Political Punch

If Tapper's argument is the best the GOP has in response to Obama's tax plan, this election is over. The argument that Obama's plan will "only" cut taxes for 81% of the nation, rather than 95%, or that McCain's plan "only" leaves out 66 million families, rather than 100 million, is a damning indictment for the GOP. How exactly would McCain defend leaving out 66 million families? Obama needs to stay on the economy stubbornly despite attempts by the media to draw him into a personality contest with Palin. McCain's 7 houses disqualify him from being the economic populist in this contest and I am convinced whomever claims that mantle will claim the white house.

@ Michelle

I'm usually discouraged from posting here because of the absence of meaningful discourse. Glad you dared me. I look forward to a discussion and I hope there is a possibility that we can keep an open mind since we are talking about the future of the country.

==ALL energy professionals say that it is impossible for Americans to release themselves from dependency on oil until at the earliest 2050.==

Not so. As with all other projections, this is a highly flexible time line that depends on who you talk to. My suggestion: let's leave the projection out and focus on the tangible matters for now.

==Yet Obama does not want to drill or put up nuclear power plants. Instead he wants to invest solely in renewables.==

Not so. I believe Obama is open to nuclear plants to a limited extent. The problem with nuclear plants (and this is a very serious issue) is the waste, of course. For nuclear plants to work, you would have to find a way to get rid of the waste very very carefully or else you are exposing local communities to radioactive waste (which translates to cancer and generation after generation of your kins laying in bed and suffering). You could build the plants in very remote areas very far away from people but we don't have the electricity infrastructure (the Grid) to distribute it effectively from remote areas... this is a fact: the nation's Grid is seriously overloaded and is in continuous danger of breaking down completely.. which means a national blackout, which means an economic disaster worse than the Great Depression. So "clean energy" is phrase with very meaningful consequences.

== Well, unfortunately there are projections that say over the next decade, renewable energy only has the potential for covering 20% of our energy demands==

Again, not so. I would like to know where you get the projections because these are very subjective conclusions.

==Plus, renewable energy technology takes time to invent and refine, no matter how much money you throw at it. Once the technology is there, who is going to be able to afford it? Answer: the first couple years only the rich, because new technology is expensive.==

I apologize if i am coming across as too critical but your conclusion there was very mistaken. The major thing about renewable technologies is that most of them have already been invented and are just waiting to be claimed. Surely you are aware of the technological advancements of the 21st century. I can't stress this enough: renewable energy technologies are classified under the easiest technologies to invent (innovate) and of the cheapest to refine. For that reason, the major thing about them is that they are the type that would come cheapest to the middle class and the lower class. BUT, only if we get them out into the public before giant investors claim them, which brings me to my point...

I know this is almost a cliche, but oil people are the ones working the hardest to create a blurry public opinion about an otherwise straightforward matter of renewable energies. They want to take while they transfer their resources from the oil industry to the renewable resources. case in point: T Boone Pickens. The future is inevitable, we are moving from oil to renewables. the critical question is "when?". It can happen now under government watch or it can happen in 10-12 years after oil giants have controlled it the way they control oil today and after our economy has suffered some more. Only THEN would renewables come at a more expensive price to the middle class and lower class.

==It takes time and money to build the infrastructure. Example: Pumps that release hydrogen or natural gas rather than oil.==

Good point and I agree. But do you know of such a thing as Hydrogen power plants? They are plants just like nuclear power plants, except for the nuclear part and without the radioactive waste. The more of them we have the easier it is to build the infrastructure quicker (read: clean jobs). They are part of the Obama renewable energy plan.

==Plus oil is used in more than just gasoline and home heating==

I don't want to make this longer than i have already made it but that was a good distinction. The major thing about energy sources is that you can classify them as direct used and indirect used (eg electricity and oil for heating). The one needing massive attention is the indirect one as it ends up having an impact on a bigger scale.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for inviting an intelligent discourse. Lets all vote based on the issues. PLEASE PLEASE don't vote for a politician or against a politician. They don't know you exist so please lets vote on the issues pretending like the candidates don't even exist.

RealisticLib,

why not? The Dems have actually proven that they can balance a checkbook.

