Will this revive his flagging campaign? Texas Gov. Rick Perry unveiled a new economic proposal on Tuesday that he says will balance the nation’s budget by 2020. The centerpiece of the Perry plan is a flat tax of 20 percent that all Americans would have the option to choose over their current tax rate. The corporate tax rate would slip to 20 percent, too, down from 28 percent. Perry would make up for the drop in federal revenue with a balanced-budget amendment and a federal spending cap of 18 percent of GDP. Critics immediately slammed the proposal, saying it amounts to a massive tax break for the rich.
