Business Game Changers Radio with Sarah Westall: U.S. has the Highest Corporate Tax Rate in the World - An Open Discussion with Tea Party Co-Founder Michael Johns

Whether you love them or hate them or somewhere in between, there is no denying that the Tea Party Movement has had a large impact on our country. Their core believes, mainly, smaller government, less taxes, and balancing the budget is a shared believe of many, including republicans, independents, and even some democrats. It’s hard to argue that balancing a budget of any kind is not a fundamentally responsible thing to do.

The point of this show is to cover the edge of change. This includes disruption and uncomfortable topics that need to be discussed in an open respectful format. The Tea Party is often portrayed as a far right fringe group, but I have found that many of their core believes are actually in line with many average Americans.

The racist bigotry that often overshadows their movement is the very thing Tea Party insiders despise most. It destroys their integrity and they know it. Bigotry takes away from their core messages and hurts our countries ability to have meaningful debate on very important topics. After all, why can’t you believe in lower corporate taxes without being labeled a bigot? In our current system, it seems only the right wants lower corporate taxes (U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate in the world – we just surpassed Japan), but the right is also associated with bigotry and other forms of hate. These ideas should not, and cannot, be lumped together; it only takes away from meaningful debate. Maybe it’s time for a new paradigm where bigotry and racism can finally be put to pasture so we can discuss the critical issues plaguing our country?

This episode of Business Game Changers, I welcome co-founder of the Tea Party, Michael Johns, to discuss this and many other issues in an open, blunt, and engaging discussion about the Tea Party and their goals.

Johns is a health care executive, former White House and U.S. federal government official, and a conservative policy analyst and writer. He is one of several national founders and leaders of the U.S. Tea Party movement and the president and executive director of Tea Party Community, the nation's largest Tea Party social media organization.

In addition to his extensive private sector management career, Michael has served as a White House speechwriter to President George H. W. Bush, a senior aide to former New Jersey Governor and 9/11 Commission Chairman Tom Kean (R-NJ), and a senior United States Senate aide to U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Michael began his career as a policy analyst at the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation and as an editor of the foundation's scholarly magazine, Policy Review. 

Michael has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, National Review, and other national media. He has appeared on CBS News, PBS, CNBC, C-SPAN, Al Jazeera, Fox Morning News, and other networks. 

You can learn more about Michael Johns and his organization at https://www.teapartycommunity.com/