Obama’s European Tour

July 27, 2008 at 9:33 am (2008 Presidential Candidates)
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So Barack Obama went to Europe.  He had a huge crowd in Germany, reported at over 200,000 and he was warmly welcomed by Nicolas Sarkozy the pro American French President.

So the right wing pundits, in creating their echo chamber for the Sunday morning shows have a couple of talking points that they are hammering home, personally I think these things get refined and uploaded to their brain on Sunday at 4 AM.

Anyway, regarding Berlin they started by complaining that he isn’t president and hasn’t earned the right to speak at Brandenberg Gate with his work.  Which are supported by Chancellor Merkel’s comments about it as symbol of unity and foreign electioneering.  But now the focus is who cares about 200,000 Germans as they can’t vote.  They do forget that he has been able to draw huge crowds in the US, much larger than McCain, but that would take some wind out of their complaint/misdirection.

What I find more interesting is Sarkozy’s comments that seem to favor Obama over McCain.  As I asked yesterday in my question of day, I have a feeling that the right wing punditry in America is going to flip-flop and withdraw their support of Sarkozy because of his embrace of candidate Obama.

-Josh

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John McCain disses American families

July 27, 2008 at 8:35 am (2008 Presidential Candidates, Equal Rights, adoption)
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On This Week this morning, he came out for (because he can’t come out against gay adoption) two parent (traditional=man and woman vs same sex) adoption.

So to the well over 100,000 children who have been adopted by single parents, apparently your parent and your family doesn’t fit his world view of what is best, I think it is an insult.

Of course that doesn’t count the over 20,000 children a year that “age out” of the foster care system.  These are children that exit foster care without parents, they may not have a place to go for Thanksgiving or Christmas, may not have an adult to call and share their successes or have a sympathetic ear when they struggle, or someone to be there when on their wedding day or birth of their child.

Apparently he is no maverick on this issue.

-Josh

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Question of the Day - July 26, 2008

July 26, 2008 at 9:01 pm (2008 Presidential Candidates, Foreign Policy, Question of the Day)
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Now that Nicolas Sarkozy has warmly welcomed Barack Obama, will the right wing pundits turn on him?

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Would Obama increase taxes on those who make less than $250,000?

July 20, 2008 at 8:23 am (2008 Presidential Candidates, Economic policy)
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That is a claim he made in June and just thinking about the payroll tax had me wondering how he could manage that. In 2008, the payroll tax cap on Social Security is set at $102,000, so that any amount of earned income above that is not subject to the Social Security payroll tax.

So his statement that those whose income is under $250,000 won’t have an increase their payroll taxes can only be wrong. Maybe he is trying to say that he has other tax cuts that will offset the increases to the payroll tax, but I haven’t seen or heard that nuance.

Here is what Factcheck.org reports on his overall plan and those that will see increases:

Obama (June 12, 2008):”If you are a family making less than $250,000 a year, my plan will not raise your taxes. Period. Not income tax, not payroll tax, not capital gains tax, not any of your taxes. And chances are you will get a tax cut.”

The most comprehensive nonpartisan analysis of Obama’s tax proposal available is the Tax Policy Center’s comparison of McCain’s and Obama’s economic plans. That analysis mostly supports Obama’s claim that his plan won’t raise taxes, though it says that families earning between $169,480 and $237,040 would see an average tax increase of $486 under Obama’s plan. All those earning less than $169,480 would see tax cuts. In fact, that hypothetical taxpayer with the $32,000 in taxable income would get a $502 tax cut under Obama’s plan. McCain’s plan, by contrast, would leave that person’s taxes unchanged.

So the statement doesn’t hold up. But the analysis shows those earning less that about $170,000 will see cuts, yeah me. And the comparison of the person making $32,000 in taxable income, would only get a cut under Obama, none under McCain. That is a bit of difference in the candidates tax plans. You may want to recall what McCain said from the Senate floor regarding the 2001 tax cuts:

But I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief.

Apparently he has lost his direction as his plan changes NOTHING for that taxpayer with a taxable income of $32,000 while Obama’s has a tax cut for that same taxpayer.

-Josh

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Has McCain written off Wisconsin?

July 15, 2008 at 5:10 pm (2008 Presidential Candidates)
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No, I really don’t think he has, but Packer fans can be quite the rabid bunch, and this substitution may not go over well in Packer-land.

Asked what first comes to his mind when he thinks of Pittsburgh, McCain chuckled, “the Steelers.  I was a mediocre high school athlete but I loved and adored the sports but the Steelers really made a huge impression on me particularly in my early years.”

And then McCain told a rather moving story about his time as a P.O.W. “When I was first interrogated and really had to give some information because of the pressures, physical pressures on me, I named the starting lineup, defensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers as my squadron mates.”

“Did you really?” asked the reporter.

“Yes,” McCain said.

“In your POW camp?” asked the reporter.

“Yes,” McCain said.

“Could you do it today?” asked the reporter.

“No, unfortunately,” McCain said.

Here’s one reason he likely couldn’t do it today – the Steelers aren’t the team whose defensive line McCain named for his Vietnamese tormentors. The Green Bay Packers are. At least according to every previous time McCain has told this story. And the McCain campaign just told ABC News that the senator made a mistake — it was, indeed, the Packers.

Now the campaign came clean, but it sure sounds like pandering to Western Pennsylvania sports fans, he should thank god it wasn’t the Dallas Cowboys, then he would have lost Wisconsin for sure.  Maybe there are some Packer fans that will be disillusioned with his mistake.  And as my old roommate would say, Packer fans are all over the US, every state, maybe it could cost some votes in close states!

