McCain Adviser: McCain’s Tax Plan ‘Will Bring The Budget To Balance By The End Of His First Term’
McCain Adviser: McCain’s Tax Plan ‘Will Bring The Budget To Balance By The End Of His First Term’
Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) rhetoric on the budget has become increasingly muddled in recent months. McCain has gone from pushing a balanced budget by 2012, to a balanced budget by 2017, to a “who cares” approach. A brief timeline:
– “McCain pledges to balance the budget by 2012, not by increasing taxes, but by vetoing all pork barrel spending, and curbing outlays for Social Security and Medicare.” [Fortune, 2/19/08]
– “McCain’s overall goal is to balance the budget by the end of his second term, says [economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin]. That would be 2017.” [Robert Samuelson, 2/19/08]
– Holtz-Eakin “said that if the war and the personal and corporate tax cuts that Mr. McCain advocated added to the federal deficit and debt, so be it. ‘I would like the next president not to talk about deficit reduction,’ he said.” [NY Times, 4/14/08]
But yesterday, in an interview with Bloomberg, the McCain campaign flip-flopped yet again, claiming that McCain would put in place a balanced budget “by the end of his first term”:
Holtz-Eakin…defended McCain’s tax plans, which include extending Bush’s tax cuts, reducing the corporate tax rate and repealing the alternative-minimum tax. McCain would offset those cuts by reexamining the entire federal budget and vetoing earmarks to reduce spending. “That plan, when appropriately phased in, as it has always been intended to be, will bring the budget to balance by the end of his first term,” he said.
In reality, as the Wonk Room noted, McCain’s tax plan — which doubles the size of the Bush tax cuts, costing more than $2 trillion in their first decade — would create the largest deficit in 25 years. Even with the most generous savings McCain has offered, yearly deficits would increase to $1.2 trillion by FY2017, beginning with $505 billion in FY2009.
When ABC’s George Stephanopoulos confronted McCain with the numbers in April, McCain shied away from his first term balanced budget pledge. “But we’re not going to have a balanced budget before you leave office in your first term?” Stephanopoulos asked. “Well, that still should be a goal, but the goal — the goal right now is to get the economy going again,” McCain responded.
So which budget plan is it? 2012? 2017? Or none at all? As Holtz-Eakin said in May, “You have to pay for that somehow or you are George Bush III.”
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How are we going to balance the budget by 2012?
Tax Cuts!!!!
(BTW, isn’t that how we got into the position we’re in now? Fantasy econ 101?)
June 7th, 2008 at 10:07 amMcCain said that Economics was not his strong suit. No kidding.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:11 amWow — whodathunkit that you could balance the budget by eliminating as much revenue as possible?
As McCain says, “I don’t know how it works, but it does.”
(BTW — does he realize that virtually every guy running for the office of president for the past few decades has promised to “cut unnecessary spending”? How well has that worked for everyone?)
June 7th, 2008 at 10:15 amBut the Republicans have gotten away with this BS for years. Bush was given a pass on it by the press during his first campaign. We do not see a lot of discussion now. How the press can keep up this straight talker image when he lies through his teeth, I do not know.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:18 amJust another BORROW AND SPEND CONSERVATIVE.
Seriously…how come Americans and the media just accept promises without hard numbers?
June 7th, 2008 at 10:28 am“But we’re not going to have a balanced budget before you leave office in your first term?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“Well, that still should be a goal, but the goal — the goal right now is to get the economy going again,” McCain responded.
Translation: “Well, sure I’d like to sound like I know what I’m talking about, since I want the job, but since I don’t have a single clue that stabilizing the Economy involves goals that include balancing the budget, I’ll just ramble and stutter a bit and pretend that I’ve answered your question by smiling now…”
Obama has it right – a Manhattan Project beginning January 2009 is a sound opening solution. Give McCain a week before he’s promoting a Manhattan Project himself. After all, he’s begun running his campaign on ideas and slogans he’s stolen from Obama.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:30 amPlease say “read my lips”. Pleeeeaase!
June 7th, 2008 at 10:39 amHow does the republic party get such stoopid candidates? Do they give IQ tests and pick the lowest scores, assuming it is like golf?
June 7th, 2008 at 10:41 amTo all the good voters in November: PULEEZE get it right this time, OK??
Basically, it’s the battle of the advertising juggernauts. Knowing that America is ruled by the steady diet of commercial teevee, they know the key lies in using people’s knee-jerk gut-over-facts tendency to float misleading impressions that the “average” (i.e. lazy passive newswatcher) American will unconsciously retain. (Like prominently repeating “Hussein” to establish a bogus but subconscious link between Osama and Obama.
