Bachmann in Ames: Everyone Should Pay Income Taxes

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann might be trailing in recent polls, but she still attracted a standing-room-only crowd of about 250 Thursday for her speech at Iowa State University.

Bachmann, who has sunk to last among nationally in Patch's survey of , is making appearances across the state this week as a runup to Friday's . She will join fellow candidates Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry in wooing influential Republicans at the fundraiser.

She told the Ames audience, largely comprised of ISU students, that she thought everyone should pay income taxes, even if it was an amount as small as $10.

“Let’s face it, freedom is not free and all of us benefit from it. Today we live in a world where only 53 percent of Americans pay federal income tax, 47 percent pay nothing. People who pay nothing can easily forget the idea that there is no such thing as a free lunch,” Bachmann said.

Zach Bauer, an Iowa State freshman majoring in political science, called himself a Bachmann fan and said she related her speech to college students well. He said he agreed with Bachmann when she said, “The 2012 election is the last exit ramp for regaining the American dream.”

“It's the final straw,” Bauer said.

During her speech Bachmann briefly touched on her 11-point plan for economic growth, which she also shares in a video posted to YouTube.

Her plan includes massively cutting government spending and repealing President Obama's health-care plan, which she says is the No. 1 barrier to job creation.

Bachmann, a tax lawyer, said she would abolish the current tax code and eliminate the alternative minimum tax, death tax and reduce the number of corporate tax brackets.

But Bachmann said Thursday that she's heard about "job-killing regulations" — such as those imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency — more than any other issue on the campaign trail.

“I hear about this more than anything else from Iowa businesses. 'Get the regulatory burden off my back, it's killing me.' That's what (late Apple computer founder) Steve Jobs told President Obama only months before he died,” she said.

Thomas Nehls, a retired school teacher from Ames and a Democrat, said he tries to meet all candidates and people who have a stake in the country's future, so he attended the Bachmann speech.

“She is a very engaging speaker, but I don't agree with her basic premise that lowering taxes and lessening regulation will grow the economy,” Nehls said.

He was also disappointed that Bachmann didn't talk more about the increasing gap between the rich and the poor.

Jeremy Freeman, a junior at Iowa State, said he came because it's his personal goal to meet and shake the hands of all GOP candidates, but the line to see Bachmann might have been too long.

“I'm hungry,” he said.

Freeman said he wished Bachmann would have better explained the argument against raising the minimum wage when asked. Freeman said a big increase would only drive up inflation.

A few students came just to create awareness. Iowa State sophomore Dylan Clark asked about Bachmann's support of global aid because he and other students are concerned about how cuts to the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief program could limit medications given to people in Third-World countries.

Bachmann the winner of the August Iowa GOP straw poll in Ames is no longer the favored candidate among Republicans. According to CNN/Time/ORC International poll taken Oct. 26, just 6 percent of Iowa Republicans said they would vote for Bachmann.