McCain: Obama Will Raise Taxes On Everybody
John McCain will be opening up a new line of attack against Barack Obama this morning, calling him a tax-hiker in a speech to the National Small Business Summit in Washington.
"Under Senator Obama's tax plan, Americans of every background would see their taxes rise - seniors, parents, small business owners, and just about everyone who has even a modest investment in the market," McCain will say, according to pre-released excerpts.
"He proposes to eliminate the Social Security earnings cap, and thereby to increase the tax on employers. He proposes to eliminate the secret ballot for union votes, and to raise the minimum wage and then index it, which is a sure way to add to your costs and to slow the creation of new jobs. You work hard in small businesses to grow and to create new jobs and opportunities for others -- and the federal government shouldn't make your work any harder."
Hahahahahahah after this press conference McCain said...
"I hafta go now. I poopied my pants."
Seriously....fear tactics are not going to work this election.
And if America should be afraid of anything, it should be of the thought of looking at that nightmare McCain for the next four years. Yuck.
June 10, 2008 8:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
The crazy thing that nobody's pointing out: The republicans are spending *more* than any democrat *ever*. They're just not taxing to pay for it. Instead, they're taking out massive loans from other countries, the equivalent of stealing your credit card and racking up a huge bill. This is worse than taxing and spending, since when the bills for these bonds come due they're going to be higher than if they were paid up front with tax revenue. How can a party that lowers taxes during "wartime" be allowed to call themselves fiscally responsible?
The press are damned irresponsible idiots for failing to drive this point home. It's a complete urban legend that republicans are fiscally responsible in any way whatsoever.
June 10, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is the best he's got? Obama is a 'tax and spend' Democrat? Really? Really?
Oh, Johnny, you're going to have to do better than that. Please, stop wasting our time.
June 10, 2008 9:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Aren't you going to do any mythbusting on that Eric?
June 10, 2008 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Myth Busting requires that something be mythical...these are things Obama has proposed. You can't complain about being called a tax and spend liberal if you say you'll raise taxes, spend more and impliment liberal political programs...
June 10, 2008 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Spend more than who? More than what McCain is proposing adding to the debt? More than what we are spending on the war?
June 10, 2008 9:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
all I'm saying is if you propose raising taxes and increasing spending don't cry when you are labled tax and spend...
June 10, 2008 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
So what is Bush/McCain policy then? Borrow and Spend?
June 10, 2008 11:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Dem == Tax & Spend
Rep == Borrow & Spend
Investment bankers (and the Chinese) like B&S better 'cuz they get their pockets lined with all the finance charges taxpayers are saddled with. And Rep ideologues like those interest payments 'cuz it's that much less money available for wasting on Big Gov't domestic spending.
Ever wonder why almost all bankers are Democrats? ;-)
June 10, 2008 2:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Better than Cheney/Bush the (hidden) tax and spend Criminals.
June 10, 2008 10:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
What a novel idea!
It's downright mavericky!
Who would've ever thought to call a Democrat a tax-and-spender?!?!
This is the political equivalent of "Take my wife. ... Please!"
June 10, 2008 9:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
He must be ticked that Hamas condemned Obama. Now he's gotta start making smears based loosely on actual issues.
June 10, 2008 9:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is just typical dishonest politics and if McCain keeps this up he is going to be in for a rude awakening.
He is taking one part of Obama's plan that does call for a tax increase on capital gains but then doesn't take into account Obama's middle class tax cut which would more than offset that increase for the average person with a little 401K type investments.
I also think that average American's are getting tired of hearing about Wall Street as the only real barometer for the economy. We have watched the market grow year after year recently with very little "trickling" down to the rest of us and talking about the economy only in those terms isn't going to help John McCain. But fortunately for us, he has surrounded himself with Market 1st, 2nd & 3rd advisers so he will keep at this argument because they don't know another one.
June 10, 2008 9:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Americans don't pay capital gains taxes on securities in 401K plans or pension plans, or IRA Accounts.
June 10, 2008 10:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the correction!
June 10, 2008 11:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Speaking of dishonest:
Q: Senator Obama, would you take the same pledge? No tax increases on people under $250,000?
OBAMA: I not only have pledged not to raise their taxes, I've been the first candidate in this race to specifically say I would cut their taxes. We are going to offset the payroll tax, the most regressive of our taxes, so that families who are middle-income individuals making $75,000 a year or less, that they would get a tax break so that families would see up to $1,000 worth of relief.
Unless of course he impliments his 13% capital gains tax increase...then pretend he never said it.
June 10, 2008 10:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
How about this, I pay more in total taxes across all of my federal, state, & local taxes than I did before Bush's tax cuts but they have just shifted in who I pay them to. So instead of looking at each individual tax and manipulating the public we need to talk about the total tax burden on these people so that we can talk honestly about how these taxes affect our lives.
June 10, 2008 11:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
He's the one who said:"I not only have pledged not to raise their taxes, I've been the first candidate in this race to specifically say I would cut their taxes. " Then proposed 13% hike in capital gains. Oh and before you call me an idiot again this quote's about household incomes between $200,000 and $250,000.
June 10, 2008 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh yeah, I'm sure that families making less than $75k a year have HUGE amounts of investment income outside of retirement account and $1000+ capital gains taxes due each year! All that extra cash floating around to invest. Never mind you don't pay taxes in a 401(k) or IRA.
