In his State of the Union, President Obama pulled one from the Cato playbook and called for a corporate tax rate cut.

“But all the rest [of our companies] are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and it has to change. So tonight, I’m asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field. And use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years – without adding to our deficit.”

The stuff about loopholes and simplification–that’s window dressing. The real story is that the reality has sunk in even to liberal Democrats that we are shooting ourselves in the foot with the highest corporate tax rate in the world.

“Loopholes” will take care of themselves if we dramatically lower our tax rate. Chopping the statutory rate will automatically broaden the tax base, close homemade corporate loopholes, and not “add to our deficit” in the long-run.