Know that the same crap emotionalism that nudges you to pick up Tide over Gain is being used to nudge your impressions and feed your fears.
…and when they can’t nudge you, the corporate media conglomerates simply go to court, like MSNBC, and flat-out block your candidate. It worked for bush in 2000, didn’t it?
USA..USA..USHeil…USeigHeil…Sieg Heil…
June 7th, 2008 at 10:42 amThe Republicans don’t seem to have any reticence to continue to LIE</strong> about their failed economics!
June 7th, 2008 at 10:47 amI have been wondering for almost 8 year’s, what the hell the reich winger’s are smoking…..Or maybe it’s a happy dumb down and distroy all pill they take every morning with their coffee….What ever it is, it amazes me they don’t get the fact our country is broke and they along with enabeler’s caused it….All of it…
If this keep’s up the unemployed will out number the working class and there will be no tax to collect…Our infastructure will crumble beyond repair and then they will be out of a job…No money mean’s they won’t get their’s either…..It is not possible to bring about a balanced budget with a runaway war, nearly 11 trillion owed debt to foreign countries and cutting all needed service’s while giving massive tax cut’s to the rich and huge tax free incentive’s to all huge corporation’s to move out of the country or claim they do business in the Camin Island’s…Some of these corporation’s spend million’s for tax attorney’s to find loop holes so they don’t have to pay anything, plus they get huge amount’s of our tax money….Geees.
I’m not a college grad and worked hard all my life…..Had to live on my own earning’s, not borrowed and even I know one has to plan, save and pay as you go….Why are all the rep’s.like drunken teen’s with daddy’s car key’s speeding down the highway.. Hell, they have borrowed so far into the future even grand children not concived yet will have to pay on the intrest while big corporation’s and war contracter’s rake in huge profit’s…
We are way past the time to correct all that need’s fixing…We no longer have the luxery of sleep walking and expecting our government as it is to fix what they intentelly broke…We must now clean out the house, senate and all the enabeler’s that created this mess….Please forgive all my error’s..Now go and get busy, remove mcnutty and put him in his place, some obscure rest home in Nevada where he get’s the med’s he need’s….Blessings
June 7th, 2008 at 10:47 amYes. Because the Chimpy tax cuts have done us so much good so far. Don’t worry. Give McSame a few days/weeks. He’ll say something totally opposite and deny he ever said this.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:54 amSomebody explain to me exactly how McCain, a guy who couldn’t even pass high school economics, and a bunch of lobbyists are ever going to balance the budget when we have record deficits, no one knows how much is left in the treasury, no one knows how much the Bush’s wars have already cost and no one knows how much the wars will continue to cost? Oh, and he plans to keep US troops in Iraq for 100 years too! I suppose that will still somehow pay for itself.
Nice try Johnny but I’m not buying it.
-AF
June 7th, 2008 at 10:59 amAndrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
LOL< more of the same old Spin. Use smoke and mirrors on the American Sheeple and they as usual will lap it up. Anyone who falls for McBushes lies and tales deserves what they get.
JT
June 7th, 2008 at 11:00 amIs your ISP spying on you?
Budget smudget Insane McCain doesn’t even understand what it means. With his socialized medical benefits corporate aircraft at his disposal and after dumping his POOR faithful wife and marrying the bank he has never faced a medical bill or a credit card late payment The senile old bastard would drag us down the chute and never even understand why
June 7th, 2008 at 11:03 amTHE SOURCE OF “SAY ANYTHING” MKKKAIN’S DISEASE. I GUESS YOU JUST RELEASE A RAINBOW OF STANCES ON A CERTAIN SUBJECT AND THEN YOU ARE AN ADVOCATE FOR WHATEVER IDIOT CROWD YOU’RE STANDING IN FRONT OF THAT DAY
June 7th, 2008 at 11:05 amrepublic party econ 101: Cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations that support us and everything will work out. Somehow, some way, some day, some say. OK?
June 7th, 2008 at 11:07 amThis sounds like the old “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse” budget balancing hokum that politicians have trotted out for years. The other week I heard Carly Fiorina on Bloomberg supporting McCain’s endless tax cuts. Do these people have no shame?
June 7th, 2008 at 11:08 ammcain doesnt have
June 7th, 2008 at 11:32 ama balanced brain…see its always flipping and flopping like the dead fish he is
James Kvaal and Robert Gordon note that, in the same interview, Holtz-Eakin ludicrously claims that Obama — not McCain — would be a third Bush term.
