McCain's $3.3 Trillion Tax Cut, Budget Pledge at Odds

Hatuey · 04-19-08, 10:58 AM

McCain's $3.3 Trillion Tax Cut, Budget Pledge at Odds - Yahoo! News

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April 18 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain's plan to cut taxes and balance the budget wins praise from fellow Republicans. Economists and nonpartisan analysts say his numbers don't add up.

McCain's proposal, outlined April 15, would extend President George W. Bush's tax cuts, reduce the top corporate rate, repeal the alternative minimum tax and double exemptions for dependents. Price: $3.3 trillion by the end of a President McCain's second term in 2017, according to figures from his campaign and the Treasury.

The Arizona senator said that would be offset by eliminating pork-barrel spending, freezing a portion of the budget, and saving from Medicare spending. He could cut the budget by $100 billion a year ``in a New York minute,'' he said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday.

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McCain's spending cuts, combined with increased revenue from economic growth, total $1.5 trillion over eight years, leaving a $1.8 trillion net increase to the national debt.

``This is really a massive increase in the deficit,'' said Joel Slemrod, an economist specializing in tax policy at the University of Michigan.

Two Washington research groups said McCain's plan would cost more. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated his tax cuts would total $5 trillion over a two-term presidency. The Tax Policy Center, run jointly by the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute, said they would cost at least $5.7 trillion.

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Ultimately, said Stan Collender, a former analyst for the House and Senate budget committees, it would take substantial cuts to Medicare and Social Security to balance the budget with the tax cuts McCain is proposing.

Even then, ``there's no way McCain could balance it by the time he leaves, unless he doesn't leave for 25 years,'' Collender said.

Thoughts?

Lerxst · 04-19-08, 11:07 AM

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Originally Posted by Hatuey

Thoughts?

McCain and his people should not be let anywhere near the White House.

RightOfCenter · 04-19-08, 03:16 PM

[quote=Hatuey;1057590994]McCain's $3.3 Trillion Tax Cut, Budget Pledge at Odds - Yahoo! News

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Originally Posted by the article

eliminating pork-barrel spending, freezing a portion of the budget

Eliminating pork-barrel spending I can support, but which portion of the budget is he freezing?

rathi · 04-19-08, 03:34 PM

Anyone remember the link to that site that lists the entire federal budget and then lets you hypothetically cut programs to see if you could balance it. Let me say this, there is not way to balance that budget without some serious cuts and raising taxes. I cut every single program I disagree with, and thats quite a lot. I even ditched some of the more pointless and wasteful military procurement programs. However even then, it would be impossible to balance the budget without raising taxes or cutting programs I think or necessary. I didn't include social security though, because although I wouldn't mind completely gutting or entirely revamping it, it would only be a one time windfall, not continual revenue.

I will say this. Its not politically feasible to balance our budget entirely based on cutting programs. Theoretically its possible, but no party has the power to actually push enough cuts through. Ultimately we are going to have to raise taxes if we want to stop passing the buck. The question that the taxpayer of today really has to decide is whether they want to take a little pain now, or pass even more onto their kids.

Gipper · 04-19-08, 03:59 PM

Perhaps now we should discuss decriminalizing pot? Subsidize it instead.

That would more than make up for any difference.

aegyptos · 04-19-08, 04:18 PM

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Originally Posted by rathi

Anyone remember the link to that site that lists the entire federal budget and then lets you hypothetically cut programs to see if you could balance it. Let me say this, there is not way to balance that budget without some serious cuts and raising taxes. I cut every single program I disagree with, and thats quite a lot. I even ditched some of the more pointless and wasteful military procurement programs. However even then, it would be impossible to balance the budget without raising taxes or cutting programs I think or necessary. I didn't include social security though, because although I wouldn't mind completely gutting or entirely revamping it, it would only be a one time windfall, not continual revenue.

If you're not willing to cut entitlements you aren't serious about cutting spending. That's where the real money goes. Everyone needs to share the pain that means across the board cuts. How about for starters a 10% cut in every federal program including social security, defense, education, medicare, SSI, interior, housing, NASA and all the rest of it. We all made this problem no one should be exempt from feeling the pain they helped create. For you socialists out there, no one class is guiltier than any other for wht we have today.

rathi · 04-19-08, 05:16 PM

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Perhaps now we should discuss decriminalizing pot? Subsidize it instead.

That would more than make up for any difference.

Not enough. I cut the entire DEA budget and it still make only a rather small dent. And I assume you mean tax it instead? That would bring in more revenue, but still not enough.

Its hard to impress exactly how over budget we currently are. Drastic cuts or tax increases are the only way out.
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Quote:

If you're not willing to cut entitlements you aren't serious about cutting spending. That's where the real money goes. Everyone needs to share the pain that means across the board cuts. How about for starters a 10% cut in every federal program including social security, defense, education, medicare, SSI, interior, housing, NASA and all the rest of it. We all made this problem no one should be exempt from feeling the pain they helped create. For you socialists out there, no one class is guiltier than any other for wht we have today.

I am serious about cutting spending. I simply think that some programs need to be cut more than others, considering that some have more or less benefit to American society than the others. For, example I'd love to cut the DEA and by default also spend much less on prisons. Neither provides much benefit and they cost a lot of money. Meanwhile, say body armor procurement programs provide much benefit for little cost. I'd rather cut the DEA entirely and protect the armor than cut them both equally. There is nothing wrong with assigning different levels of value to different programs.

However, I will admit that even all my cuts are not enough to balance the budget. Thats why I am in favor of raising taxes. And if taxes couldn't be raised, then I would support cutting programs that I support. Although I disagree with your approach, I do applaud you for giving a realistic estimation of what needs to be done to balance the budget.

I think the problem with out lawmakers today is their priorities. I'd support a balanced budget even if it meant that I had to lose programs I wanted or raise taxes I didn't. I value the long effects of debt more than the short term effects of cutting spending or raising taxes.

new coup for you · 04-19-08, 05:18 PM

whoa...so what this article is saying is that you if you decrease income while keeping expenses constant...

...you lose income...

astonishing!

aegyptos · 04-19-08, 05:27 PM

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Originally Posted by new coup for you

whoa...so what this article is saying is that you if you decrease income while keeping expenses constant...

...you lose income...

astonishing!

Its not as clear cut as that. As you know many tax cuts result in increased revenue for the treasury The problem however isn't that revenue is too low, its that spending to high. We spend way too much. We have to cut spending.

TacticalEvilDan · 04-19-08, 09:07 PM

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Originally Posted by Hatuey

Thoughts?

Great, another President who will tax us with inflation instead of, oh, TAXES.

I can't wait.