Posted on 03/04/2008 10:02:12 AM PST by BGHater
Here are some proposals from the 2008 Presidential candidates for shoring up Americans' financial security
Americans of all income levels face some tricky times ahead when it comes to their personal finances. What steps would the men and women vying to be the next President take to help bolster your bottom line? Below, in alphabetical order, we lay out some of the stances the current candidates have taken on investing, saving, and other "pocketbook" issues.
Hillary Clinton
New York Senator Hillary Clinton would automatically sign up U.S. workers for 401(k)-like plans, which she would call American Retirement Accounts. The government would provide tax incentives to encourage more saving, matching the investment of low- and middle-income workers in those accounts.
As senator, she proposed a "New Savers Act" in August, 2007, with a number of low-cost ways to encourage saving. Ideas included savings accounts for children, an expansion of a saver's tax credit, and promotion of U.S. savings bonds. "Too many families are living paycheck to paycheck without saving for their futures, and too many Americans have not been brought into the financial mainstream," she has said.
On Social Security, Clinton opposed the Bush Administration's reform proposal. To solve Social Security's long-term financial problems, Clinton supports "fiscal responsibility" and a bipartisan commission to study the issue. But she suggests she would resist cuts to benefits. "I am not going to balance Social Security on the backs of seniors and hardworking middle-class Americans," she said in October.
Mike Huckabee
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee supports the "FairTax," a proposal to replace income taxes and most other taxes with a sales tax of 23%. Among the advantages, Huckabee argues, is that Americans would be taxed on what they spend, not on what they save or the interest on savings. That would encourage more investing, he says.
On Social Security, Huckabee has said "The President needs to sit down with members of Congress and agree that we've got this incredible train wreck coming, and talk about how we can empower individuals, not through privatization, but through personalization."
"The answer is that we find ways in which people have a greater level of control on projecting their future," he told the Des Moines Register editorial board last year.
Huckabee says he favors efforts to increase financial literacy. "There should be a public-private partnership to help bring financial literacy to communities across America, to give people the opportunity to understand about investing," he said at a candidates forum in October.
John McCain
So far, Arizona Senator John McCain hasn't spelled out a position on proposals to help Americans save more, such as automatic saving or expanded tax credits.
On Social Security, McCain has sent mixed messages. His Web site says he supports "supplementing the current Social Security system with personal accounts." That suggests he is sidestepping the debate over President Bush's plans to replace much of the current Social Security system with private accounts, a measure Democrats said would undermine and "privatize" the retirement benefit. However, McCain recently told the Wall Street Journal he supports Bush's plan and disavowed the Web site's statement.
On taxes, McCain is clear. He would leave in place the Bush Administration's tax cuts, two of which directly affect investors--the lowered rates on stock dividends and capital gains. "Low taxes on dividends and capital gains promoting saving, channel investment dollars to innovative, high-value uses and not wasteful financial planning," McCain says in his proposal.
Although he opposed some of the tax cuts passed by Republicans during the Bush Administration, he now says he will oppose Democrats' efforts to let the cuts expire in 2010. McCain would also continue Bush's tax-cutting by lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate. Cutting corporations' taxes would make them better global competitors, he argues, and would also lead to higher wages.
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader only launched his campaign for the presidency on Feb. 24, and it's not clear how many state ballots the consumer advocate's name will appear on. But Nader, who also ran in 2000 and 2004, argues he brings financial issues to the table that Democrats and Republicans can't because they're dominated by corporations.
Nader's campaign Web site discusses "a Wall street securities speculation tax" and an "aggressive crackdown on corporate crime and corporate welfare." He favors cutting taxes on wages and instead taxing "pollution, stock speculation, addictive industries, and energy guzzling technologies." Nader also supports more union organizing, and giving workers a "living wage instead of a minimum wage."
Barack Obama
"As Wall Street has prospered, most Americans have been running in place because the deck has been stacked against them," Illinois Senator Barack Obama says in a TV ad that premiered shortly before the Mar. 4 primaries.
Obama says he opposes privatizing Social Security, and, to shore up its finances, proposes raising the amount of income that is subject to the Social Security payroll tax. To reduce high levels of credit-card debt, Obama has proposed a credit-card rating system and "credit-card bill of rights." Obama has embraced automatic IRA and 401(k) programs for all workers as well as tax incentives to encourage low- and middle-income workers to save.
