6 posts tagged “tax”

Over the past few days the McCain camp has hit one of my pet peeves.

I remember when I was in high school that whenever two girls got into a physical confrontation someone would always scream “cat-fight” out loud.  There are many negative connotations in the statement “cat-fight” which over the past few days I cannot stop myself from having one person come to mind when I think of the term.  That person is Cindy McCain, the wife of presidential candidate Senator John McCain.

I am not a big fan of Senator Barack Obama’s wife Michelle Obama, but I am noting really voting for her so who cares.  Her little publicity stunt on the view yesterday didn’t help or hurt her in my view it was just stuff and possibly a wasted opportunity to help her husband’s cause.

As far as Cindy McCain I actually find her to just flat out not be likeable, but I have just ignored that fact because however I vote, I am not voting for her either.

The problem I have had is when Mrs. McCain started her public attacks of Mrs. Obama implying that she hates the country etc.  The question I have to ask myself is why am I watching the wives of presidential candidates fight.  In reality it is only Cindy McCain who is picking a fight as a political ploy for her husband. 

The only defense I have heard for this ridiculous display is that “Senator Obama’s People” (I suppose by that they must mean someone who they perceive not to support Senator McCain) attacked his wife first about the absence of her tax returns.

You may remember when Senator Obama was in a heated competition with Senator Hillary Clinton and was pressuring her to release her tax returns.  Both of the Democratic candidates released tax returns that included their spouses.  So rather than just stay out of that fight, Senator McCain’s “people” decided to release his tax returns and leave out his wife, Cindy McCain’s tax returns.  Now we are hearing that Senator McCain’s camp was so angered by the questions and challenges that this raised that they feel it okay to have his wife attack Michelle Obama. 

To be honest, I was not that interested in the tax return issue until I heard that Senator McCain’s wife did not include hers.  I heard the explanation and found it plausible, yet I still had doubts and questions.  In actuality I am still not sure to this day that there is nothing being hidden there.  In my opinion it would have been better not to release anything and say he was refusing to get into the childish games being played by the other party.  The releasing of his tax returns without hers was, in my opinion, a bad political move.

The idea that it raised comments and criticism is not to attack his wife; it is to attack a stupid move on the part of whoever in his camp thought they should do this.

That being said, the “She hit me first” defense not only is childish, but doesn’t hold water. 

Senator John McCain is trying to kill the image he has of having temper tantrums and childish outbursts and then his campaign allows his wife to do one of the most childish acts in the history of public elections.  I would have thought that after the escapades of former president, Bill Clinton and the negative influence he had on Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign, we would have seen the end of the spouse campaigning by attack.

As anyone who reads my posts regularly knows, I am not a huge fan of either of the candidates from the major parties, but attacking candidate’s families is one of my pet peeves.  Cindy McCain has managed to tip the scales a little toward the Democrats for me with this childishness.  The McCain camp has managed to tip the scales a bit more with their attempts to defend such childishness instead of just apologizing.  I am just befuddled by the fact that they try to imply that the Obama camp was out of line to (in their view) attack Cindy McCain and yet they are using that to defend the reason Cindy McCain attacks (yes I mean it to be plural) Michelle Obama. 

“She hit me first,” only says that you are as childish as the person you are fighting with.  Then when it turns out that that person didn’t really hit you first, you are the only one that is proven to be childish!

Senator John McCain and his advisors finally picked a subject to attack Senator Barack Obama with that actually helps his campaign.  Until now the topics Senator McCain’s camp has been addressing seem to only be targeted at getting approval from those who are already his strongest supporters already.

Senator McCain went before small business owners and said flat out that Senator Obama is bad for business.  As Senator Obama is speaking of tax breaks for the general population and increasing taxes on businesses (the latest example is big oil) Senator McCain is speaking to the businesses saying:  “Hey!  This means more taxes for you and less profit!”

This serves to make all of the rhetoric about how to fix he economy look a lot different to American business owners. 

Another smart benefit that Senator McCain gets from this ploy, is that while Senator Obama has been a campaign contribution machine that has been getting millions of dollars from lots of small contribution s from lots of donors this starts massaging the large donors that are largely untapped by the Obama campaign.  This says, “I am the candidate that will give you return on your investment in me” to the business owners.

This appears to finally be the real start to Senator McCain’s serious campaigning as much of the rest of what has transpired from his camp over the past few months seemed to be just killing time until real campaigning started.

There is however, another side to this coin.  There is the risk of appearing to be the “Same Old Washington” candidate who steals from the poor to buy support from the rich.

