Politico removes its claim that McCain’s tax cuts are ‘aimed directly at the middle class.’ (Updated)
By on Oct 12th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Politico removes its claim that McCain’s tax cuts are ‘aimed directly at the middle class.’ (Updated)
Earlier today, ThinkProgress criticized Politico.com for publishing a story that claimed John McCain’s proposed tax cuts for capital gains and dividends would be “aimed directly at the middle class.” Here was their original story’s lead:
Tonight, Politico published a new story on McCain’s tax cuts that removed the false claim. Instead, the article states that the tax cuts are “designed to lure investors back to the stock market.” Here’s their new story’s lead:
Note: The original story containing the false claim is still up on the Politico site.
UpdateContrary to the Politico's report, the New York Times states that the McCain campaign will "not have any more proposals this week unless developments call for some." Spokesman Tucker Bounds said: “We do not have any immediate plans to announce any policy proposals outside of the proposals that John McCain has announced, and the certain proposals that would result as economic news continues to come our way.” The Times notes this as "signs of internal confusion" from the campaign.
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Who reads Politico–oh, Palin?
October 12th, 2008 at 9:55 pmPolitico has lost credibility faster even than TPM did during the primaries!
October 12th, 2008 at 9:55 pmLurch.
October 12th, 2008 at 9:58 pmFinal throes…we’re still not out of the woods yet, though.. keep going folks, Diebold and other forms of cheating can flip the vote if the candidates are within 5 percentage points of one another in a state. In the past 2 elections, not a single electronic voting machine error that was caught would have benefitted bush’s opponent… heck, gore got NEGATIVE 16,000 votes in one florida county..why the heck do they even allow voting machines to calculate negative tallies..?
October 12th, 2008 at 9:58 pmWhat’s up with Mike Allen? Allen and POLITICO are in the bag for McCain. POLITICO is a joke, the “Entertainment Tonight” of pop-politics. Instead of reporting policies and positions of the candidates they do the “on the one-hand, and on the other-hand”—-Just report the facts, no more, no less.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:04 pmPOLITICO-authored articles were all over my St. Paul Sunday paper this morning. Can’t a guy get a break from the GOP once in a a while? Lord knows they’ve done enough damage.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:24 pmSurprisingly, in the Parade magazine in the local Sunday paper had a side-by-side comparison of what different incomes would save under both plans. Obama’s wins for the incomes up to about a quarter million $, and McCain’s favors the haves and the have-mores. Surprise, surprise.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:34 pmAnd now the NY Times reports there will no “new economic plan” from McC after all. Does anybody anywhere truly want to sign up for four years of McC mood swings?
October 12th, 2008 at 10:35 pmBut, as we all know, truth has never bent certain journalistic publishers from bending the truth. We will always be cursed with the perception that anything pro-Repug will be the mainstream course.
We on the progressive side will always be swimming upstream.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:38 pmKey Words - “designed to lure investors back to the stock market.”
…suckers.
Yeah, but I know alot of people who won’t be lured again.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:02 pmTime to queue the good ol tire swing video with McCain kissing SERIOUS media butt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp0iHOk0mEQ
That is Politico giving Cindy McCain flowers and woofing down BBQ at Sedona!
Politico has always been and will always be in McCain’s pocket.
So don’t be surprised by this crap. Politico was started by ex-journalists from conservative newspapers.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:16 pmWhat… the proposal is aimed directly at the middle class. It’s aimed at taking more of their money, and giving it away to those less unfortunate than them.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:26 pmThe trolls sure haven’t been here in a while. Kinda miss ‘em.
NOT
October 12th, 2008 at 11:27 pmvat694848:
October 12th, 2008 at 11:39 pmPolitico is a right-wing rag. The money behind it is from the right-wing Albritton family. Glennzilla did a post about them.
Whoa there!
Those tax policies ARE aimed at the Middle Class.
AT IMPOVERISHING the middle class.!~
There, I feel so much better now…
October 12th, 2008 at 11:40 pmDoc Rock:
October 12th, 2008 at 11:40 pmPolitico isn’t even fit to lick TPM’s shoes.
