The US Senate Republican rival stimulus plan [McCain/Graham Gang of 10 alert]

Reuters ^

[rabscuttle385]

Tax Provisions:

• For one year, cut in half to 3.1 percent the payroll tax for all U.S. employees. Cost: $165 billion.

• Lower the 10 percent income tax bracket to 5 percent and the 15 percent bracket to 10 percent for one year. Cost: $60 billion.

• Slash the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent for a year. For small businesses filing as individuals, their tax bracket would also go down to 25 percent from 35 percent. Cost: $50 billion.

• Offer in 2009 to homebuyers a tax credit of $15,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less. Cost: $20.4 billion.

Spending Provisions:

• Extend unemployment insurance benefits and food stamps through 2009 and eliminate taxes on unemployment benefits for the same time period. Cost: $48.15 billion.

• Use federal money to discourage mortgage servicers and lenders from executing home foreclosures. Cost: $11B billion.

• Grants to states to build and repair roads and bridges. Cost: $65 billion.

• Improve, repair and modernize Defense Department facilities. Order and/or repair equipment, vehicles, material and ammunition for combat troops. Cost: $17 billion.

• Grants to states to make investments in public transportation systems. Cost: $3 billion.

• Grants for airports to build new runways, install runway safety equipment and other infrastructure projects. Cost: $1.1 billion.

Other provisions:

• All spending programs would end three years after the legislation became law.

• To move toward reducing the budget deficit, after two consecutive quarters of more than 2 percent of inflation-adjusted gross domestic product growth, spending provisions from the stimulus package that has not been spent or obligated would be canceled. Additionally, there would be a 2 percent across-the-board spending reduction to help balance the budget by 2015.

• Establish commissions to review Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

[rabscuttle385]

Note the differences between McCain's and DeMint's competing plans: McCain's plan offers only temporary (one year) tax cuts, resulting in a de facto tax increase in 2010, just as U.S. taxpayers would be emerging from the recession, while DeMint's plan offers significantly more extensive and permanent tax reductions, including a total repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax, simplification of the tax code, changes to the estate tax, reductions in capital gains and dividend tax rates, and income tax rate cuts for all taxpayers, not just the folks in the 10 and 15 percent income tax brackets.

DeMint's plan: The American Option: A Jobs Plan That Works

[rabscuttle385]

Look...McCain and Graham are proposing temporary tax cuts, LOL!

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Yes...DeMint’s plan is way better than McCain’s...and it would be more benficial long term

McCain’s plan would not fix our long term problems

[browniexyz]

Now that DeMint is TALKING!! Thank you for that informative post!

[rabscuttle385]

McCain’s plan would not fix our long term problems

No, but it might exacerbate them in the long run.

[djsherin]

No more spending!

[Free America52]

It doesn’t matter if they are temporary. This is a great bill, and the democrats are going to have a very difficult time convincing the American people that their spending plan on all sorts of crap is better than getting more money in their pocket through tax cuts which can start immediately.

[rabscuttle385]

Now that DeMint is TALKING!! Thank you for that informative post!

You're welcome!

DeMint's plan is the real deal. McCain's is...well, typical McCain. All smoke and mirrors, and at the end of the day, all you get is the dubious "privilege" of wearing kneepads for the Democrats.

[St. Louis Conservative]

Why can’t they make those tax cut provisions permanent?

Oh well. This one still stinks, but it’s enormously better than the House bill.

Doesn’t matter. Reid & Schumer won’t let this thing see the light of day.

[digger48]

When I hear Grahamnesty on the top of the hour news today, I felt my wallet trembling. We’re gonna end up with something around $2 Trillion and over half the Pubbies will gladly sign on and smile big at the signing ceremony with the Blue-Lipped Kenyan as they put one of the final few nails into capitalisms coffin.

[1-Eagle]

There is actually little or no "cost" to cutting taxes, a fact that even President Kennedy acknowledged:

"It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now ... Cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus."

– John F. Kennedy, Nov. 20, 1962, president's news conference

[icwhatudo]

“Extend unemployment insurance benefits and food stamps through 2009”

This is awesome! My neighbor has been out of work since October 2008 and he told me around Dec 10 that he was not even looking anymore because he wanted to get things done around the house. I asked on February 1st, 2009 how the job hunt was going and he said he still wasn’t looking as he was getting enough to make his (waterfront) house payment and boat payment by just cutting back a bit-(his wife is still employed). I asked how bad was the “cutting back”? His reply was he could only get XBOX 360 with 2 games for their son this Christmas and they could not eat out “as much”.

I’m hoping they do extend it all thru 2009 as he loves to fish and has a great boat I want to go out on often! Even more good news: With the expansion of SCHIP I can now get free health insurance for my family and buy that bass boat (for my waterfront home) from the money we will save by canceling our regular insurance!

/s

[willgolfforfood]

How about cut the corporate tax rate to NO MORE than 5%, preferably to NOTHING. Let’s have businesses from all over the world in a race to come here and put people to work.

[rabscuttle385]

How about cut the corporate tax rate to NO MORE than 5%, preferably to NOTHING. Let’s have businesses from all over the world in a race to come here and put people to work.

That's a start, but it's not the only component of the cost of doing business in the United States. Improve the pool of talent, reduce the cost of hiring, and simplify regulations (including the tax code).

[silverleaf]

still ignoring those individuals who pay most of the taxes :-(

[DManA]

Establish commissions to review Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Gee, why didn’t anyone think of that before?

[Earthdweller]

Is this thing an alternative or an add-on? What do you want to bet that this is an add-on before it's over.

[antceecee]

That being said, then the only purpose to expanding taxation is to prolong the economic crisis... who benefits?
I think they are walking a narrow plank - even for Democrats.
Eventually it will blow right back on them.

[djsherin]

And spending, and the massive debt, and the interest on it, and the nightmare of social security and other unfunded liabilities, and... need I go on?

The government is in a mess. It needs to shrink, tremendously, lower taxes and regulations, and begin paying down debt. But it won’t happen.

[TADSLOS]

Weak water, but this is probably what will be hailed by democRATs and their media lackies as the framework for the landmark “bi-partisan” package that goes to Obama’s desk for signature.