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Hey, guys! Long time since I last posted a topic. With the new announcement that Obama's picked a great VP to win alongside him in November, I wanted to ask a question.
I've been told so many times that Obama was going to raise taxes that I almost believed it. Of course, I was still going to vote for him, but as a pretty big fan of fiscal responsibility, regardless of my very liberal social views, I figured I'd just have to deal.
Well, this late in the game, I'm just starting to look into the candidates' tax plans. It's the first time I've really cared, because it's the first election cycle since I've gotten a stable job and gotten married and bought a house. Here's what I've found:
 | "According to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are both proposing tax plans that would result in cuts for most American families. Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy. For the approximately 147,000 families that make up the top 0.1 percent of the income scale, the difference between the two plans is stark. While McCain offers a $269,364 tax cut, Obama would raise their taxes, on average, by $701,885 - a difference of nearly $1 million. |
Huh! Now, that's interesting. Looks to me like Obama's plan will cut taxes more than McCain' will for everyone but the richest Americans. Of course, that's nothing new; that's what every Republican has done since my childhood, at least, even though the picture of the tax-and-spend liberal is still really big in some confused minds.
When I pointed this out to one of my Republican friends, he (in true Republican fashion) completely ignored it and just countered with "so you're ok with drastically increased capital gains taxes and a 45% death tax? Obama wants to increase the 'death tax'" even higher than it is now!"Q: You favor an increase in the capital gains tax, saying, "I certainly would not go above what existed under Bill Clinton, which was 28%." It's now 15%. That's almost a doubling if you went to 28%. Bill Clinton dropped the capital gains tax to 20%, then George Bush has taken it down to 15%. And in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28%, the revenues went down.
Obama: What I've said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness. The top 50 hedge fund managers made $29 billion last year--$29 billion for 50 individuals. Those who are able to work the stock market and amass huge fortunes on capital gains are paying a lower tax rate than their secretaries. That's not fair. |
Now, that seems fair to me. Also, it doesn't effect me or my family at all, and if it did, it wouldn't effect me enough to make me want to vote for McCain.
Next we have the "death tax," actually known as the estate tax. Here's Obama's plan for the estate tax - the one that my Republican friend is apparently so worried about:| "Obama proposes freezing the estate tax at 2009 levels: a 45% tax rate on estates valued at more than $3.5 million. Married couples can combine their exemptions for a total of $7 million. |
3.5 Million! Are any of your parents or any of you worth 3.5 Million dollars? Do you plan for you and your spouse to be worth 7 Million? If you are, I'm sorry that you will only be leaving behind 1.25 Million or 3.5 Million respectively. That will probably be very tough for your families.
In 2006, only .27 Percent (that's 27/100 of a percent) of people paid the Federal estate tax, and that was when the exemption was at $2 Million for individuals and $4 Million for couples. (PDF)
Now, no, I don't think that tax should be that high. I think McCain's plan to drop it by 10 or 20 percent may not be a terrible idea. There are probably better ways to cut spending, perhaps starting by getting our troops out of Iraq. After all, the war has cost us 570 Billion Dollars so far. However, is the estate tax an important enough reason for normal people to vote for him? Obama, whose plan will cut taxes for all but the richest Americans, should lose because he doesn't leaven Millionaires with enough money after they die? Doesn't seem like a good enough reason to me.
As for national security, Obama is less experienced, that's true. However, he won't be making those decisions himself. Our current President certainly doesn't, and McCain won't either. He'll have advisers and a great VP who does have experience, and he'll do as good a job as anyone else can as President in this insane situation.
My point is this - Vote for McCain if you're not rich, or if you disagree with Obama's stance on abortion (but don't forget what McCain's stance was just a few months ago), or if you want to drill in ANWR or think we should stay in Iraq even longer. However, if you're a normal person with a normal income and a normal life, if you're not rich, and if you're not a hardcore conservative, I just can't imagine what it is about McCain that is so great and will effect you or those you love or what you stand to lose in an Obama presidency. Vote For Obama.
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