There’s an inherent contradiction here, of course. According to the Tax Policy Center, the average federal tax rate for households making between $500,000 and $1 million is 28.1 percent, about double the rate in Carson’s plan, while the average rate for households under $40,000 is below 10 percent.
Full interview: Dr. Ben Carson on the economy
Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal talked with Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson about his campaign, the economy, and how he would change the government if he were elected.
Ben Carson Is Inspiring, but Not for President
DR. BEN CARSON has the most moving personal narrative in modern presidential politics.
His mother, one of 24 children, had only a third-grade education. She was married at age 13, bore Ben and his brother, and then raised the boys as an impoverished single mother in Detroit.
.. But maybe the more interesting question is what Carson says about America. He seems to see his rise as an indication that America needs not so much social programs as firmer character.
.. One reason he is popular on the right, I think, is that many conservatives feel bruised by liberals’ jibes that they are closet racists or have no compassion for the poor. Supporting Carson validates their self-perception as good people who are doing the right thing by slashing social programs.
.. More broadly, Carson’s rise from inner-city poverty is inspiring but not easily replicable. Muggsy Bogues became an N.B.A. star even though he was 5 feet 3 inches tall, but short people are still at a disadvantage in basketball.
.. Devah Pager, a sociologist, sent out young black and white men to pose as job applicants and found that the whites were twice as likely to get callbacks as identically qualified black men. A white man with a felony conviction had as good a chance of getting a callback as a black applicant with a clean record.
Springtime for Grifters
As it happens, Mr. Carson lied. He has indeed been deeply involved with Mannatech, and has done a lot to help promote its merchandise. PolitiFact quickly rated his claim false, without qualification. But the Republican base doesn’t want to hear about it, and the candidate apparently believes, probably correctly, that he can simply brazen it out. These days, in his party, being an obvious grifter isn’t a liability, and may even be an asset.
.. The report found that the bulk of the money these PACs raise ends up going to cover administrative costs and consultants’ fees, very little to their ostensible purpose. For example, only 14 percent of what the Tea Party Leadership Fund spends is “candidate focused.”
.. Current estimates say that Mr. Carson, Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz together have the support of around 60 percent of Republican voters.
.. There was a time when Mr. Rubio’s insistence that $6 trillion in tax cuts would somehow pay for themselves would have marked him as deeply unserious, especially given the way his party has been harping on the evils of budget deficits.
.. But the Republican base doesn’t care what the mainstream media says. Indeed, after Wednesday’s debate the Internet was full of claims that John Harwood, one of the moderators, lied about Mr. Rubio’s tax plan. (He didn’t.)