-Josh

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Great imagery in blasting John McCain’s economic credentials

July 10, 2008 at 10:14 pm (2008 Presidential Candidates, Economic policy)
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Besides Dean Baker’s blog Beat the Press, he also has a weekly summary called Meltdown Lowdown.  This weeks edition blasts John McCain’s plan to balance the budget.

John McCain would like to claim the legacy of the last popular Republican president, Ronald Reagan. He took a big step toward that goal on Monday when he explained his plans to balance the budget by 2013. Just like Reagan, Sen. McCain claims he can cut taxes, increase defense spending, and balance the budget. For his next trick, he will juggle 27 flaming bowling balls, while standing on one foot on the back of a charging bull, blindfolded.

Just thought I would share that imagery with you.  Go check out the rest of the Lowdown.

-Josh

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Question of the day - July 10, 2008

July 10, 2008 at 9:33 pm (2008 Presidential Candidates, Question of the Day)
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If Phil Gramm, national co-chair of the McCain campaign, doesn’t speak for McCain when he says we are in a “mental recession” and a “nation of whiners”, how is that Obama can’t disavow General Wesley Clark’s statements questioning McCain’s executive experience, when I can only see Clark referenced as a “surrogate” no official capacity with the campaign?

-Josh

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How does that saying go?

July 8, 2008 at 7:55 pm (2008 Presidential Candidates, Economic policy)
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I think it is, “Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

Well apparently the McCain campaign is not familiar with it, thanks to this gem,

“The McCain administration would reserve all savings from victory in the Iraq and Afghanistan operations in the fight against Islamic extremists for reducing the deficit. Since all their costs were financed with deficit spending, all their savings must go to deficit reduction.”

Most comments I have seen to this focus on the pro-war, pro-surge, aspect of McCain’s foreign policy efforts, not the much simpler, what did he just say?

How do you apply money that you would have borrowed to offset, the savings part, to reduce other money you are borrowing?

Lets say that your budget deficit for the year is going to be $500 and you add an additional (what is called supplemental funding these days) $100 to that deficit for the war, you have a total annual deficit of $600.  Now lets say you end that war, saving $100 from the deficit, that means you still have $500 in deficit for the year, and no additional funds to reduce that amount below $500 from ending the war.

Now a defender of McCain could make the argument that reducing the deficit will reduce the fiscal burden of interest payments, but that would be the case in any deficit reduction, not solely due to reduction in war costs, so I would not count that argument as explaining away the imaginary numbers he is playing with.

Thanks for opening up your mouth and proving without a doubt that you are fool on basic economics.

-Josh

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Tale of two politicians with tax issues

July 8, 2008 at 6:59 pm (2008 Presidential Candidates, Economic policy)
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Two months ago, we learned that Al Franken had not paid state income taxes in each of the states that he spoke in, rather he overpaid in his state of residence at the times.

The net result, Franken said, was that between 2003 and 2006, he overpaid taxes in New York and Minnesota while failing to pay in 17 other states where he earned income.

Franken said the $70,000 is his newly hired tax team’s estimation of taxes and penalties owed in the various states. Once those tax returns have been processed, he said he will be able to apply for a credit on taxes overpaid in New York and Minnesota.

In total Franken said he under paid taxes by just over $4,000.

He was short a bit, but it seems like the intent was there to meet his tax obligations.

Now Minnesota Republicans were a little unforgiving of Franken as reported in USA Today,

Party chairman Ron Carey said Franken’s business activities “must have a full, and complete public airing if he is to retain any credibility as a candidate for public office.”

In a conference call with reporters, Coleman called Franken’s admission troubling. “Paying taxes is an obligation that I think Minnesotans expect to be adhered to, and that Minnesotans do,” Coleman said.

Yet, when it is disclosed that Presidential candidate John McCain’s San Diego condo is 4 years delinquent on property tax payments, it is met with silence in most of the corporate media (although originally reported in Newsweek), and from Minnesota Republicans, as reported in Salon.

Shortly after NEWSWEEK inquired about the matter, the McCain aide e-mailed a receipt dated Friday, June 27, confirming payment by the trust to San Diego County in the amount of $6,744.42.

I agree with Salon’s analysis that the McCain’s were not trying to avoid paying their taxes, it was more an administrative mix up (sound like Franken’s situation). However, I haven’t heard Coleman comment about what we Minnesotan’s think of this delinquency.

What I really liked in Salon was this,

Exactly. I very much doubt that the McCains deliberately avoided their tax bill, but their defense is kind of awkward. In effect, their argument is, “We own so many properties, it’s hard to keep track of how much we owe to whom.” It’s not the kind of argument that screams, “Everyman.”

Moreover, embarrassing stories about McCain’s personal finances don’t exactly inspire confidence. It creates an interesting contrast — Barack Obama has no credit card debt and has set up college funds for his daughters; John McCain has a six-figure credit-card debt and hasn’t paid one of his property tax bills. Which of these candidates sounds like the fiscally responsible one?

Do we think that McCain is going to be a fiscally responsible budgeter-in-chief, since he has admitted (Media Matter’s summary of all his admissions) the economy is not his strength?

-Josh

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Question of the Day - July 5, 2008

July 5, 2008 at 8:38 am (2008 Presidential Candidates, Question of the Day)
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Will John McCain or Barack Obama commit to removing all US troops from Iraq if Iraqi’s exercise their right of self-rule and vote to end the occupation?

-Josh

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