Originally published on Forbes.com.
Scott Greenberg of the Tax Foundation has a piece entitled Carson Calls for Eliminating the Mortgage Interest and Charitable Deductions. That makes the second thing I have learned I have in common with Doctor Carson this week.
I had noted a while ago that one of themes of Republican tax plans is eliminating all itemized deductions except residence interest and charitable contributions. Presumably that is based on polling. Also both of those deductions have pretty fierce constituencies. Carson is willing to take on the notion that the deductions are part of the fabric of American life.
Now I will say that, there are a lot of people who say, if you get rid of the deductions, you ruin the American dream because, you know, home mortgage deduction. But the fact of the matter is, people had homes before 1913 when we introduced the federal income tax, and later after that started deductions.
And they say there will be no more charitable giving. We had churches before that and charitable organizations before that. The fact of the matter is, I believe if you put more money in people’s pockets that they will actually be more generous rather than less generous.
The historical argument could use some clarification. According to the United States Census, the home ownership rate in 1900 was 45.9% and in 2000 it was 66.2%. Most of the increase occurred between 1940 and 1960. I suspect his main point is correct and that the Greatest Generation would have been out buying houses after they defeated fascism even without tax incentives.
A Brave Proposal
Scott Greenberg notes that Carson’s position is pretty gutsy.
However, no Republican candidate this year, other than Carson, has called for eliminating all deductions from the individual tax code (Mike Huckabee’s plan would eliminate all deductions, but he would also entirely eliminate the current code). On the other hand, seven Republican candidates have proposed eliminating all itemized deductions except for two – the mortgage interest deduction and the charitable deduction – which are especially popular with voters.
Is Carson Reading My Blog?
I had gotten so tired of Republicans treating the residence interest and charitable deductions as sacred cows that I crafted a proposal to eliminate those two deductions. I wanted it to be revenue neutral so I proposed that it be offset with a check to every individual (adults and children) that would be mailed out to correspond with the holiday season. The check would be $480. My back of the envelope computation was $300, but I got none other than Scott Greenberg of the Tax Foundation to score it for me and that is the breakeven check that he came up with. It is different enough so that even if Carson is reading my blog, which honestly I don’t think is that likely, he is not copying me.
The Other Thing I Have In Common With Ben Carson
The other big story about Carson recently has to do with the account of his turning down a “full scholarship” to West Point. That story brought attention to one of Dr. Carson’s achievements that you can find in this post 6 Fascinating Facts About The Life of Dr. Ben Carson.
He joined the high school ROTC and racked up medals in drill and riflery. In a year, he moved from private to second lieutenant. He set a new record on the field-grade exam and was sent straight to lieutenant colonel. He then became one of three full-bird colonels in Detroit. He was given the honor of having dinner with General William Westmoreland who was a top U.S. commander in Vietnam.
Son of a gun. I was in Junior ROTC also and at the same time as Dr. Carson. I can’t help but note that real colonels in the real Army (and Marine Corps and Air Force have a rank insignia that is an image of an eagle, which is the reason they are called full-bird colonels. A JROTC cadet colonel has three diamonds, unless things were different in Detroit.
It is the first time that I have ever heard of somebody’s cadet rank being ascribed any significance post high school graduation, although I do have to say it was a very big deal at the time. Dr. Carson’s JROTC program was an optional activity sponsored by the Detroit Public School system. In my school – Xavier High School in Manhattan – participation was mandatory and we added a bit to the colorful diversity of the Metro New York area as we commuted to school in uniform every day and were dubbed the subway commandos. We only had one colonel as the entire school made up a regiment. You could not move from private to second lieutenant in a year, because only seniors were cadet officers. I have a friend from another class who as a Freshman set his sights on being colonel and was devastated when he only made lieutenant colonel. Who knows? Maybe if he had made it he would be running for President.
For whatever it is worth, it is not clear that cadet rank is an indication of future military merit. The only Xavier graduate to be awarded the medal of honor – Donald Cook Class of 1952 – graduated as cadet Sergeant First Class, which is remarkably mediocre. A posthumous promotion made him a real colonel in the real Marine Corps. I highly recommend the biography written by Donald Price. It is very inspiring although pretty grim in parts.
The West Point Flap
Robert Bateman did a serious critique of Carson’s West Point story in Esquire. To be charitable, I think it is quite possible, even likely, that somebody might have told Carson that he would be shoo-in for West Point and that since he was not interested Carson did not look into it any further and mentally translated that into an offer of sorts. It would be a bit like me saying I turned down a basketball scholarship, because of all the people who noting my height advised me that I should go out for basketball, which would get me a scholarship, but not nearly as silly.
Regardless, the people at Xavier who really impressed me were the ones who graduated as privates. You had to walk a really fine line to not get thrown out without qualifying for promotion even once. So I admire Carson for coming out with a brave tax proposal and don’t think the West Point thing should be held against him. On the other hand, cadet colonel on his resume does not given him points in my book.