The visit by Pope Francis to the United States has once again raised discussion of the Pope’s comments on public policy.
Pope Francis has raised concerns about economic policy and climate change, among other issues. The Pope’s statements have won praise from some…including New Mexico U.S. Senator Tom Udall. Udall addressed the issue this week in a call with members of the New Mexico press, praising the Pope and his statements on a variety of issues, including concern over climate change.
Not everyone welcomes public policy advice from the Pope. At a June campaign rally in New Hampshire recorded by Reuters, Republican Presidential candidate Jeb Bush praised the Pope and Bush noted that he was a converted Catholic. But Bush told the audience he does not get economic policy advice from his religious leaders.
The Pope’s statements on economic policy may strike a nerve with some campaigns. In a 2013 document, the Pope decried what he described as “the idolatry of money.” In that writing, he criticized so-called “trickle down” economics, stating, “[S]ome people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system.”
The Jeb Bush campaign, which has raised more than $100 million dollars in campaign donations, has released a plan for tax reform on its website. The plan would cut individual rates from seven brackets to three: 28%, 25% and 10%.
Analysis by the group Citizens for Tax Justice looked at the potential impact of Jeb Bush’s proposal during the current tax year….if fully implemented.
The effect….99 percent of Americans would see an average federal tax cut of less than two percent. But the top 1 percent would see their federal tax bill drop by nearly five percent….an average tax cut of more than $80,000.