Posted on 09/11/2008 4:32:06 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The best-kept secret in this presidential campaign is Barack Obama's substantial package of middle class tax cuts--most political junkies can't even tell you what's in it and most working-class swing voters don't even know it exists.
Indeed, those voters would be shocked to discover that, according to independent analyses, Obama is offering 80% of Americans four times as much in tax relief as McCain on average.
The next best-kept secret of the campaign, and arguably the biggest mystery, is why has Team Obama seemingly been hiding this electoral haymaker? Even worse, why have they been letting their opponents con the American people into thinking that Obama will raise taxes on the middle class while McCain will lower them--a damaging line of attack that is demonstrably false?
This is perplexing on many levels, given the primacy of the economy as an issue in this credit-crunched year, the traditional bugaboo that taxes have been for Democrats and the troubles Obama has had closing the deal with blue collar voters. Indeed, if ever there were a time for a Democrat to play up a middle-class tax cut, not as a pander but as a serious response to a serious weakness in the economy, this is it.
But it is all the more mystifying because Team Obama has otherwise run one of the most ruthlessly efficient and disciplined presidential campaigns in the television era. They did not take out the Clinton juggernaut by getting lucky, but by consistently and aggressively out-thinking, out-maneuvering and out-organizing their formidable opponents--not to mention out-reading the public zeitgeist.
The only explanation I can come up with is that the Obama campaign fell into the classic trap of re-fighting the last war.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Here is his summary as to why Obama's Tax Plan is superior :
--Obama would provide an immediate $1,000 tax cut to 95% of working families.
--Obama would eliminate income taxes altogether on seniors earning less than $50,000.
--Obama would more than double the Hope tax credit for college, up to $4,000 and make it fully refundable.
--Obama would eliminate all capital gains taxes on small business start-ups.
--Obama would not raise income, payroll, capital gains or any other taxes on any family making less than $250,000.
--McCain's tax cut plan would provide no new direct relief to 100 million households, but would give a $4 billion tax cut to Exxon Mobil (which recently posted a $40 billion profit) and other big oil companies.
He then proposes a solution to Obama's problem of getting his "low-tax" (note the quotes) message out :
Run a two minute, Perot-style ad during Monday Night Football next week that calls McCain's bluff, spells out the facts about who does what for the middle class and challenges Mr. Maverick to a debate on taxes in Ohio or some other working-class haven. Finish with a close-up of Obama coldly warning his opponent, "You can fool yourself into thinking that you're still talking straight, John, but I am not going to let you Enron the American people."
let’s assume for the matter of argument that his plan is superior.
Does anyone really believe he has what it takes to implement it????
He’ll do a Clinton “oh sorry, we can’t afford a middle class tax cut because we want to spend lots of money...so we’re going to ask for you to sacrifice.”
Not only does he plan to raise the taxes of the middle class, he plans to tax us all for his world anti-poverty and development program.
The UN would oversee it... as I understand the situation.
How can you believe ANYTHING from a radical, socialist, America-hating LIAR?
Give it up. Anything this fraud says, is not worth used TP.
Wow, that is one convoluted sentence.
Obama would not raise income, payroll, capital gains or any other taxes on any family making less than $250,000.
Obama would raise these taxes because he wants the Bush tax cuts to expire.
Going to look later, but I will bet one Dollar that until someone from the Obama team defines "working families", there will be a substantial portion of that 95% of whatever they are that will be more like "hardly working", and this "tax plan" from Obama is a socialist wealth redistribution.
I could be wrong, but...I'll bet that I am not.
1. what is “a working family”?
Because Team Obama knows these "tax cuts" are a bunch of BS and Team Obama will never propose them if they win.
1) There is no such thing as a “Working Family” (except to the SWP)
2) No definition of “Seniors” - most pay next to nothing anyway.
3) Colleges would simply raise the tuition by $4000 (like they have done with every credit in the past)
4) 95% of small business startups fail.
5) Notice he didn’t say he would lower it either.
“You can’t fool all of the people all of the time”
Most Americans will reject this expansion of the welfare, nanny state.
I agree with the poster on the other thread who thinks that you are a sleeper troll. Why should we believe anything 0bama has to say? He doesn’t exactly have a track record of being honest and forth right about anything.
No explanation of what he will do with the estate tax, which causes large parcels of land-farms and ranches to be sold and divvied up into “development” when the estate taxes clobber the heirs.
I don’t trust a word the Nobama says. If he told me today was Thursday, etc, I would get two other sources...
The only explanation I can come up with is that the Obama campaign fell into the classic trap of re-fighting the last war.
Obama won't talk about his "superior" plan because his plan is based on spending FIRST..... taxes last.......... so if he spends too much(which will happen) he won't be able to stick to his "superior" tax plan.
In the end, everything Obama says means nothing..... only one thing is sure: that he will become the biggest spender in the history of the world.
The TRUTH is, the relief isn’t linear. He’s going to TRIPLE the Earned Income Credit, so that’s worth thousands to the non-producers, at $40,000, maybe $500 in relief, afterthat it trails down two a couple of bucks in savings for families making over $100K ...
Simple, allow too much time between publicizing the promise and election day, and it will be so completely debunked as to brand ZerObama as the liar and con man that he is.
Needs to be a Halloween surprise.
I lifted this comment off of Topix:
“First off the writer is not a Forbes employee and this is a commentary not an article. The writer is Dan Gerstein, a political communications consultant and commentator based in New York. Second the WSJ has that anyone making more than $120,000 will get taxed more via Obama’s tax plan. Also Obama has not agreed yet to remove the AMT tax which hits the middle class big time in the next couple of years. Also even Obama has changed the amount on tax to anyone making more than $200,000. So he is lowering the threshold every couple of months.”
This is not a tax cut. It does not lower govt revenue or the total amount paid by the citizenry as a whole to the govt. It’s a clever Democrat trick — shift the tax burden away from the numerical majority (middle class) at the expense of the numerical minority (”evil rich”) and tell the numerical majority that the govt cut their taxes. This “tax cut”, which it isn’t, in no way affects govt income or govt spending.
The problem with Obama’s policy is the degree to which his increase in taxes on ‘the rich’ will stiffle captial formation and job creation. That and his massive spending plans which will trigger inflation. You can bet his tax-brackets won’t be indexed. A few years of double digit wage inflation and folks with two kids, barely living middle class life-styles in the more expensive parts of the country will be pushed into his over $250,000 tax-brackets.
I’d like for you folks to tell me where the following analysis is wrong :
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN
0% on home sales up to $500,000
per home (couples) McCain does not
propose any change in existing
home sales income tax.
OBAMA
28% on profit from ALL home sales
How does this affect you?
If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes.
If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.
DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN 15% (no change)
OBAMA 39.6%
How will this affect you?
If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement
accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 4 0% of the money earned on taxes if Obama become president.
Ask yourself how tax rates on dividends and capital gains
would affect the stock market yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.
INCOME TAX
MCCAIN (no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA
(reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750
Under Obama your taxes will more than double!
How does this affect you? No explanation
needed. This is pretty straight forward.
INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA Restore the inheritance tax
How does this affect you? Many families
have lost businesses, farms and ranches, and homes
that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax ( AKA DEATH TAX due to expire in 2 years ).
Those willing their assets to loved ones will not only lose them to these taxes.
NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY OBAMA
* New government taxes proposed on
homes that are more than 2400 square feet
* New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren’t high enough already)
* New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating
gas, water, electricity)
* New taxes on retirement accounts
and last but not least....
* New taxes to pay for socialized medicine
so we can receive the same level of medical care as other
third-world countries!!!
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