As we get the newest John McCain (I’ve lost count how many we’ve got so far), Barack Obama keeps steady and announces his economic plan for the middle class.
Job Creation: A New American Jobs Tax Credit. Obama is calling for a temporary tax credit for firms that create new jobs in the United States over the next two years.
Relief to Families: Penalty-Free Withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009. Obama is calling for new legislation to allow families to withdraw 15% of their retirement savings – up to a maximum of $10,000 – without facing a tax-penalty this year (including retroactively) and next year.
Relief to Homeowners: 90 day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners that are acting in good faith. Financial institutions that participate in the Treasury’s financial rescue plan should be required to adhere to a homeowners code of conduct, including a 90-day foreclosure moratorium for any homeowners living in their homes that are making good faith efforts pay their mortgages.
Responding to the Financial Crisis: A Lending Facility to Address the Credit Crisis for States and Localities. Obama is calling on the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to work to establish a facility to lend to state and municipal governments, similar to the steps the Fed recently took to provide liquidity to the commercial paper market.
“you don’t need a job! all you need is for Pastor Muthee to lay hands on you! Obama won’t talk about abortion!”-Sarah Palin
I watched Obama’s speech today.
Fantastic – cool – bright – refreshing – powerful – intelligent – wow! I’m beginning to think I’d follow Barack into hell – if I didn’t believe it doesn’t exist. Eh?
Obama is calling for a temporary tax credit for firms that create new jobs in the United States over the next two years.
Which is the dumbest idea I have ever heard. A whopping $3000 tax credit just for hiring somebody. That’s great. Considering it will cost business owners nearly $20,000 (and that’s assuming hiring somebody full time at min wage) at LEAST to hire people, this is pointless.
Obama’s IRA plan is a “me-too” response to what McCain has already offered.
Of course, Obama would do better to say that instead of raising income taxes, payroll taxes, dividend taxes, capital gains taxes, inheritance taxes, and implementing windfall profits taxes that he’d instead actually reduce taxes. You know, for those that actually PAY them as opposed to cutting checks for a large percentage of Americans that already don’t pay income taxes.
Oh and good work by the Democrats in getting Tim Mahoney to take over for Foley and then promptly turning around and start banging a staff member, paying her $120,000 to cover it up and getting Rahm Emanuel to help with the cover-up.
Yes, far better we do the McCain plan and give Paris Hilton, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett a bigger tax cut.
Except that’s not what he’s going to do. Income tax rates won’t change under McCain.
Next.
Relief to Families: Penalty-Free Withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009. Obama is calling for new legislation to allow families to withdraw 15% of their retirement savings – up to a maximum of $10,000 – without facing a tax-penalty this year (including retroactively) and next year.
Mega-stupid. You think people are leaving the stock-market now? Allow them to to withdraw tax/penalty-free money. THEN you’ll see what a market freefall looks like. (And if Jay Tea is right and McCain has a similar plan, he’s mega-stupid too.) If you wanna see more savings, remove the annual caps on IRA contributions.
Relief to Homeowners: 90 day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners that are acting in good faith.
Why stop at forecloures? Simply announce no one in the next 90 days can be fired. In fact, why stop at 90 days? Why not the next 4 years?
So what’s John gonna do for the middle-class?
Oh that’s right, nothing.
When you guys have any good ideas, let us know, okay?
Here’s my economic plan. It will cost the government no money and will further stimulate an already viable industry. It won’t solve the whole problem, but it’ll at least buy us some time.
A whopping $3000 tax credit just for hiring somebody. That’s great. Considering it will cost business owners nearly $20,000 (and that’s assuming hiring somebody full time at min wage) at LEAST to hire people, this is pointless.
Jay, weren’t you one of the folks who claimed that raising the minimum wage by a dollar would result in low-wage workers being laid off? By that reasoning, giving employers a $1.50/hr (based on full-time) tax credit should encourage hiring, shouldn’t it?
Or does it only work one way?
Farris: If I could get money out of my IRA, I’d use it to stimulate the economy by having a new energy-efficient furnace put in my house. That’s just full of win, innit?
Obama’s plan: Spread the wealth around
Ya got me there, Dennis. If Steve Doocy and the other two geniuses on FOX and Friends say it, it must be true.
Not many people know this, but Doocy was once a Weatherman. And yet John McCain calls him “my friend.”
Raising income taxes won’t do a DAMN thing to Paris, Warren, and Bill and you know it. Those three, along with the evil bastards that make up “the top 1%” generate all their cash flow through investments. So if you want to soak them, you raise the capital gains tax. Raising the income tax rate only screws small business owners.
This sounds peachy:
- A $500 tax credit ($1,000 a couple) to “make work pay” that phases out at income of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 per couple.
- A $4,000 tax credit for college tuition.
- A 10% mortgage interest tax credit (on top of the existing mortgage interest deduction and other housing subsidies).
- A “savings” tax credit of 50% up to $1,000.
- An expansion of the earned-income tax credit that would allow single workers to receive as much as $555 a year, up from $175 now, and give these workers up to $1,110 if they are paying child support.
- A child care credit of 50% up to $6,000 of expenses a year.
- A “clean car” tax credit of up to $7,000 on the purchase of certain vehicles.
Here’s the political catch. All but the clean car credit would be “refundable,” which is Washington-speak for the fact that you can receive these checks even if you have no income-tax liability. In other words, they are an income transfer — a federal check — from taxpayers to nontaxpayers.
I can understand why he wants to allow for withdrawals from a 401k to help stimulate spending or keep people from losing their home, but that’s just going to make people more dependent on Social Security. Seems short sighted to me.
Say hey, willie. Ever hear of plagiarism?
Look into it, willya?
Oh another thing, willie. That $5,000 tax credit Mr. McCain promises to help us with the cost of health insurance.
Also refundable.
That $5,000 tax credit Mr. McCain promises to help us with the cost of health insurance.
Also refundable.
That’s also per couple. It’s only $2500 for single folks.
Oh, and employer benefit health care gets taxed.
Want to pay taxes on $10,000 – $12,000 of income that you’re not taxed on now? Vote McCain-Palin!
This is so unfair. The people who work hard and go to college and get a good job have to give their earned money to others who didn’t go to high school or college. Mccain is not bush, he is a completly different person who just happens to be a republican too. people who say that need to look into the issues. blah.