The interesting part of that quote isn't the "closing loopholes" one (which Romney also made), it's where Reagan points out that some millionaires pay no taxes (aka "the 47%"), something Romney would never admit.

Fake. Reagan would have never come out against crazy.

This is the true irony of the Reagan cult. If he were to run today, he would be labeled a tax and spend democrat who exploded the national debt.

Why they do not hold up Eisenhower as the true conservative icon is beyond me. But I guess he did warn about out of control military spending which the republicans seem to love.

Jon Stewart destroyed the GOP's obstructionist tactics regarding the fiscal cliff last night though. Great segment. I am surprised Dan has not already posted it.

Basically, the "deal" the GOP is offering is worse for the poor and middle class than the actual fiscal cliff, because it slashes even more from entitlements, while offering even less in revenue.

It is shameless.

My dad was a bus driver back then. I don't know what his tax rate was like.

Was this before or after his huge cuts. Didn't he cut a bunch of taxes at the beginning of his terms, and then slowly had to reinstate a lot of them.

I'm so glad Reagan got on the stick and closed those loopholes! Shit, that really made things so much better today, what with all the wealthy regularly paying their fair share, and paying at least as much percentage-wise in taxes as librarians, secretaries, and bus drivers. Yay Reagan!

Republicans live in a fantasy land where Saint Reagan single-handedly destroyed godless, communist Russia AND made dollars rain from the heavens. In this fantasy land, nobody named George Bush was ever president.

COMMUNOISALAMABORTIONIST!!!1!

Does it really matter if the top tax rate is 35% or 38%?

Romney's only paying 17% anyway.

You can make it 100% and the top dogs will figure out how to circumvent it so what's the point.

This whole exercise is about how both sides can screw the middle class out of $1000 to $3000 a year.

Reagan has a legacy so distorted by the Conservative idolization of him that we may never have a clear picture of the real man behind the television set beyond the elaborate myth now concocted around him. Did he really rid the world of commie scum? Did destroy or save our economy? Check out my portrait of The Gipper and help me figure it out on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/… with some Cold War Hollywood!

@9: "it's pointless to try and raise taxes on the rich because they'll just pay their lawyers to find loopholes. we're not going to get them to pay more anyway, so we're just going to give them what they want."
We don't negotiate with terrorists!

@9 - It matters a lot to Romney. The Bush tax cuts helped the wealthy way more than anyone else. (Because jobs.)

Bush not only reduced the capital-gains tax rate, but also categorized dividends as capital gains (which had been subject to income-tax rates previously) AND reduced estate taxes.

If the Bush tax cuts expire, Romney's capital gains will be taxed at 23.8%* (currently it's 15%), and his dividends will be taxed at 39.6% (currently it's 15%). The estate tax exemption will drop from $5.1 million to $1 million, and the estate tax rate above that threshold goes from 35% to 55%.

So you'd think the House Republicans would make a deal to salvage at least SOMETHING. But anything viewed as a compromise with Dems on taxes will all but guarantee their ouster by some Tea Party mouth-breather in the 2014 primaries. And the only thing they care about more than their rich supporters is their jobs.

* The pre-Bush capital gains tax rate was 20%. Obamacare additionally levies a 3.8% surcharge for high earners ($250K/$200K). This surcharge kicks on Jan 1.