Posted on 04/28/2003 7:16:43 PM PDT by TLBSHOW
As President Bush and officials of his administration storm across the country in support of his plan for tax relief, one high-profile Republican says he will not be backing his chief executive.
"We’ve never cut taxes in a time of war, we do not know the cost of the war and the cost of reconstruction. We need to find that out," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in an interview on KTAR Radio in Phoenix. "I want know it before I would support a tax cut."
McCain expressed concern about the amount of red ink on the federal books. "We’ve gone from surpluses as far as the eye can see to deficits as far as they eye can see."
"We’re now at a $300- to 400-billion … deficit just this year, trillions of dollars of deficit that are projected," he said Friday.
McCain said he was adhering to the best GOP principles. "Everybody knows that Republicans are supposed to be fiscal conservatives."
He doubted the ability of a federal budget in deficit to stimulate the economy. "We know what happens when you run deficits. Interest rates go up. High interest rates are the greatest enemy of retirees and middle-income Americans."
The former would-be presidential nominee did have his own suggestions about what to do with taxpayer dollars rather than returning them to those who earned them. "We need to spend some more money on national security and defense. We can no longer fight a two-front war, and we can’t keep calling up the reserves every time there’s a crisis.
"If there are tax cuts," McCain said, "we should target the people that have been keeping the economy alive, the middle-income working Americans and families that have been buying the cars and buying the houses."
As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, McCain has been keeping a close eye on the distress among the nation’s air carriers. "I think the airline industry is in very serious difficulties," but "most of those difficulties have nothing to do with 9/11 or the war on terrorism."
"Twice we’ve given them multibillions of dollars, right after 9/11 and in the last couple of weeks," McCain pointed out.
He conceded that the airlines had a legitimate claim to reimbursement from expenses they incurred as a result of increasing security and to relief from war-risk insurance. But as for their economic troubles, "they had great problems before 9/11; they have great problems now."
McCain said American Airlines CEO Donald Carty was appropriately fired after his misleading statements about management's golden parachutes were discovered.
He predicted far-reaching changes. "I think that you may see a real shakeout in the airline industry."
He heaped praised on one carrier. "Southwest is a well-run airline … they have good labor relations, and they have good passengers." Arizona’s senior U.S. senator said he enjoyed flying Southwest. "It doesn’t bother me in the slightest when I go to a Southwest ticket counter and get my C category and have to sit in a middle seat between two rather heavy-set American citizens."
McCain emphasized, "I am not in favor of bailing them out again." But he is concerned. "The worst scenario … is maybe a couple of major airlines left in America. Then you would have a monopolistic situation, and that obviously would not be good for passengers either."
So tell us, Senator McCain't, how much government spending have you cut lately?
He hasn't been right about very many things.
I'm amazed anyone still listens to him.
No. WE conservatives support Bush's Tax Cuts. You Rinos oppose Bush's Tax Cuts.
Becki
To give you a proper analogy, If you have a store, and you sell whatever, and revenues are down, you don't raise prices, you cut prices and reduce overhead and non-essential spending, and give rebates, coupons and or specials. Its the same concept, any store that raises prices when revenues are down, does worse, stores that slashes prices, do better. Same concept with government, revenues are down, slash taxes, increase revenue, reduce spending on non-essentials, and things will work out.
True we have some war debt. What would you suggest? Reversal and then inaction?
No, I think you have to "dance with the one that brung you," and for conservatives, that means cutting the blood loss to the vastly inflated, blood-sucking, federal government an giving the citizenry a permenant share of freedom from a portion of government theft.
No, McCain is a self promoter....little more these days...such a shame.
Actually, a better analogy might a shopping mall which wants to attract *BUSINESSES*. Businesses like to be provided with some level of services, including *SECURITY* (think military), but if the rents go too high businesses will move elsewhere.
This country is losing businesses. It must win them back.
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