They just don’t care whether what they say has any relation to reality anymore.
June 7th, 2008 at 11:43 amLumpyDunky how long until I don’t have to see “Is your ISP spying on you?” anymore. It is sort of annoying but you already know that
June 7th, 2008 at 11:46 amWhat Bush and McCain are doing is preying on the debt people are in. With all the foreclosures and record job losses the average joe couldn’t wait to get his rebate check. For many it was a godsent. Not only did it help them pay off bills but it helped them combat the ever rising fuel prices. That is the reality of how people around where I lived look at it.
We here know better, that we are paying a heavy price for that joke of a stimulus package for the economy. What the problem is many do not sit and think that when the government has record deficits this is adding to it. They are not thinking outside the box. Unfortunately, they are only concerned for what is going to help them now.
That really needs to be addressed that these tax cuts are hurting our country so bad. Politicians need to make people understand that if you want a good infastructure (good roads, highways, bridges, and mass transportation), government programs, and public services that are funded by the government that they have to be paid for in taxes. They just don’t magically get done or appear when you need them.
People are talking more openly about politics than ever before in my lifetime. It is amazing how many that my husband works with still cling to George Bush and McCain and part of the problem is that they watch Fox News. Another part of the problem is the media is not nailing McCain to the wall on how inadequate is economic package is. If it is not on the news, in their face, they have no clue how bad it really is. We still have people that don’t do the research that many of us have. Or try to seek the truth.
Good Morning to all!!
June 7th, 2008 at 11:48 amA republican is going to do that? Pigs will be flying so they won’t get in the barrels? Not in my lifetime, but it’ll be different this time? Who’s the last republican to do that?
I’m wondering if McCain can make it to all those town halls and they’re talking about 2017? It’s just getting started and in six months Obama may have to help an old man off the stage.
June 7th, 2008 at 11:56 amLet’s face facts. McCain is depending on Bush’s “base” as his own “base”. These are not a very bright bunch of people. They tend to believe what ever they are told, as long as it’s from Rove, Bush and Cheney! I’m wondering how many of these morons are believing what McCain is saying?
June 7th, 2008 at 12:02 pmdude needs a shave.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:10 pm25% of the sheeple will believe it — just cuz he says so.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:15 pmI’d think McCain would be happy to just be alive after his first term.
_AIO_
June 7th, 2008 at 12:17 pmone gets the impression that America is f”"ked. No competent leadership to be found, and the country’s economic fortunes beholden to foreign interests.
Flag waving, civic virtues and patriotic feeling will not rescue America this time.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:17 pmdbadass Says:
LumpyDunky how long until I don’t have to see “Is your ISP spying on you?” anymore. It is sort of annoying but you already know that
Do what I do: flag and do not read his/her post under any circumstances.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:18 pmSo McCain’s plan is to continue Bush’s tax cuts as well as continue Bush’s war and this will erase the same deficit these things created.
This of course is the definition of insanity, doing the same things over and over while expecting a different result.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
June 7th, 2008 at 12:26 pmBwaaahahahaha. I almost fell out of my chair on that one. What person in their right mind would believe this worn out political football that has been pulled out from under Charley Brown a million times?
June 7th, 2008 at 12:29 pmHow much money could be saved by decreasing subsidies for companies that continually have record-breaking profits? What if you spent less on an embassy on the other side of the world and use that extra money to rebuild after domestic disasters? That might save some money.
How about a Retro-active Immunity TAX?
June 7th, 2008 at 12:34 pmHoltz-Eakin said ‘I would like the next president not to talk about deficit reduction.’
Frankly, Mr. Holtz-Eakin, the American people don’t give a damn what you would like.
The truth is that 7 1/2 years of Republican economic policies have bankrupted America. Unemployment is going up, the weak dollar has caused the price of gasoline to double, our national debt has doubled, our infrastructure is crumbling, we’re bogged down in an endless war in Iraq, and all you’re worried about is tax cuts for fat cats.
