TAXES
- Tax Cuts for the Middle Class (Anyone making $250,000 & below)
- Higher Taxes for the Wealthy
- Capital Gains Tax on the Hedge Funds & Private Equity Funds
- Extend Production Tax credits for re-newable energy facilities. (10 yrs.)
Caveat: 401k’s might fall under a new capital gains tax. Tax cuts are actually an extension of the Bush ’01 & ’03 tax cuts except Obama plans to extend those tax cuts past 2010 for lower income earners while letting the tax cuts expire for anyone making over $250,000.
McCain:
- Lower Corporate Tax
- Make Bush tax cuts of ’01 & ’03 permanent
- Otherwise keep taxes at status quo
Caveat: McCain’s reputation as a maverick was built around his unwillingness to help large corporations, which have been historically good friends with the republicans. He has bragged about going after tobacco companies & pharmaceuticals which contradicts his proposed plan. Also McCain has admitted to knowing little about the economy. He jokingly said he was reading Alan Greenspan’s book to learn more.
TRADE
- Wants to open foreign trade markets to protect US jobs. This theory is contradictory in many aspects & propagates protectionism policies.
- Against current NAFTA arrangements
Caveat: Obama may have better domestic policies, but his foreign economic policies have yet to be explained. His campaign has largely ignored these issues & history has proven protectionism doesn’t work for the
McCain:
- Globalize the World Mantra
- Wants more multilateral, regional & bilateral trade agreements.
- “Level the playing field” with effective global trading rules.
Caveat: McCain has not said who would enforce those rules or even how to bring them into existence. Leveling the playing field (removing trade barriers) could also mean forcing thousands of US jobs overseas for cheaper labor costs.
ANTI-TRUST: THINK MICROSOFT MONOPOLY
- Wants to strengthen anti-trust laws, but his rhetoric has been week in this area. He also denotes some antitrust cases as “simply big successful companies that need to be big to compete internationally.” Maybe someone should explain to him what monopolies & oligopolies actually are?
McCain:
- Has not put forth any policy options. Did comment once in a past interview that he wanted to update anti-trust laws adding that he was concerned by the large consolidations because they hurt consumers. Otherwise, I was hard pressed to find any policy implications.
Caveat: I don’t know what is worse, ignoring the problem completely or trying to redefining it to ignore certain companies?
HEALTHCARE $$
Obama:
- Pledges to make government run health care available for everyone in order to bring down the cost of health care.
- Expansion of unemployment benefits.
Caveat: Would initially bring down health care costs, but could also bring down quality of health care with government money involved.
McCain:
- Plans to give every individual (adult) a $5000 tax credit to go out and buy health care.
- Plan would tax health benefits.
Caveat: The tax on health benefits could have people clamoring for undervalued or low-quality services. The plan could also send costs spiraling as doc’s will see plan as government subsidized health care.
Summary: With the economy being everyone’s top voting issue, both candidates will focus on their own economic spins in the coming days up to the election. Obama’s plan will help the middle class the most, while McCain’s seems to have a better handle on foreign trade issues. However, both candidates have been ignoring critical issues. To sort through all the mud-slinging and spins I suggest you check out CNN’s fact or fiction site।
Other Resources on this Topic:
International Economic Law & Policy Blog
Economists for Obama Blog
Business Week: Obama vs. McCain Taxes & Spending
The Economic Populist
Newsweek: The Vices of their Virtues
Red, Green & Blue
Forbes: Obama vs. McCain on the Economy
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