John McCain Calls Out Obama’s Socialist Economic Plan
In John McCain’s Weekly Radio Address he lays out why Senator Obama’s economic plan is a socialist plan, and why that would harm our economy.
You see, he believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that help us all make more of it. Joe, in his plainspoken way, said this sounded a lot like socialism. And a lot of Americans are thinking along those same lines. In the best case, “spreading the wealth around” is a familiar idea from the American left. And that kind of class warfare sure doesn’t sound like a “new kind of politics.”
This would also explain some big problems with my opponent’s claim that he will cut income taxes for 95 percent of Americans. You might ask: How do you cut income taxes for 95 percent of Americans, when more than 40 percent pay no income taxes right now? How do you reduce the number zero?
Well, that’s the key to Barack Obama’s whole plan: Since you can’t reduce taxes on those who pay zero, the government will write them all checks called a tax credit. And the Treasury will cover those checks by taxing other people, including a lot of folks just like Joe.
In other words, Barack Obama’s tax plan would convert the IRS into a giant welfare agency, redistributing massive amounts of wealth at the direction of politicians in Washington. I suppose when you’ve voted against lowering taxes 94 times, as Senator Obama has done, a new definition of the term “tax credit” comes in handy.
At least in Europe, the Socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives. They use real numbers and honest language. And we should demand equal candor from Senator Obama. Raising taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut it’s just another government giveaway.
What’s more, the Obama tax increase would come at the worst possible time for America, and especially for small businesses like the one Joe dreams of owning. Small businesses provide 16 million jobs in America. And a sudden tax hike will kill those jobs at a time when need to be creating more jobs.
Fortunately, America has an alternative to the phony tax cut my opponent started talking about only months ago. The McCain-Palin tax cut is the real thing. Among our other serious tax reforms, we’re going to reduce every income tax bill in America, and double the child deduction for every family. We will cut the capital gains tax. And we will cut business taxes to help create jobs, and keep American businesses in America.
As Joe the Plumber has now reminded us all, America didn’t become the greatest nation on earth by letting government “spread the wealth around.” In this country, we believe in spreading opportunity, for those who need jobs and those who create them. And that is exactly what I intend to do as President of the United States.
Recession shadows Obama's economic goals
The victor in Tuesday's US presidential election will face a host of acute economic problems on a scale not seen since the 1930s.
The spiraling financial crisis, meltdown in the housing market, and Wall Street chaos coupled with longer-term challenges like high health care costs and foreign energy dependence will be on the next president's to-do list.
But analysts say Obama, now a Democratic senator from Illinois, will face his biggest challenge after becoming president on Jan. 20 in navigating a deep and potentially prolonged economic downturn.
"The United States is in a profound recession, and when the next president takes office, chances are things will look as bad or worse as they do today," said Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund who provided occasional advice to Obama's defeated Republican rival John McCain.
"That problem's going to be so pressing that it's going to push a lot of other items to the back of the agenda."
Many economic analysts hope that Obama puts his official economic team together quickly, perhaps by Nov. 15 when outgoing President George W. Bush hosts a summit in Washington to discuss the global financial crisis.
Among the candidates frequently mentioned for the top job of Treasury secretary are former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
SECOND STIMULUS PACKAGE
Obama, whose popular support strengthened on perceptions that he has a better grip on the economic crisis, has advocated a second government stimulus package worth $175 billion that would include money for investments in infrastructure as well as another round of rebate checks.
"That's the type of package Sen. Obama believes needs to happen right away," Brian Deese, the Illinois senator's deputy director of economic policy told Reuters.
The McCain camp criticized Obama's plans as a return to a tax-and-spend approach, but Obama countered by saying the United States could not afford four more years of a Republican administration.
Though a recession will likely dominate the Obama administration's agenda, other short- and long-term economic challenges will also feature high on the to-do list, economists and advisers said.
Obama has promised to revamp regulations governing Wall Street, to bring down the costs of health care, to boost indigenous energy sources and fight climate change by setting caps on carbon dioxide emissions for big industries.
But limited resources -- diverted to ease the financial crisis and fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- would hamper the ability of any president to achieve many of those goals.
"These are not things that are achievable," said Jeffrey Frankel, an economist at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
"Energy independence is basically not achievable. Balancing the budget is not achievable. Preventing us from going into a recession? It's too late."
Deese said Obama would not allow health care reform to be placed on the backburner. He has proposed a national program to allow individuals and small businesses to buy health care similar to that available to federal employees.
"Sen. Obama understands that our nation's long-term financial challenges are intimately tied up with addressing our nation's health care crisis and that we cannot wait on the type of ambitious reforms that he's talked about," he said.
On energy, Obama has emphasized massive investments in renewable energy technology as opposed to Republican calls for more offshore oil drilling and increased use of nuclear power.
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