In Our Interest
Here's what I'd most like to see from the news media, or from any respected institution at all: A comparison of Barack Obama's and John McCain's proposals on the economy/taxes, health care, education, the environment, and foreign policy. If you know of a good source for such a comparison, please link to it in the comments. (Update: Here's one comparison, of the two candidates' tax policies, from the Tax Policy Center.)
I've been interested in getting such info for a while, but a comment by someone I know over the weekend made me even more interested in getting it. This person said, "when you're a small business owner, you don't vote to raise taxes" in reply to my question about whether he knew for whom he'd be voting in November. I knew from his preceding comment, that he was at the opposite end of the political spectrum from me (though I'm not sure he really knows how close I am to the middle :-), that he meant he'd be voting for McCain. But the tax comment puzzled me, because he apparently meant that he was voting his business interests, I wasn't sure that he really *was* voting in his best interests as a small business owner.
It's obvious to me after the last eight years of the Bush administration, and the four and eight years of the Bush I and Reagan administrations before that, that Republicans are for BIG business. But are they for small business? Or do they tout less regulation and lower taxes, while actually making government bigger and more invasive? The latter is my impression, but I'd like some hard facts. Bring on the policy comparisons, please: Help us figure out what's really in our best interests. It certainly isn't Sideshow Politics about pigs and lipstick.
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Comments (3)
Thanks, I was so happy to find there's at least someone else out there interested in the issues (you, not your friend).
Another way of looking at what your friend said is that he/she is voting for the present moment (economy-wise). They want instant gratification: another five dollars off their tax bill NOW. The fact that this leads to disastrous consequences in the future means nothing to them, they want their lollypop now. These people love the Bush approach because they get checks in the mail. They don't really care that their grandkids will have to pay that borrowed money back, with interest, at the cost of their dreams, means nothing to them.
They're two years old.
Posted by norm | September 12, 2008 12:12 PM
Posted on September 12, 2008 12:12
To be fair, it looks like both the Obama and McCain plans would increase the national debt, and I wish Obama would talk more about that. I like Obama's plan to make the tax code more progressive -- I don't need a tax cut, and I'm perfectly willing to pay more because I earn more -- but when we talk about investing in the country with new spending programs, I wonder whether it wouldn't be a better investment to pay down our debt. That's what credit counselors will tell any individual: pay off your credit cards *first*. The interest you're paying on those is far more than any you could earn from a savings account, and even, in most cases, the stock market. On a national scale, paying down debt can boost the economy, and that benefits everyone.
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September 12, 2008 12:53 PM
Posted on September 12, 2008 12:53
Lori,
The Akron Beacon Journal ran a front page story on McCain and Obama's healthcare policies yesterday. Enjoy http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/health/28228894.html
Posted by Luke | September 12, 2008 11:37 PM
Posted on September 12, 2008 23:37