Santorum Emerges As a Factor

With Senator Rick Santorum's triple win in three Republican presidential contests on Tuesday, following his Iowa victory last month, President Barack Obama needs to watch out.

Santorum has a solid base of grassroots support, a base that the other Republican candidates may have a hard time attracting and that a Republican winner will need.

Rick Santorum's views on economics are solidly within the core of conservative thought. In the coming days and weeks, his political adversaries on both sides of the aisle may try to caricature his beliefs. They won't succeed.

Presidential candidates don't need dozens of different economic policies that Congress is unlikely to adopt. Voters won't read many policies. They mostly want to hear what candidates will do to fix the economy and to put them and their friends and loved ones back to work.

Americans are concerned with the burden of debt they are leaving to future generations. Young Americans have doubts about whether Social Security and Medicare will be there for them when they retire. These are not new and novel concerns, and thoughtful people inside and outside Congress have considered ways to address them.

One of the most carefully-crafted proposals for entitlement reform is by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. Mr. Santorum supports Congressman Ryan's plan. For Medicare, it would allow workers who retire in 10 years to choose from a variety of plans, with some part of the premiums paid by the government. Premiums would vary, depending on income and health. Current retirees, and those retiring before 2022, would stay on traditional Medicare.

Mr. Santorum wants to bring the Social Security program into balance by gradually raising the retirement age for younger workers and changing the indexing of benefits.

Voters know that government spending is out of control. It's on autopilot, and the baseline spending grows by billions of dollars every year. When Congress makes cuts, the cuts are from a growing baseline, so spending never decreases.

As well as reforming entitlements, Santorum wants to cut non-defense spending to 2008 levels. He would end energy subsidies and other wasteful government programs, cutting $5 trillion over 5 years.

Uncertainty over taxes is hobbling American business decisions and undermining consumer confidence. Republicans and Democrats agree that our current tax code is too complicated. Ordinary Americans can no longer calculate their own taxes, and need computer software programs or accountants to do it for them.

Santorum wants to simplify the tax code by moving from five to two rates, 10 percent and 28 percent, and eliminating many deductions. This is in stark contrast to President Obama, who proposes new taxes on different classes of Americans every few months.

In addition to lowering personal income tax rates, Santorum would abolish the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax, which is adjusted downwards every year by Congress. Even so, it is now paid by millions of Americans, particularly those with large families in states with high income taxes.

Santorum would lower corporate tax rates, at 35 percent now the highest in the world. He would cut the rate to 17.5 percent and allow the cost of all business equipment to be deducted in the year of purchase. Manufacturing would have a zero rate of tax.

One improvement would be to eliminate the corporate tax rate altogether, so that all sectors would be treated equally, ensuring a flow of capital into, rather than out of, the United States.

The most important factor in a Santorum administration would be to replace senior government regulators who are at war with the American worker with competent officials who will encourage growth in the American economy and an expanding workforce.

One of Santorum's highest priorities is to repeal the new health care law, and replace it with competition and choice for health insurance, the way people purchase auto, home, and life insurance.

While it has received much attention, health care is just the tip of the regulatory iceberg in Washington. From transportation to the environment, from energy to education, the current administration cranks out endless rules that stifle both American employers and workers.

That is one reason why the percent of Americans choosing to participate in the labor force has declined precipitously over the past three years. and now stands at 63.7 percent, the same level as in May 1983. America needs a 21st century labor force, not a 1980s labor force.

Santorum understands these problems and is determined to end them. His undeniable integrity and honesty, and his stance on smaller government and a strong defense, make him a formidable opponent, one whom voters will take seriously.