Oh and btw, did I mention you're a total idiot? Republicans spent all their "fiscal responsibility" credit over the last 8 years and then some. But how are your McCain bonus points adding up? I bet you're looking forward to that McCain bobble-head doll? At least the doll has some credibility on economic issues - You can ask it questions.
"Do you think tax cuts are always good?"
McCain bobble-head doll nods.
June 10, 2008 11:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
A total idiot?...or just a partial one?
June 10, 2008 2:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Meanwhile, Obama is trading at nearly twice what McCain is trading at Intrade Prediction Markets. Obama - 63+, McCain - 34.
Eric, Greg, are we going to get the Intrade window back on the site?
June 10, 2008 9:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, now this is a mcbush story that should be on tpm. It sure would get the angry clinton voters on board with obama. Look at how mcbush treated his first wife. Not alot of press on this one. How about a post tpm? The clintons are old news, why not help the dems beat mcbush?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html
June 10, 2008 9:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
When did Obama EVER suggest eliminating a secret ballot in union elections? That is a Republican proposal.
June 10, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama backs what's called the "Employee Free Choice Act," it would eliminate the second step (the secret one) in the unionizing process. Right now in order to unionize workers must get a "card check" that's where they walk around and get others to sign off that they want to unionize. Then there is a secret ballot of the workers. What happens alot of time is people not wanting to upset fellow workers will sign the intent cards then vote to stay nonunion in the secret ballot. Obama wants to remove the secret ballot step, which could lead to workers being "intimidated" into signing cards. The only way to prevent it is by keeping the secret ballot process before unionization.
June 10, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
BOYCOTT TPM THREADS UNTIL THEY GET THE MESSAGE THAT SENATOR OBAMA WON THE NOMINATION.
June 10, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
McCain's playbook is so old and tired. I almost feel bad for him. Almost. Can somebody please give the man some Crest White Strips? I'd vote against him simply because I can't stand the thought of looking at those yellow, crooked teeth for the next four years. Let alone listening to that whiny, nasaly voice. The words "my friends" would haunt my dreams!
June 10, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
BOYCOTT TPM THREADS UNTIL THEY GET THE MESSAGE THAT SENATOR OBAMA WON THE NOMINATION.
June 10, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Dear Mr. MCain
1. Obama is offering every working family a $1,000 dollar tax credit
2. Obama is offering to reduce the income tax for seniors making less than 50,000 a year.
June 10, 2008 10:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
...and he's getting the money from?
June 10, 2008 10:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
Probably from eliminating the ridiculous tax cuts granted to the richest in the country. You know, the ones McCain was against before he was for.
June 10, 2008 10:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama can finance these tax cuts by making huge savings on unnecessary on Federal spending like the monumental war bill (which runs into billions of $$$),as well as tax gains from Oil conglomerates. At the same his policy of green energy would pay dividends as far as renewable energy benefits are concerned.
June 10, 2008 11:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
News Flash...Who pays the tax bill for big oil? Remember word problems from you Middle School math class? Exxon is scheduled to make $1,000,000,000 in profit this year. Obama says he wants to lower what you pay in tax and charge the greedy oil company for it to be more fair. He taxes Exxon for the price of your tax cut plus administrative costs. Exxon is gonna get theirs so they raise their prices to cover Obama's tax + his administrative costs + their administrative costs. How much money did you save?
June 10, 2008 2:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
"At the same (time) his policy of green energy would pay dividends as far as renewable energy benefits are concerned."
What does that even mean? That's the kind of empty statement that gives Chris Matthews that tingly feeling up and down his legs and means absolutely nothing.
June 10, 2008 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe he is getting the money from the same place Republicans get the money to pay for their wars and their cuts to the tax on incomes over one million dollars.
June 10, 2008 12:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
i am listening to McCain's speech and there was no beef at all, no specifics at all.
June 10, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Even worse, he's going to raise taxes on bottled hot water that is delivered to dehydrated babies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DqR7zis99I
June 10, 2008 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
I like how he mentioned a minimum wage increase as a tax increase. Yeah, if you make more money, you'll pay more taxes!
(although in fact with the Earned Income credit, Low wage earners pay negative taxes, so the money they get back from the IRS would go up)
June 10, 2008 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm interested in seeing some statistics on what percentage of small businesses employ people who get paid above the social security cap, because if it's not a significant number, and I suspect that is the case, then his argument that lifting the cap hurts small businesses by making them pay more in social security taxes is bunk.
June 10, 2008 10:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
When you break down what these Republicans say, it's almost always bunk. Same occurred in 2004, when Bush/Cheney were
endlessly repeating that Kerry would raise taxes on the middle class and small businesses. We see it every time the minimum wage comes up, we see it in the Estate Tax. The Republicans twist facts and use bogus talking points and hollow slogans. That don't resist scrutiny. Unfortunately, most people and the media don't do the scrutiny. Likewise for the Employee Free Choice Act. There's a reason every Democrat and every union is in favor of it. There's a reason every Republican and the Chamber of Commerce opposes it, SFCWallace's comments notwithstanding.
June 10, 2008 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
My friends, blah blah blah blah, taxes, blah blah blah blah terrorism, blah blah blah blah, liberal, blah blah blah.
Same old shit and it won't work anymore.
It's about as relevant as calling Obama soft on the Soviet Union.
June 10, 2008 11:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
No rebuttal?
June 10, 2008 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm trying to decide if Reagan's "there you go again" would be a good response to this, or just a look of disbelief and "that all you've got?" would be better...
June 10, 2008 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink