Tax and lie

I was surprised to see an ad by McCain suggesting that Obama would raise taxes for the middle class, particularly because I hadn’t seen anything in Obama’s tax policy that would remotely suggest this. I don’t think anyone should be cutting taxes (the government is already spending far more money than it has, and has run up a staggering, record-breaking debt over the last 8 years), but it didn’t seem to make sense.

That is because, in the words of the non-partisan FactCheck.org, “These ads continue what’s become a pattern of misrepresentation by the McCain campaign about his opponent’s tax proposals.”

What’s the real story? The chart to the right says it all.

In other words, I can fully understand why, if your income exceeds $2 million annually, you would want to elect McCain. Otherwise, the tax issue should really be moot: you’ll get a very modest tax break from McCain (as compared to Obama) if you are among the nation’s richest 20%, and pay less under Obama, if you are not. In other words, if you’ve benefited from Bush’s deep cuts for the very wealthy, you’ll now be expected to pay more of your share to your country.

It used to be that a Republican vote was a vote for fiscal responsibility–a policy I could sympathize greatly with. Unfortunately, they fell into their rhetoric, and became the party of “borrow and spend.” I wish I could say that the Democrats have taken on the policies of small, efficient government, but really they have remained in roughly the same place while Republican spending has skyrocketed.

I will admit to have been a bit of a fan of McCain at one point. I like open, transparent honesty. I could overlook his fighting against MLK day, and even his position on abortion because I knew he was shooting from the hip. (This is also the reason I am untroubled by Biden’s tendency to speak before self-censoring.) But he has allowed his campaign to become over-run by people who are willing to lie to get him elected, and that suggests–at the very least–that he is a weak leader and unable to control his own campaign staff.

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2 Comments

  1. Amatore
    Posted 8/29/2008 at 11:36 pm | Permalink

    As far as McCain’s campaign goes, lobbyists are flying roughshod through the Republican ranks. McCain’s town meetings are a farce, run by some of the top lobbyists in the country. Let’s take William V. Hilleary, for example. He’s a lobbyist for Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. He’s also acting as the Tennessee co-chair. He’s doing loads of fundraising for McCain, with alot of money coming from previous clients. You gotta wonder, how do the donations from these companies reflect Americans? It’s the same thing in Florida with Brian Ballard. Recently he’s been working for Honda, probably getting bills passed that are automotive friendly. Brian is a major part of McCain’s fundraising efforts, he’s McCain’s National Finance Committee Co-Chair. Let’s move onto Kirk Blalock. He’s a lobbyist for Airbus, an aircraft company. This guy’s services basically go out the highest bidder. Our American aircraft company, Boeing, lost a contract from the U.S. because of Brian’s lobbying. We also have Slade Gorton, a lobbyist for a bunch of conglomerates. That makes him eligible to be McCain’s Honorary Chairman. This guy’s laundrylist of lobbying is so long they were going to dedicate a shopping mall in his name. McCain has his campaign plodding along with lobbyists at the forefront. They’re on the trail with him, raising money for him and chairing his committees. Rather than drop the lobbyists, McCain is letting the lobbyists drop in on his campaign. His proposals aren’t for the people, they’re for laggard commercial interests!

  2. Posted 8/30/2008 at 7:25 am | Permalink

    ooooh. I don’t like “I like open, transparent honesty.” Anyone who says their cards are on the table are actually pulling a sleight of hand. Show me a bumbling somewhat confused person who is recursively trying to explain things so you won’t miss anything… and it is probably someone with the potential of being honest. Open and transparent is complex and confusing. McCain is ‘plain and simple’ which like common sense (never common and rarely sensical) it never quite is that plain or simple.

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