If you think that trickle-down theory has worked well enough as an alternative to
changing basic economic policy....

you must be a Republican

Does anyone think that Obama will actually follow through with this tax cut if elected?

Pity that 95% includes Charlie Rangel!

Er, Mr. Tapper, at the end of posts like this one, you need to make sure you add, "Just sayin'."

Just sayin'. :o)

the capital gains tax argument is about the most redundant stupid waste of time ever.my proposal would be:

if you make under $50 k a year ,you dont pay any cap gains tax on any single year sale of less than 1mil.

over 1mil. cap gains , everyone pays something.

then if you make more than 50k a year you have to pay cap gains tax on a sliding scale (more as your yearly taxed income goes up ,less as it goes down)

those in the highest tax brackets should be required by law to pay almost all of their cap gains profits back into taxes .

retired folks would be taxed on basis of personal property owned at the time of the capital gains: eg; if you own 4 houses dont count on getting big hunks of tax free cash every time you sell one.

its pretty simple logic really ,the richest people already have more than enough money and they shouldnt be allowed to rake in excessive profits they really dont need (and usually dont deserve as well) while this country is struggling economically and financially.

@ Lynne | Sep 6, 2008 1:50:42 PM

Under Obama's plan you would pay no capital gains in your situation. The 28% would be on any amount above the 500k exemption for selling your primary home. No one would pay any capital gains tax on the sale of your home as long as the profit was less than half a million dollars. Anyways, more people are probably worried about avoiding foreclosure these days.

The excessively low capital gains rate of the past 8 years has created perverse incentives which weaken our economy and prevent it from growing as much as it should. In order to have the highest level of economic growth, tax on income derived from Capital and income derived from Labour should be in balance. The current policy is based on the fanciful notion that supply (ie. the new production capacity created by investment) creates it's own demand.

to Michelle...

my advice to the NY folks would be to move somewhere cheaper like nebraska or idaho , or not complain about the wages they make vs the taxes they pay living in the big apple where they have access to everything and anything (which costs extra $$ to provide).

this country is for ny and nebraska people ; all of us ,but not just the rich and elite...

my dogcatcher analogy was supposed to illustrate that we all here in the usa have to share what we have (tax wise) no matter how much we make or where we live, to support this nation equally as we are able ,or it will not survive.

americaisarepublicnotademocracy = has no clue

why dont you go start your own skinflint country? till then you need to read the part in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA constitution where it (basically but clearly ) says the government can tax as needed to secure and defend itself. this country RUNS off of taxes and buddy , you WILL PAY.

you will pay taxes ( on a sliding scale graduated for wealth )for things you personally dont like, that you personally dont want ,and that you dont need BECAUSE YOU LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE THAT IS THE LAW OF THE LAND.

IF YOU DONT LIKE THAT IDEA....GO/MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE!! FAST!

you know cheapskate ,why not just move to haiti ,they have really low taxes...

sad to think this is what america is made of these days.

no wonder the rest of the world is disgusted with the upper/ruling class of america and their intrinsic capitalistic greed/selfishness and ignorance .

i know i surely am.

To Obama: Half the country disputes your tax cut plan, because you are only providing part of the picture. We see the other part.

To bah, the reason your dogcatcher is paid $50 in one area and $20 in another is based on the differences of the cost of living. The cost for the same basket of goods for the $50 dog catcher is over double the basket of goods for the $20 dogcatcher. That's why households in Nebraska can live comfortably on $50,000, while people in NYC need at least double to live the same lifestyle.

Obama does not get the energy crisis.

ALL energy professionals say that it is impossible for Americans to release themselves from dependency on oil until at the earliest 2050. Not just foreign oil, oil. That date of 2050 is also dependent upon the installation of more nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants are the reason Europe is not heavily dependent on oil and why their energy is so cheap. Yet Obama does not want to drill or put up nuclear power plants. Instead he wants to invest solely in renewables.

Well, unfortunately there are projections that say over the next decade, renewable energy only has the potential for covering 20% of our energy demands. What about the other 80%? We can't have oil, nuclear, or clean coal. So what's left? I don't know. Do you?