LVR, Darlyy was on the very tail end of the gays in CT thread a couple of days ago. Other than that, their stipends cut off, they’re blessedly silent.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:41 pmWell, hell yeah they changed it. When did the middle class start getting capital gains and dividends? We have a mortgage for, oh, say, $200,000, but we can only sell that house for $150,000. Where’s the capital gain in that? Dividends? Our 401Ks, or minor parlay into the market has taken a serious nose dive into the Nether Regions. No dividend there.
It now appropriately reads tax cuts are “designed to lure investors back to the stock market.” IOW, those corporate shareholders who will receive their share of that $700bbn bonanza.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:26 amTP thanks for catching the repug msm misinformation.
repugs are full of schemes and lies. they don’t know how to be genuine and do what’s right for the people. they prefer the old ways, the conservative methods. It stinks and mcchimpy will continue chimpy’s backwardness, forgetfulness, dicator reign on the US.
It’s embarrassing to see racist on tv, as if it’s ok. the repugs’ campaign is silly, staged, bs crap. repugs aren’t capable to run the US, they never will be.
They are out of their piece of minds if they believe they have a chance on Nov. 4. They should be laughed out of the election process.
Way to go plain and mcchimpy, incite the white supremacist, that’s smart. We know you are dealing with the racist outliers. Who in their right mind encourages such dangerous nuts. mcchimpy should have said they aren’t welcome to his “speeches.”
I don’t believe a word that come out of the repugs’ mouths.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:27 amrepugs are despicable.
Since when is $250K/yr middle class?
October 13th, 2008 at 12:29 amUsing CNN’s electoral projection map, I figured that to WIN, McCain would have to get ALL the swing states.
As long as Barack just gets ONE swing state, He wins the whitehouse. (so long as that one isn’t nevada, because that would tie)
If McCain wins in November, I would HIGHLY suspect a fixed election like Florida 2000.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:51 amThanks Calvin for a link on the hush right-wing pop-political “POLITICO”. After Sen. Obama wins the election by a landslide the crackerjack reporters can focus there talents on weather Miss. Spears is wearing underwear?, or if Miss. Lowan will marry her girlfriend?
October 13th, 2008 at 1:04 am“Spokesman Tucker Bounds said: “We do not have any immediate plans to announce any policy proposals outside of the proposals that John McCain has announced, and the certain proposals that would result as economic news continues to come our way.” The Times notes this as “signs of internal confusion” from the campaign….. Mcwars and co are just out of touch with the 75 percent of us who think Bushco is doing a lousy job and their 25percent who think other wise due to their BLINDERS that they wear.
October 13th, 2008 at 1:21 amAbout ten years ago, it was true that the median American did not own a single share of stock. And there is no capital gains tax on your IRA.
Ross Perot said he had over $2 billion, had income of over $200 million per year, and paid 7.5% federal tax on that $200 million. Much was in tax-free bonds.
October 13th, 2008 at 2:20 amUPDATE SECTIION; bounds is an idiot. He couldn’t remember mcchimpy’s soupy proposal either his nonsense babble proved that. It is best for mcchimpy to shut the hell up and bounds too.
McCain vows to whip Obama’s ‘you know what’
his black ass?
There mcchimpy goes the abusive words… bloody, whip, kill
October 13th, 2008 at 2:37 amplain used such words also.
Keith Says:
About ten years ago, it was true that the median American did not own a single share of stock. And there is no capital gains tax on your IRA.
Ross Perot said he had over $2 billion, had income of over $200 million per year, and paid 7.5% federal tax on that $200 million. Much was in tax-free bonds.
The rich should pay a much higher rate of taxes because they enjoy the best benefits the US has to offer.
October 13th, 2008 at 2:50 amDoc Rock Says:
Politico has lost credibility faster even than TPM did during the primaries!
What happened?
October 13th, 2008 at 2:59 amOT…
Krugman just won the Nobel prize for economics.
2008 might just turn out to be a year for the good guys.
October 13th, 2008 at 7:17 amPaul Krugman Wins Nobel for Economics
http://www.nytimes.com/ reuters/ business/ business-nobel-economics.html
Billo is going to implode
October 13th, 2008 at 7:27 amMorning, Dr Matt.