Although Obama would let many of President Bush's tax cuts expire, he has proposed other tax cuts for less wealthy Americans. He would eliminate income taxes for seniors earning less than $50,000 per year, provide tax credits for college education, and allow taxpayers to deduct mortgage interest even if they don't itemize their taxes. He also pledges to find ways to simplify the filing of tax returns, cutting it to a five-minute process for many Americans.
Ron Paul
Texas Congressman Ron Paul favors slashing government spending and taxes, including all taxes on Social Security benefits.
"We can encourage retirement saving simply by allowing employees to put more of their paychecks into IRAs and pension funds, instead of sending taxes to the federal government," Paul has written.
I thought Ron Paul dropped out to run for reelection.
Huh? First, Bush never planned to replace "much of the current social security system with private accounts". Bush did propose that only a very small amount could if desired go into private accounts. Second, how did McCain disavow his web site's statement?
And then there's this from Obama:
allow taxpayers to deduct mortgage interest even if they don't itemize their taxes.
Are there really people who pay mortgage interest and can't itemize?
“Are there really people who pay mortgage interest and can’t itemize?”
Yes, many of them!
Then they must be paying an awful small amount of interest if they can’t beat the standard deduction.
Or they have little else they can claim because they don’t make that much?
New York Senator Hillary Clinton would automatically sign up U.S. workers for 401(k)-like plans, which she would call American Retirement Accounts.
We already have government run ‘American Retirement Accounts’. It is called Social Security and we all see how well that has turned out.
sheesh
Now I understand I live in the Northeast where mortgages are HUGE but there really is little else that most people CAN claim other than property taxes, excise taxes and extraordinarily high medical costs, etc. In my experience the mortgage interest deduction is the biggest chunk of deductible dollars. As for not making that much money, that doesn't make a difference when it comes to itemizing. The key is to amass enough deductions to beat the standard deduction, therefore you itemize.
Most of the workforce was women and most of them were single with perhaps a dependent or two.
A smallish mortgage on a crappy house, nothing in personal property taxes, low real property tax, little state tax, and damn little in charitable contributions.
There really are quite a few now that the RATS have removed many of the deductions you used to be able to claim.
>>>Are there really people who pay mortgage interest and can’t itemize?
<<<
you’d be surprised~
Actually it does. If they don’t make much they aren’t going to have much in charity ( they are a charity!) and their mortgage is on a crappy little house with low property taxes. A low wage means they pay little state tax.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all in favor of deducting anything that lowers taxes. I think we should go back to allowing charitable contributions to be deducted regardless of itemizing too. I’m just wondering how many people there are left with “smallish mortgages on crappy houses” with nothing in real property taxes... In fact, that almost sounds like a dream. Where can I sign up?
how so?
Maybe it’s just my social circle, (and I don’t know if this is good or bad), but I can name a few folks besides myself that cannot itemize and save money. Of course every one of us are also single.
You have a mortgage and you can’t itemize?
And low property taxes? That’s what’s been killing me lately.
There is no personal property ( like cars, boats, etc) taxes.
The state income tax rate is low and there isn’t much property tax on a cheap house.
If those single women have a couple kids to deduct they may well get enough extra in child support to swing a small mortgage, however, they don’t have to claim that child support as income!
What are you going to do when Iran gets the bomb and tries/nukes Israel or Europe?
What will you do about North Korea that beyond appeasement that has been attempted under previous administrations.
What will you do to improve the US military and increase the number of troops serving so some troops don't have to go to the same war zone 3-4 times?
Yeah, yeah. I'm delusional. Just wish there was some meat in the questions they're asked instead of all fluff.
Hillary was wrong. There's no Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. But there is a Vast Journalistic-Political Conspiracy in this country that's alive and well and out to run this country into the ground.
Now I certainly can’t.
And I’m not complaining either.
But during all 13 yrs of the mortgage (bought a 73K home with a 52K loan), I wasn’t able to itemize, except once or twice and the gross savings to me would have been less than $250 each time, but would have cost me more in accountant fees to process the itemized return and heightened my odds of an audit. Was not worth the trouble IMO.
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