Plus, renewable energy technology takes time to invent and refine, no matter how much money you throw at it. Once the technology is there, who is going to be able to afford it? Answer: the first couple years only the rich, because new technology is expensive. Only after a few years, when the price goes down, will middle and low income workers be able to afford it. Obama seems to believe that every worker, even those of low and middle income people will be able to afford a 1 yr old hybrid car, a natural gas car when it comes out, then a hydrogen fuel cell car when it comes out. Not likely, in fact not possible.

Obama seems to forget that there is a long transitional period to transfer from one energy source to another. It takes time and money to build the infrastructure. Example: Pumps that release hydrogen or natural gas rather than oil.

Plus oil is used in more than just gasoline and home heating. It is used in plastics that is used to wrap food. This is partly why the cost of food has gone up so high, not just the transportation costs. Oil is used to make the equipment in hospitals. So by not drilling Obama is continuing to raise the cost of food and medical care.

This is all basic Economics and Business 101 material. I dare one person to refute me in a manner that is based on reason. Not just I don't like it, therefore you are lying. If you bring up a logical argument, kudos to you. You have a brain.

When Obama says he is going to raise taxes on the elite, he fails to mention that he is really going to tax low and middle income people too. Obama wants to raise the capital gains tax by a significant margin.

The capital gains tax not only effects corporations, it effects small businesses. Over 70% of workers are employed by small businesses and over 23 million people own small businesses. By significantly raising the capital gains tax, Obama is going to make it harder for those people to work and earn a living. If small businesses do not have as much money, they can't afford to invest for company growth, they can't afford to give their workers raises, and part of the tax burden placed on the business will end up on the consumer. If too much is placed on the consumer, the business will go bankrupt, leaving workers unemployed.

Lets think about this here. Taxes go up, prices of goods go up, inflation goes up, consumers can afford less. Who does this hurt the most? The people struggling to put food on the table.

Who is the bah character? You sound you just through reading the Communist Manifesto. If you don't think you are paid enough then come up with a good business idea and start your own company. You dumb ideas about punishing businesses will just drive more jobs overseas. The last thing we need is more government messing in our lives. If you want someone to take care of you then move back in with your parents. I believe in helping people but let ME decide when and how to help people. Only losers and zeros believe in radical wealth redistribution. People that can't compete are the ones that would rather the government take from those that can compete and give to them.

Good lord... if you were HALF as hard on McCain as you are on Obama, this race wouldn't be a contest. The entire GOP convention was a three day orgy of lies, half-truths, and baseless bombast.

Why be such sycophants? It disgraces the profession of journalism and your network to be so willfully blind to reality. Americans are counting on you to represent truth, NOT give equal time to arguments you know are false or hypocritical.

Perhaps you or some of the other posters on here can straighten out the bank account stuff.

We have a personal residence that we are getting ready to sell and we have owned it for a while. We will have a $300,000.00 gain on this. Presently there is Zero, No Tax on up to $500,000.00 for married folks filing jointly on the profit from the sale of a personal residence.
Obama’s plan is 28% Capital Gains tax, now the way I see this is Obama is going to cost me, a hard working person and average American, Obama is going to cost me $84,000 on the sale of a personal residence and this is money that I was counting on for retirement income.
Explain to me why any one would vote for Obama based on this alone, not to mention the many other issues such as Corruption,lack of experience and crazy preachers

usa ,love it or leave it! ever hear that one?

you go mr. obama , raise taxes on big business and rich people as much as possible.... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what is obviously needed are government applied profitability margins.

there needs to be a cap on profitability and taxation needs to be on a sliding scale with it, ie; your profits go way up ,so do your taxes.

something making a profit of 1000% or so surely needs a large tax applied , ALL hard working taxpaying americans deserve part of that windfall ,as taxes to support this country and its great needs ,whether it be bridges that dont fall down ,proper emergency relief plans or shelters for unwed mothers (all of the above being very important in my opinion).

this simple measure would only apply to corporate profits ,and would go a long way to ensuring overall tax fairness in the market place.

again, anyone who did not like this profitability tax would be completely free to move their business (and themsleves) to russia or france or india or where ever and see how that works.

please note that the practice or moving jobs to other countries to enhance profits while living in the usa and keeping the tax base of the business in this country is HIGHLY IMMORAL and contributes in large part to the tax shortages the government is feeling.

