'd like to know. host: property taxes. guest: property taxes are levied by local governments, states and localities, by and large. it does not have anything to do with the federal income tax, except that property taxes are deductible against your income taxes. but that is all controlled by local governments and vary a great deal from state to state. the operation of your property tax varies from state to state. toimply don't know how respond. host: sarah, democratic caller, virginia beach. caller: thank you. i have a quick question regarding your comment about the positive effect of the capital gains and dividends rate, leaving it as it is versus raising that, because why not tax the wealthy taxpayers? why not tax their bonuses for companies share options more heavily ve

among our guests, bruce bartlett is the author of "the benefit and the burden -- tax reform, why we neededand what it will take also, todd m. jacobson. we will have a conversation. tomorrow morning, "washington journal." enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a great day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] baby >> a look at the race in washington yesterday. mitt romney won the state caucuses with about 20,000 votes. he received 30%. ron paul and rick santorum of finished second and third respectively with 25% and 24%. the state results are not binding. looking ahead to super tuesday, more than all the states to date of delegates are up for grabs. among the races, caucuses in alaska, idaho, and primaries and oklahoma,, tenn., and vermont. president obama from the campaign trail. campaign trail.

unanimous consent to place in the record, and october 4, 2011, very interesting op-ed written by bruce bartlett. he held senior posts roles in the reagan and h. w. bush administrations and he served on the staff of jacking up and ron paul. so it's interesting, and i will put income but here's the opening. republicans have a problem. people are increasingly concerned about unemployment but republicans have nothing to offer them. the gop opposes additional government spending for jobs program. are likely to further layups. he concludes by saying mip regular toward uncertainty is a canard event by republicans that allows them to use economic promised to pursue an agenda supported by the business community year in and year out. in other words, simple case of political opportunism, not a serious effort to do with high unemployment. obviously, senator sessions, they would all disagree with this, but i think it's interesting. and the other is i think a very important poll that, you know, senator, i believe when you tell me people come up to you at home and tell you. and the impact on our lives from th

bruce leshan. did a maryland congressman really propose a $250 tax credit for male grooming? it may have been congressman bartlett's bushy moustache that made him a target for the jokers at the american moustache institute which is lobbying for a tax break to cover the expensive grooming habits of those who sport hair on their upper lip. >> the cost has been products such as beard and moustache trimmers, moustache wax, facial hair coloring implements such as just for men hair dye. >> i think we have some other ire that are a little more important than facial -- issues that are a little more important than facial airport. >> reporter: bartlett's press secretary may have started this controversy, but when i asked her to interview the congressman, she declined and said nothing to discuss. his chief of staff put out a statement saying for the record, roscoe is pro moustache but does not believe that americans should pay for people's personal grooming habits. >> i, too am pro moustache, bruce leshan. >>> opponents to maryland's recently passed same sex marriage bill can start to collect signatures to get the issue put t