Screw you, Mr. Holtz-Eakin, we’ve had a belly full of what YOU would like.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:37 pmJust more voodoo economics. How about cutting spending on the Iraq war… McCain can start by cutting the number of contractors in half and cutting the pay-out to the contractors by 3/4… that should place the contractors pay more in line with the pay check of our military. Next, McCain can stop paying for the health care costs of Government employees, starting with eliminating taxpayers paying for his health care. If McCain plans on cutting Social Security then he will need to cut Government retirement programs also. Now, I gave McCain some suggestions on how to reduce Government spending. Hope he reads this.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:39 pmNo one is asking the question of how these republican tax policies would benefit McCain directly. With a 100 million dollar fortune, figuring how much he himself would save,were his policies enacted, would paint him as an affluent elitist, only interested in fattening his own bankroll.
June 7th, 2008 at 1:00 pmI wonder if you went back if you could find some Bush advisor talking about how Bush’s budget would bring the deficit under control?
June 7th, 2008 at 1:01 pmPromise everything – anything, and if enough people believe you, you’ll get elected.
June 7th, 2008 at 1:02 pmDuring the Clinton Years, the Republicans were Insisting on a Balanced Budget Amendment.
You don’t hear much about that anymore.
June 7th, 2008 at 1:11 pmIn his great article “The Tax Cut Con,” Dr. Paul Krugman writes, “The [Congressional] budget office’s new head, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, is a conservative economist who was handpicked for his job by the administration. But his conclusion was that unless the revenue losses from the proposed tax cuts were offset by spending cuts, the resulting deficits would be a drag on growth, quite likely to outweigh
any supply-side effects.”
Later in the same article, “Politicians will, of course, promise to eliminate wasteful spending. But take out Social Security,Medicare, defense, Medicaid, government pensions, homeland security, interest on the public debt and veterans’ benefits — none of them what people who complain about waste usually have in mind — and you are left with spending equal to about 3 percent of gross domestic product. And most of that goes for courts, highways, education and other useful things. Any savings from elimination of waste and fraud
will amount to little more than a rounding-off error.”
Finally, “So let’s put a few things back on the table. Let’s assume that interest on the public debt will be paid, that
spending on defense and homeland security will not be compromised and that the regular operations of government will continue to be financed. What we are left with, then, are the New Deal and Great Society programs: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment insurance. And to close the fiscal gap, spending on these programs would have to be cut by around 40 percent.”
McBain’s truly will be President Dinkledorf’s third term!
June 7th, 2008 at 1:11 pmI find it amazing people even listen to McCain.
Then I remember that this is a country that elected both Ronnie “trees cause pollution” Raygun and George “Dumbass” Bush president….. and then I am scared, lol
June 7th, 2008 at 1:25 pmI can balance the budget in 2 weeks . . . so take that! Not onlt THAT, but your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! *snicker*
June 7th, 2008 at 1:31 pmWhat a BALD FACED LIAR!
June 7th, 2008 at 2:25 pmHe’s old…….he’s tired……he’s confused…….he takes Ambien nightly……..economics is not his strength………
and his wife is worth $100 million,
so he really doesn’t give a f*** as long as he gets to be the President.
June 7th, 2008 at 3:44 pmWhat first term bozo? He won’t be given a chance to fail with that line of bull.
June 7th, 2008 at 4:43 pmGonna cut Social Security and Medicare.
Right.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:48 pmGee McGrumpy, how about cutting the $28,000 you currently COLLECT from Social Security – on top of your public salary, disability, investments, lobby perks and retirement funds?
Isn’t Cindy giving you enough to cover the Medamucil and Ambien – or – are you just a simple greedy RepubliCON wandering through politics playing “pull my finger” . . . .?
June 8th, 2008 at 12:46 amWhat a powerful, easy to remember argument to continually throw out to every McCain supporter. How long do you think until I get an answer that addresses the yo-yo stance on this issue.
Either McCain’s entire campaign is based on “say what they want to hear at that time” or, McCain is nuts but he’s the last hope of a dying mini dynasty so they cover their eyes and ears still pretending that their Emperor does have clothes on.
June 8th, 2008 at 10:04 amMacCain thinks his going to have a first term… hahahahahaha!
June 8th, 2008 at 3:49 pmsacopenapa Says:
——————————————————————————–
MacCain thinks his going to have a first term… hahahahahaha!
Sorry to burst your potential bubble…the crooked voting machines will give him a first term and more….
June 8th, 2008 at 6:04 pmHis claim that he can balance the budget is a lot like the right wing argument that if you lower taxes, you increase revenue. The logic of that implies that as taxes are lowered, revenues move toward infinity (until taxes hit 0, that is). Oh, this right wing math–so complicated.
McCain’s lust for power is so transparent that it would be comical if it weren’t for the fact that it’s also real. Trusting anything he says to try to win the election would be a big mistake.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:35 am