president obama should require all companies having more than %30 of their employees outside the usa to move their profit sucking businesses out of the usa . then he should use the taxes and tariffs he should put in place on those same ,(now international) businesses to re invigorate the sector(s) they left here in the usa , and by giving usa businesses REAL incentives to grow MORALLY AND ETHICALLY, the usa economy would eventually end up ruining the overseas competition and their money grubbing profitability charts.

its simple really. this country needs revenue to run to provide services so that each of us can live and profit (some more than others evidently)
that is why, when we work or run a business we are taxed for wages and profits.

one problem that arises is that there are some deep imbalances in this country as far as wages (and wages for profit) are concerned ,geographically, demographically ,and job quality wise as well.

so you might live somewhere where the avg wage is $50 an hr for dog catcher ,and i live somewhere where the avg wage is $20 for dog catcher.

so maybe your dogcatcher make more than mine ,and he pay more taxes than my dogcatcher...that sounds pretty fair to me. maybe there is an economic slowdown in my area due to layoffs at some big factory , and jobs are hard to find. maybe things are great and the economy is wonderful...

WE ARE ALL AMERICANS AND JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE DOING GREAT JUST BEING WHERE YOU ARE IS NO REASON TO FORGET ABOUT OTHERS WHO ARE STRUGGLING IN PLACES NOT DOING AS WELL. WHEN KATRINA STRUCK NEW ORLEANS ,IN ANY EMERGENCY OR TIME OF NEED ALL AMERICANS SHOULD WORK FOR EACH OTHER. THE REALLY RICH DONT CARE ABOUT ANYTHING BUT THEMSELVES ,IN LARGE PART ANYWAY.

I KNOW LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO WORK 50 HRS A WEEK AND ARE BARELY MAKING IT,NOW WHO IS LAZY ? WHEN ANYONE HAS TO WORK 50 HRS A WEEK AT ANYTHING JUST TO SURVIVE THERE IS A PROBLEM AND IT IS BECAUSE THE RICH ARE NOT PAYING ENOUGH $$ OVERALL TO KEEP THIS COUNTRY RUNNING THE WAY IT SHOULD BE.

THIS COUNTRY NEEDS MONEY TO RUN AND IT SHOULD OBVIOUSLY COME FROM THE PEOPLE WHO BENEFIT THE MOST!

I DONT CARE IF THE TOP RATE IS 95% , MAKE IT SO IF THAT IS WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR THE MAJORITY.

THE MAJORITY SHOULD RULE! THIS IS A DEMOCRACY RULED BY THE RICH! THE RICH ARE A MINORITY!

people that complain about paying out too much in taxes always have 1 thing in common...greed.

if you feel you are taxed too much in the usa,now or in the future please leave and go "work" somewhere else ,see how that works out.

Good for Palin, we need some books banned and public giveaways shut down.
were you commending or whining?

As John Playfair said 150 years ago, ALL TAXES ARE ULTIMATELY PAID FOR BY THE POOR. It doesn't take a genius to understand that - just a thinker.

Obama will promise anything to anybody yet, there's no way he can pay for his promises according to his tax plan. There isn't nearly as much money to be had by taxing higher earners. What will really happen is more along the lines of what Pelosi suggested -- tax social security income, 401K income and everything else that moves at higher 'special' rates that Obama fails to mention.

Be scared - this won't just tax the rich! It can't!

Palin is reported to have attempted to ban certain books from libraries while mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.
Palin attends a church where speakers charge that violence against Israelis is divine punishment for the failure of Jews to accept Jesus, just two weeks ago.
Palin's also used her line-item veto as Governor to slash funding for an Alaska shelter that serves teen mothers.

go figure

ok here it is in 3rd grade math so you all can get this...

100 people taxed

A= 95 people making $100
B= 5 people making $1000

95 @ 25% rate = 95 x $25 = $2475

5 @ 50% rate = 5 x 500 = $2500

so the A people do pay overall a TINY bit less than B ,but here is the most important point...after their $100 is taxed they only have $75 left over.

now after taxes are applied to the B sectors $1000 they will have $500 left over.

this begs the question(s) , how easy should one group have it ,while the other group struggles just to go on daily ? is one group worth less to this country than the other?

after 10 years of saving 10% of the leftover , a person in the A group has saved $75 ,where a person in the B group would have saved $500.(not too mention how much harder it would be for the A group people to save any money at all at such a low pay rate.)

so who should be complaining about being over taxed ? the workers that do the day to day grunt low pay jobs that keep this system running or the money grubbers/takers who take full monetary advantage of their situations ,ie; live the good life, have plenty ,own so many homes they cant remember how many etc...but dont pay in or contribute much ,percentage wise.

pretty simple eh? the thing that bothers me most though is a system where it is acceptable that 95% of the people are basically have nots...

thats EXACTLY why there MUST BE tax reform ,NOW.

