Romney calls for new trade agreements

BELLEVUE, Wash., March 2 (UPI) -- Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney pushed new trade agreements and vowed a program-by-program review of the federal budget campaigning in Washington Friday.

At the same time, a Tax Policy Center analysis found Romney's tax proposals would cut levies on the top 20 percent of taxpayers while raising taxes on the bottom 20 percent as his campaign initiated an appeal to small donors.

Romney breezed through Washington in advance of Saturday's Republican caucuses, criticizing President Obama for his aloof style and broken promises on the economy.

In Bellevue, Romney told an audience at the Highline Community Center he would promote trade agreements that pushed products like airplanes and software produced in Washington, The Seattle Times reported.

The Tax Policy Center issued an analysis showing Romney's proposed changes to the tax code would add $900 billion to the deficit by 2015, CBS reported. The changes would mean an average $16,000 tax cut to the top 20 percent of earners and a $150,000 cut to the top 1 percent.

Among his proposals is making the Bush tax cuts permanent, eliminating the estate tax entirely, getting rid of investment income taxes on those earning less than $200,000 and lowering the corporate tax rate to 25 percent. He also has proposed cutting marginal individual income tax rates by 20 percent for everyone who pays taxes.

At the same time, Romney's campaign is taking a page from Obama's fundraising playbook.

"Donate $3 today to be automatically entered to be Mitt's special guest for election night on Super Tuesday," an e-mail the Romney campaign sent to supporters said. On the Web is a video seeking $20 contributions to fight what it called the "Obama attack machine."

The former Massachusetts governor also made a similar appeal after winning the Michigan primary Tuesday, asking people to visit his Web site and "pledge your support in every way possible," the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Romney has relied on wealthy contributors but so far has been unable to build a broad base of small donors capable of injecting new money into his campaign. An analysis by the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute indicated 9 percent of the nearly $63 million Romney raised through Jan. 31 was from supporters who contributed $200 or less, the Times said.

In contrast the institute said small donors were responsible for nearly half of the money contributed to GOP rivals Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, as well as Obama.

Romney not only out-fundraised his opponents, but also outspent them. Romney spent money faster than he could bring it in in January, leaving him with $7.7 million, the Times said.

Romney, who invested more than $40 million of his own money in his 2008 presidential run, so far hasn't opened his checkbook this year. His campaign officials declined to tell the Times whether he was considering doing so.

But fundraisers say Romney is failing to light a fire among small donors.

"Money comes in when something revolutionary has happened, when lightning strikes," said Peter Pasi, a GOP digital fundraising consultant whose client list includes Santorum. "You have to have a bottle to catch the lightning -- but there needs to be lightning there in the first place."