Senator Obama responded to Senator McCain’s accusations by discussing things like three-hundred billion dollar tax breaks and loopholes for big corporations and the wealthiest Americans to start to show this as the nest wave of media we will be hearing. 

I have to admit, that while I agree that we need businesses to stay open or there is no economy, I do have to wonder if it is not rewarding businesses and the rich while hanging the general population out to dry in the hopes of saving the economy.  Maybe, something in between the rhetoric of the two camps is much more realistic.

As I have repeatedly stated that I am not a big fan of either of these candidates much in terms of becoming our commander and chief.  The thing is, if I am going to end up casting my vote for the lesser evil, for lack of a better choice, I would like to know that there was a good campaign that dealt with real issues.  Like the ref before a boxing match I want to see a good clean fight.  I do not just want one candidate to just pummel the other one in the media and at the ballot boxes.

This is finally a good and sensible start to Senator McCain’s campaign against Senator Obama although it is very risky and may backfire.  I think it is also good that actual issues for right now have come to the surface for discussion. 

I hope to hear more about different sides of the issues (including both candidates’ strange voting records that seem to contradict their campaign rhetoric) and less about the candidate’s friends and distant acquaintances. 

Maybe the real campaign has finally has begun at last.

What is going on in the presidential race?  Democratic Senator Barack Obama went at republican Senator John McCain with both guns blazing in discussing the economy and I began to think:  “Finally, we will get to the real issues.” 

Boy oh boy was I mistaken.  I was all ready for Senator McCain (who is now known for being weak on matters of the economy at the worst time ever for that to be the case) to get with his advisors and start devising strong solutions for our economic woes.  Then I pictured this huge back and forth campaigning where two different plans that would both make some sense would be brought before the American people and we would all be thinking; “Wow, what great candidates.”

This however, was not what happened.  Senator McCain went back to that absolutely stupid “Gas Tax Holiday” idiocy that helped us all understand economy was not his strength.  Then Senator Hillary Clinton supported it also and some of the cooties of being economically illiterate seemed to get on her and her campaign.

I thought; “That’s it?  All of those campaign strategists and speechwriters and whoever else in his political entourage and that is it?”

But, no it was not.  Then he went back to this town hall meeting idea.  I admit it is a pretty cool idea, but seriously, one candidate is just going to dictate how another candidate is going to campaign for the entire summer and this other candidate is expected to just agree and go along with this?  (Is this one of those places where people on the internet us the letters “LOL?”

I personally believe that both candidates that are left from the two major parties have these gaping holes in their qualifications for president (particularly saying lots of things that neither of their voting records support), but if this is the best Senator McCain can come up with against a person with a gift for speaking and a charisma that attracts so many, Senator McCain will be reduced to a straw man for Senator Obama to knock over.

If there are any advisors to Senator McCain reading this, please gather some experts on the economy and draw up something substantial that will appeal to the public. Then spend some time educating Senator McCain on this plan.  Once that is done release him on the public with these fresh new ideas and a solution to a real problem in the here and now.  That will make him a solid candidate and definitely make the race more interesting.

I suppose Senator McCain may have such plans and be keeping them hidden is his grand plan to unleash this weapon of mass destruction on Senator Obama during these town hall meetings, but let’s face it, that is not going to happen.  An I am not sure if it were to happen that the results would be what Senator McCain expects.  I remember a debate between the Republicans that was televised on CNN that had an approval meter that was on the screen the whole time.  The relevant fact here is that almost every time Senator McCain spoke the meter shot down.  That went double when he got excited or agitated.

I think to win, Senator McCain better come up with more than the stuff he has put out there so far.

If Senator McCain does not retool his message, this will be one of those really boring elections where one candidate just sinks fast as soon as the votes start to be cast.  Today I was aghast at his lack of anything to say and found his whole message just plain boring.  

The big oil company rhetoric has ramped up over the weekend.  As usual the party lines are drawn and nothing is going to get accomplished.  The Democrats want more tax money and blood from the big oil companies and the Republicans say it is just how business works and good for our 401k retirement plans. 

Watching what is going on capitol hill is like watching people on P.C.P. trying to fly or people taking acid trying to fight with the air.  Lots of strange activity, but no real accomplishment except when they hurt themselves.

I have to admit however, in hearing both sides of the argument, that both sides were partially right, but the truth is that again partisan politics overrides simple reason. 

First off, making record profits by the destruction of our economy and whole industries (such as the airline industry that will be completely destroyed if the price of gas does not go down) is never okay and I am not sure that a tax break or giving such organizations more money for research is not rewarding those that are damaging our great nation.