The Brookings Institution and Urban Institute are each left leaning liberal biased organizations. Why not throw in some facts from the Heritage Foundation just to balance the discussion.

For all the people complaining that these corporate taxes shouldn't be counted in determining what percentage are getting a tax cut, ask yourself, who pays when corporate taxes are increased? The corporations pass the cost on to you. What do you think is going to happen.
Only one country in the industrialized world has higher corporate taxes than the United States. Do the Democrats really think that is something to be proud of?

Life's losers are the ones who want to get the 'rich'. Maybe work a little longer and work a little harder and learn how the government helps the taxpayer.

DL,

McCain's numbers don't add up, but Obama's do? Do you honestly think returning tax rates to pre-Bush levels can pay for the all the new entitlement spending Obama is proposing? He is proposing close to a trillion dollars in new spending. His tax increases can't cover that.
And when corporate taxes are raised, who do you think pays fof that? The corporations pass it off to the consumer.
Obama is planning on raising taxes on virtually everything. The concept of letting Americans keep their money they earned to spend on things they choose is lost on him, and everyone else who supports his myriad of tax increases.

It is absolutely amazing that there are actually people who believe the rich are not paying their fair share and that they need to give more back to their country. The top 1% of tax payers pay more than the rest combined. The top 10% pay almost everything. If that is not their fair share, then what exactly is?
The Obama plan is nothing more than a plan to buy votes by taking money from the people who earned it and giving it away to the people who didn't. It is absolutely amazing that people on here are arguing that the government should take more and more money away from the people who earned it. So much for economic freedom.

RC and Lawrence, please stay on topic, if you daily kos kiddies can't do this , then just leave, and let the grownups decide this election.

Obama and the Democrats are going to tax you poor suckers like you have never seen before. High gas and food prices are just the opening shot of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid's Democrat congress.

ABC has decided to turn into fox news!

The board of disney is now all republican!

The are not a news channel and walt would turn in his ice box over the disgrace they have made of a once trusted name.

If you have 4 kids we will give you"this much' back in taxes, If you buy a house we will give "this much" back in taxes, if you buy insurance we will give you this.....all this simply means that if one adheres to what the Government deems suitable then they will let you keep some of your earned money and in some cases give you someone elses earned money. We all need to pay a fair share but if some us get some back someone else has to pay. Simply raising it on business will insure that as we buy from this business that their products will become more expensive and it is we who will pay in the long run. There is a solution and that is a consumption only tax or a flat tax.

Sure Lawrence, as soon as Mr. Empty Rhetoric and the other random guy nobody cares about get impeached. Go Nader!

Obama can't possibly pay for all his new handouts, balance the budget, and give the middle class a tax cut. He's just trying to buy votes.

Uh..let me see, when a person retires, adn their retirement is in a 401k or a 403b or just a simple IRA.. adn Obama want raise the divendend and capital gains taxes. we people living on a fixed retirement will not be taxed? A raise in the capital gains taxes, and dividend taxes, as Obama proposes, HITS EVERYONE, no matter what thier age or income level and stifles investment in America..Sorry Jake u ain't pulling the wool over my eyes, I'm retireing soon and Obama and Pelosi are about to put a contract out on seniors in AMerica....s

B.Marks...i personally would like to see the "documented " taxation evidence to which you refer...sounds like bs to me.

how can 5% -10% of the taxed populace outpay the other 90%-95%? the answer is : they cant and dont...its just not possible ,not in the real world but i guess in B.Marks make believe world anything goes...

Is it possible to impeach a presidential candidate?..

can we just get McSame/Pain out of the way now and spare the American people any further embarassment from their campaign?