Very good point re. Billo, and he surely won’t be the only wingnut to lose it.
October 13th, 2008 at 7:31 amHow ironic given that McCain has now scrapped his plan for any tax cuts…
http://www.sunstateactivist.org/ssablog/
October 13th, 2008 at 7:59 amCongrats to Mr. Krugman. He deserved it.
October 13th, 2008 at 8:22 amDumb_Hussein_Fox–
The POS reich-wing talking heads, like Billo, drugbaugh, etc., are going to rant on how Nobel is nothing but a worthless and meaningless librul award. Sadly, their pathetic listeners will believe it.
October 13th, 2008 at 8:42 amPolitico tries to be the credible arm of the misinformation machinery by dancing much closer to the truth than Rush or BillO, instead using subtlety to drive their bias.
Of course, they too have to face the facts eventually that the McCain message is an almost abject failure, and is failing to resonate with concerned, thinking people.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:47 amFrom the Parade magazine article cited earlier:
How Much Would You Pay in Taxes?
Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain both say they’ll cut federal taxes if elected. Here’s what their proposals would mean for you.
Obama McCain
If you make… you’d save…you’d save…
less than $19,000 $567 $21
$19,000-$37,600 $892 $118
$37,600-$66,400 $1118 $325
$66,400-$111,600 $1264 $994
$111,600-$161,000 $2135 $2584
$161,000-$227,000 $2796 $4437
If you’re in the top 5% of earners…
you’d pay an extra… you’d save…
$227,000-$603,400 $121 $8159
$603,400-$2.87 million $93,709 $48,862
more than $2.87 million $542,882 $290,708
*Source: Tax Policy Center. Numbers have been rounded. For complete details, go to TaxPolicyCenter.org.
If your annual salary is less than $112,000, you’d pay less in taxes under Obama’s plan; if your salary is higher, McCain would cut your taxes more. “While the aggregate tax cut is bigger for McCain, a larger number of voters get more money under Obama,” says Alan Viard, a tax-policy expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “Obama is choosing to emphasize tax cuts for the middle class, whereas McCain’s strategy is to keep rates lower at the top as a way to facilitate long-run growth.” For example, a person with an income of $1 million could see his taxes increase under Obama by as much as $94,000, whereas under McCain’s plan he could save about $48,000.
— Rebecca Davis O’Brien
October 13th, 2008 at 9:55 amhttp://www.parade.com/ news/ intelligence-report/ archive/ how-much-would-you-pay-taxes.html
Too bad the formatting didn’t save when posting, so go to the link to read it directly.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:57 amChimpy has see what the Europeans do, and have it explained to him, and make sure McCain is on board before he says anything.
October 13th, 2008 at 10:17 amOff topic mostly:
October 13th, 2008 at 10:59 amRe: ‘bailout’ and upcoming ‘bailout’
I need someone to explain to me how putting all of the people who actually pay taxes (as apposed to those who’ve benefited from the upper crust / corporate tax cuts created by junior) in debt for the rest of their lives is going to help the economy. i am missing something there.
Um, is just me, or am I wrong in thinking that hardly ANYONE who sold their holdings this tax year are going to have to pay capital gains taxes because the stock market is down 40% and is a bloody mess? So how does cutting these taxes any further actually help anyone?
October 13th, 2008 at 12:32 pmto Keith H. at #39: If that is not a rhetorical question, then let me give my perspective. The bailout isn’t about helping the economy, unless it is the unintended byproduct of helping the financial sector. The ruling elite have always been suspicious of we-the-people democracy, so by concentrating power and influence in their hands we could have a new feudalism: where most of the property and wealth are concentrated at the top; and, the rest of us are little worker bees just struggling to survive. That is the stable form of governance that they seek. Think back to FDR years when the ‘economic royalists’ (JP Morgan, Prescott Bush and others) attempted a coup against the government. Bush’s and Paulson’s plan wasn’t much different, just subtler.
“If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.”
— GWB, Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000
October 14th, 2008 at 10:12 am