I am not convinced however that public flogging is the answer, but some sort of limitation on what profit margins can look like might be in order.  Look, you are free to do pretty much whatever you want to do in this country until you start to abuse the privilege or severely damage others.  At that point you become the enemy of every American. 

As a person who is severely opposed to our current party system, I have to say that I was put off by the rhetoric of both sides on this one.  But, the argument that I have heard several times of the past few days that it is okay because many of our 401k plans benefit from the profits of the big oil companies is flat out stupid. 

How does five or ten dollars a month in interest into my retirement balance out doubling what is costs to put gas in my car every fill up?  How does that compensate the truck drivers who have doubled what they pay in gas (or more)?  How does that compensate the rising cost of things that are shipped by truck?  What does that do for those who don’t have a 401k plan (maybe he or she is one of those statistics we keep hearing denoting the jobless)?   

It is sort of like dividing the country into classes and saying it is okay to steal from those at the bottom and some of those in the middle to help those at the top with all of the big investments. 

I live in an area where most people have long commutes and most people can barely afford to live here even though when compared with other parts of the country incomes are higher (everything simply costs more).  In my area, gas is already over the four dollar a gallon mark which means that there has been a huge cut in our individual economies.

I am not saying that there may not be some good explanation for why the price of gasoline is so high (it rose a lot faster than the price of barrels of oil did), what I am saying is that this explanation is stupid and an insult to the intelligence of everyone on the planet.

On the other hand, where I do agree with the Republicans, is that we need to drill in our own oil fertile areas and stop protesting, filibustering, or anything else to oppose such measures.  When the price of gas was a dollar and some change we had such a luxury.  Right now, the price of gas and the other factors that are influencing this bad economy are going to strangle those in poverty, those at the bottom levels of our income brackets, and a bunch of those considered currently to be “middleclass.” 

The idea that we are sitting on huge solutions to our problem and a large segment of our society wants to fight those perceived to be causing the problem while fighting against the obvious solution is ridiculous. 

The plan in the works is to invent cars that will not be available to the public for 4 years or more, that will run on these new fuels that you will not be able to get anywhere.

I agree that something needs to change, but first the partisan hogwash has to be done away with.  There is an old saying in my family:  “If you are not a part of the solution you are probably part of the problem.”  I don’t know if all of the folks on capitol hill have noticed their approval rating lately, but the American people are convinced that they are a part of the problem along with all of their rhetoric. 

I am middle class.  I have a retirement plan.  I pay taxes.  I served my country honorably in the Marine Corps along with three prior generations of serviceman.  I work and contribute to my society and to charity.  I commute to work and fill the tank in my tiny commuter car at least once or twice week (my 12 gallon tank now takes almost fifty dollars to fill).  I am also one of the victims of the record profits that I am supposed to think is okay because I will get something like fifty cents more income monthly toward my retirement. 

I am old enough to remember the last time something like this happened.  The siphoning of gas (which has started again), the fights at the gas stations as people went to gas stations on alternating days depending on if the first number on their license plate was odd or even, etc.  This is worse as there are several other contributing factors that are taking us down fast.  I do not think that allowing large segments f the population to suffer to bolster some political stand is acceptable from either party and I am angered by this whole thing.

Yesterday Senator Hillary Clinton lost in one primary and barely squeezed out a win in another.  What this means is that her winning the popular vote just moved from incredibly impossible to a little more incredibly impossible.  This also moved her chances of winning over the remaining super-delegates highly unlikely.  Why are we still seeing all of this again?

Can we put an end to this finally.  I am ready to see Senator Obama limp into his contest with the lost Senator McCain.  I say Sen. Obama is limping (and probably bloody in a metaphoric sense) because of the terrible fight he has been in.  I say Sen. McCain is missing because, well, he’s missing.  He has been hiding out most of this time occasionally surfacing to say stupid things (I suppose Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama had plenty of friends, family, and supporters to handle that for them)

Senator Clinton was deep in the rhetoric over the past few days and not quite as deep in the money.  I think she is in deep trouble as of this weeks events.

Of course this vote took place on the same day all the economists teamed up to say the “Gas Tax Holiday” that her and Sen. McCain have been pushing is a stupid idea.  That means it probably did not have much time to settle in with yesterday’s voters, but by next week it will be deep in the psyche of all of us who own televisions or read newspapers.

Sen. Clinton has vowed to go on, like a good captain, strong, teary eyed, and holding the wheel as the ship sinks. 