GOP, trying hide from all economic/ war SS and environment failures and like a parrot saying what McSame did 40 years ago! Since then he is as corrupt Politician as any other! If War Hero is the only thing needed to run this country, why McSame lost to Bush ( run by Chaney) in 2000 and Kerry in 2004?

America cannot live on McSame's Biography, she needs to write her own Biography for future generation!!

NO MORE 4 YEARS OF BUSH/MCSAME! SO HELP US GOD!!

OBAMA08!! YES WE CAN!!

One point that has been consistently missing from the reporting of Sen. Obama's tax proposals is that a large if not overwhelming amount of the "middle class tax relief" is in the form of refundable tax credits to people who have modest to no tax liability. In short it is a Euro style income redistribution initiative.

Such bodes ill for the body politic. It is documented that the highest reaches of the income scale are paying the lion's share of the income taxes currently. It interesting to note that over the years each round of income tax proposals removes more people from the income tax rolls. Can be suggested we are on our way to a point where only a minority of the population pays Federal Income tax?

some easy to use suggestions for the over taxed citizen...

anyone paying too much in taxes has 2 (or 3) very easy means to alleviate that problem.

a) "work" (thats a dichotomy if there ever was one, ie; a rich person actually working...) less = make less money = pay less taxes

now i realize that scenario might mean less country club memberships and less 2 month vacations ,less houses etc, but it WILL mean less taxes paid out on 4/15. problem solved ,right?

alternatively i present option B.

b) give away more $$ to responsible charities = better world = pay less taxes

plan b would be my choice i think ,but there is always plan c....

MOVE TO VENEZUELA!!! GO GO GO!!!

@Jake, others:

I think there are two points this post urges worth making: Of course politicians take complex matters and distill them into appetizing talking points; and, dissecting those talking points is a slippery slope, especially if it's done selectively.

In this case, Obama's grand "untruth" is but a molehill compared to the up-is-down mountain of untruth on the McCain side. Look no furhter than the commenters who misread the issue of taxing small business. (Those individuals who claim 250K and up as income from small biz, mostly sole proprietorships, account for less than 2 percent of the econonomy and rank dead last in benefits to the economy as a whole, or individual market segments; these are simply individuals who are making a lot but giving back little in the ways of job creation, etc.)

The thrust is simply that by Jake's exposure of this utterly minor discrepancy -- the difference being around 10 percent in overall tax breaks with the loophole caveat -- only reveals what is, in the words of Joe Biden, what is NOT being said by the other side.

And Jake? I hope you apply this same rigor to any of McCain's or Palin's statements. Then again, they don't think it's about the issues, do they?

Oh, and by the way Mike, unions are worthless too.

Angie, if you think Obama is going to lower taxes for the middle class, you're as naive as every other hard-core liberal in this election. Ultimately it's Congress that makes that decision and controls the state of the economy.

I am so sick of people calling John McCain a war hero. He surrendered and was captured by the enemy!! Not the kind of hero I want leading this great land. My Dad was a real war hero. Fought in WWII, saw combat. Earned the silver star and a purple heart. He would have died fighting for his country. McCain will lead with the same cowardly spirit he showed surrendering to the Vietnamese.

Obama will lower taxes for the middleclass mccain will lower taxes for the wealthy obama is change and fairness mccain is the same as bush!

Mr Obama Adopted his tax proposal After
the German post war economy economy changes.

It might of worked with Germany in 1945 and the conditions of the times. Today is another time and place. I think he is just using it, to have something to say to gain votes.

"Along with currency reform and decontrol of prices, the government also cut tax rates. "Military Government Law No. 64 cut a wide swath across the German tax system at the time of the currency reform." The corporate income tax rate, which had ranged from 35 percent to 65 percent, was made a flat 50 percent. Although the top rate on individual income remained at 95 percent, it applied only to income above the level of DM250,000 annually. In 1946, by contrast, the Allies had taxed all income above 60,000 reichs marks (which translated into about DM6,000) at 95 percent. For the median-income German in 1950, with an annual income of a little less than DM2,400, the marginal tax rate was 18 percent. That same person, had he earned the reichs mark equivalent in 1948, would have been in an 85 percent tax bracket."

In a book and history it might look good, to many different variables and differences from then until now.

It seems Obama is So attracted to Germany,Adopting and Using Hitler campaign tactics and practices. Now the tax refrom and economy.

