COLUMBIA, S.C.—Republican presidential candidates said Saturday their party must do more to convince poor Americans that conservative policies — and not an active federal government —will expand economic opportunity.
But the White House hopefuls, addressing a conservative economic forum in the early voting state of South Carolina, don’t agree on all the details, particularly on taxes.Moderated by House Speaker Paul Ryan, the event gave a half dozen candidates the chance to champion long-standing conservative ideas about alleviating poverty, such as letting states spend federal money on safety net programs without federal strings, and spending public money on independent charter schools and vouchers for private-school tuition.
Yet when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie bragged that he doubled a key tax credit for low-income workers in his state, he met opposition from 2016 rival Ben Carson, who countered that the federal Earned Income Tax Credit is a “manipulation” of the tax code.
Carson calls for an across-the-board tax rate, with no deductions or credits for any household or business. He criticized progressive income tax rates — the framework that has endured though decades of Republican and Democratic administration. “That’s called socialism,” he said. “That doesn’t work in America.”