Now, more statistics are starting to show up that clearly show that if Sen. Clinton does not win the popular vote and cannot get the super-delegates to vote her in as the candidate of choice they will refuse to vote for Sen. Obama, and may even vote for Sen. McCain.

Here’s a newsflash Hillary Clinton supporters:  It is so close to impossible for her to win at this point that I think Sen. Obama could shoot several of the super-delegates that are supporting in front of the media and still squeeze out a victory over Sen. Clinton.

But, from the standpoint of a spectator who does not belong to either party this is great.  The two Democratic gladiators are going to pummel each other before the winner gets thrown to the lions.  What could possibly be as exciting?

Then you have Rush Limbaugh who has been rallying Republicans to come together and vote in the Democrat’s primaries just to cause chaos.  Add this all to the chaos of any appearances of Former President Bill Clinton and the sheer excitement of an appearance of a certain Mr. Wright and you have excellent reality television.  What greater pursuit is there than sitting and watching other individuals go through excruciating and taxing circumstances just for our entertainment.

This is all fine and dandy until we come back to reality and realize we are all going to be stuck with one of these three for the next four years.  Then suddenly we realize that  we are all the next cast of the reality show that will be for the rest of the world to watch.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Today several respected economists came out publicly in opposition to the Gas Tax holiday proposed By Senator John McCain and later used by Senator Hillary Clinton to boost her campaign against Senator Barack Obama who opposes the idea.

Presidential hopefuls Senator John McCain and Senator Hillary Clinton have been pushing this Gas Tax Holiday in theory giving the American public a few month reprise from the High gasoline prices.  The plan involves eliminating the approximately nineteen cent federal gas tax and the approximately twenty-five cent diesel tax beginning Memorial Day all the way to Labor Day.

You may remember that when this idea was first proposed I posted a blog where I stated it was a bad idea.  I mention this because my view was not based on being an economist (because I am not one) but on simple common sense.  The truth is that if we come up with any idea that takes millions, billions, or trillions of dollars out of the national budget, the money has to come from somewhere to replace it (in this case we are talking about somewhere in the area of ten-billion dollars).  Nineteen cents is not worth some huge debt that shows up later to be paid for by taxing us.  The two dollars I would personally save a week is not enough for me to be willing to create a ten-billion dollar hole in the budget.

Today two-hundred top economists, four of which are Nobel prize winners, signed a letter completely rejecting this ridiculous idea.  This is the kiss of death for this stupid idea. 

Hillary Clinton has been trying to say she was the candidate most likely to turn the economy around and the polls have been growing in her favor in this area.  When I first heard her endorsement of this idea, I immediately knew she was not the economist she has been trying to sell herself as.  When she decided to put her stamp of approval on an idea about the economy that came from a candidate that states clearly that the economy is his weak point I realized she was capable of being just as ignorant as Senator Barack Obama was in associating with a certain Mr. Wright. 

Senator McCain has stated repeatedly that he is terrible with the economy (How can we take you seriously as a candidate at this point in history if this is the case?) so this is no surprise.  The surprise for me is that Sen. McCain and his campaign would decide that the place for him to come out of hiding and make his big stand was going to be on the battlefield of the economy.  I have to ask myself:  “Who though this would turn out well?”

Sen. McCain seems to end up in trouble every time he speaks publicly and the Republican party is sinking fast because of how unpopular the current presidency is.  If McCain is the current captain of the sinking Titanic why would Sen. Clinton jump on board the sinking ship. 

I do not give Sen. Obama as much credit as it would seem he should get for opposing the idea.  It would normally give us the idea that he is better in touch with the economy, but that is not the case. 

The truth is, the reason for his knowing this was a bad idea was because in the state that he represents currently, Illinois, they tried a similar idea and it failed miserably.  He simply knew it would fail because he was there the last time it failed. 

Again I say that I think that none of the three of these candidates is in fact a “good” choice.  I feel it is simply a matter of which one is the lesser of the evils.  In the case of the “Gas Tax Holiday” I score it this way:

Senator John McCain  -  Minus one-half point (only a half because I already knew he was terrible in terms of the economy)

Senator Hillary Clinton – Minus two points (this was such a stupid move on her part for so many reasons I think only taking two points away is being generous in trying to be fair)

Senator Barack Obama – Plus a half point - (he didn’t have any knowledge either way about the economy, he just got lucky)

As a side note, the Democrats, as a party, are working on drafting a proposal to help individual American’s at the pump without being such a stupid idea.