Will Mr Obama's Mind manipulation win over Americans Common Sense.

All of you can relate to the German people, they did not know what came over them, the process was smooth and transformed their minds.

Obama is a left wing liberal-tax and
spend -big government candidate.....

Americans never voted for left wing
liberals.....
Obama will be a toast in november...,

McCAIN/PALIN '08

Read this interesting article "Decoding Obama's claim McCain would deny tax relief" in yahoo finance or CNN Money

If McCain gets elected most of us won't have jobs or houses so there is no comparison. The Republicans have no interest in helping middle class people. They are against everything the middle class needs...anti-union, anti-equal pay for women, anti-keeping jobs in the USA. They just tell them lies, use them to get elected, then completely ignore them. We've seen this over the last 8 years and we'll see it again if we elect McCain.

Okay, how about my scenerio. We make under 250K a year, but we just inheritated money which will throw off dividends and be subject to the capital gains tax rate. So if Obama wants to raise CG taxes, then my household under the limit of 250, will in fact, see a tax increase. Correct? I wonder how many other families like mine are out there. How many retired elderly folks?

As usual, Obama stretches the truth--just as he has his resume & background!!
Under his plan the middle class will be rresponsible for the poor and the poor
reap the working classes earned wages. SSocialism at work!!!!

Rodney, Obama's tax cut does not even cover my Car Gas.

with
($60 a week) X (4 weeks a month )X (
12 months in a year) = $2880 expense

So,I think Obama will have to go to China. At least McCain/Palin is talking about drilling.

Please. Obama is a joke. I'm tired of the same stupid crap coming out of his mouth. I'm tired of how Bush is blamed for every single issue in the world, and I'm an independent! If you ask me, as a member of Congress, Obama is just as much to blame for the state of the economy as Bush. If he didn't like the budget or the fiscal policies, work to change them! I guess Obama doesn't know the concept of that word after all...

YOU SEE GANG IF MCCAIN FAVORS THE WORKING STIFF HE WOULD BE CUTTING OFF THE BIG BUSINESS HAND THAT IS FEEDING HIM-------I DONT THINK HE IS THAT STUPID-----BUT HE WILL TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT TO HEAR DELIVERING WILL BE A DIFFERENT MATTER

MCCAIN IS NO FAKE THE LAST 8 YEARS WILL CONTINUE IF HE GETS IN---ASK BUSH HIS FRIEND.

Obama is very fake. He has fooled more people in less time than anyone has before him.

DOES ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND BELIEVE THAT A ROCK SOLID BIG BUSINESS REPUB---IS GOING TO HAVE YOUR INTEREST IN MIND---I WILL ASSURE THAT IS NOT THE CASE ----ASK BUSH ABOUT HIS FRIEND VOTING ALONG WITH HIM 95% OF THE TIME----MORE OF THE SAME YOU CAN BELIEVE IN----REMEMBER TODAY WE ARE ALL GEORGIANS TODAY BOMB BOMB IRAN---100 YEAR WAR---DIE IN IRAQ TE PROVIDE OIL FOR CHINA---THE COUNTRY DESTROYING US ECONOMICALY.
HAVE A BALL DUMMIES.

PS - under my plan, NOBODY can dispute that the bottom 95% of wage-earners would be helped!

REPUB---DEFINITION OF TAX CUT OR RELIEF------BORROW THE MONEY FROM CHINA AND WE PAY IT BACK WITH INTEREST---THAT IS REPUB RELIEF YOU CAN BELIEVE IN.THE MONEY YOU GOT THIS SUMMER --WILL BE PAID BACK TO CHINA WITH INTEREST

mccain is against obama tax cut----you see he is above that 250 thousand income --along with the rest of his crony friends-----down with the old (geser) up with the new .
go obama the peoples friend.

Obama and his marketing team have been fooling the country for months. I am so glad that Palin has joined MCain to point out Obama's poor judgment and arrogant presumptuousness.

Palin and McCain are the real deal. They are the change that Obama pretends to be.

"Some people like Obama use change to further their carrier, but McCain uses his carrier to make change."

A democrat who is proudly voting for Palin/McCain 08

Obama has no plan to give tax break. He will give breaks to free-loaders at the expense of hard-working folks. Obama's line of rich/middle class always changing. The line will eventually end up somewhere around a family income of $100000. If he wins, we will go back to the days of Carter-Mondale. If you think economy is bad now, just wait for Obama to take over. You ain't seen nothing yet.

Jake has been drinking to much of that Republican Kool-Aid, and it has affected his biased reporting!

The Head line should have read "Obama's Middle Class Tax Cut"!

Lay of the kool-aid Jack!

You see this is great news for America that Democrats will really help the poor and the middle class, but the way you write it, you make it seems as bad.

So, I guess you need to take responsibility of what is your personal agenda and how you are trying to influence your readers.

Bias information hurts people.

everyone comes up with their own fairy tales of why right wing economic dogma works. explain narrow small things, and miss the big macroeconomic trends altogether. let's just forget and explain away clinton's 8 straight years of stable growth and prosperity and spend even more time explaining why 8 years of screw-ups. take great pains to punk people to believe w is super duper after he was left 1 trillion surplus and now we're left with a 1 trillion deficit, and for what did we get in return. you fill in those blanks. eod, na-freaking-da. but we do now have on record a total 2 trillion swing into a deep red hole that the rest of us have to pay off, which we can't afford to now nor your kids either.

wrt business environment, fact of matter is, clinton-era macroeconomics was solid and thus businesses thrived in this country. so quick we forget and dismiss what worked.

w's two rounds of tax cuts have done what. flat wages for 6 years. 30% drop in dollar as we use it like free complimentary iou toiletry monopoly money for imported goods we can't pay back by trading our own innovation, goods and services, avg hh income drops $2,000 after rising $7,500 under clinton so almost net $10,000 cut of income. record 6.1%, after 8 straight months of job loss, affecting all sectors of economy now.

obama's tax cuts would be paid for simply by raising the tax rate of the top 0.1% ($2.8 million or more) by 5%. the rich have saved and invested overseas for higher return. not rich cuz they spend are they. that's also why labor productivity has gone up with gone up yet labor wages have been stuck at zero.

enough excuses for the past 8 years of failure. no more fairy tales promising things that are never delivered. cut the crap.

enough already.

sam and ilk - yall are wrong. obama's plan actually even doubles the tax cuts for 60% of americans. the only ones that get w's cuts rolled back are the top 5%.

It’s sad to see McCain’s folks voting against their own economic interest, taking his word at face value when it’s a direct lie. Unless McCain’s supporters are just top 5% of income earners. But they’re about half the country. And you can see below that squarely half the country is actually just left out of McCain’s tax relief, getting less than a measly 1% tax cut.

The obvious facts of the matter are McCain’s tax plan is way lop-sided versus Obama’s

And even that doesn’t bring it back to pre-W/Clinton-era rates for the rich, when there was kick-ass growth. So don’t worry, the rich are still pretty rich. Just not dirty rich at the expense the rest of the country gets poorer. Consider that 75% of all income gains during the Bush Administration have gone to the top 1 percent of earners. Another decade perpetuating this kind of distorted rewarding of the pie, we’d have a real class revolt on our hands.

End of day, Obama’s plan is mainstream and prudent, though not a slogan-friendly, economic policy.

Your whole argument is based on the premise that he
is a man of his word. In that respect he has shown he is
far from it. (Debates, public financing, personal attacks)

He may cut some taxes, buy he will implement large
increases in fuel and electricity taxes. Driving the cost of
food and all other items way up. Inflation will soar and
jobs will dry up even worst then they have under the 2006
Democrat Congress. Their minimum wage increase
hurt not only small business, but young workers and
unionized business badly.

Those costs will negate ANY tax benefit, and actually be
a net TAX increase. Remember, BHO said he didn't have a
problem with the high cost of fuel, he just didn't like
how fast it rose!

When you see a line on your electric bill that reads:
10% - UN Global Warming FUND,
you will regret the day you ever HEARD of Barack
Hussein Obama, Nancy Piglosi, or Corrupt Reid!

McCain/Palin 08

Sam - Very quickly and simply, yes, McCain will keep the tax cuts and also increase them- the tax cuts to the very top tier of earners. Given the current state of economy, most Americans don't want a facsimile of the Bush economics.