Now, I didn't feel like revisiting McCain on how his economic policies won't do anything for people of low income again so soon, but he made the kind of statement you know I just could not avoid mentioning--to wit, he called Senator Obama "insensitive" to the "hopes and dreams of..." Aw hell. This is regarding the capital gains issue that came up during that silly ABC debate, isn't it? Capital Gains refers to income from investments. Disposition of property and such. Unless I'm missing something, the capital gains tax vs. income tax is the difference (to be really simplistic, but I'm a blogger, folks--it's what I have time and space to do) between money working for you and you working for your money. The hopes and dreams of middle class people saving and investing for a nest egg or retirement is fine, but it isn't really a poverty issue, and not necessarily one at the forefront of the minds of many working people.
The other issue McCain took up to show how Obama is "not sensitive" was the "gas tax holiday", which Obama does not prefer, but McCain and Clinton do. McCain would naturally tend against it on "low tax" principles, and it would represent some savings to gas consumers, but as Obama has pointed out, the savings are minimal (about $25-$30)for the individuals, and the loss of revenue is...well, not what our government needs right now. Clinton's proposal of taxing the gas concerns, who seem to have record profits coinciding with higher prices at the pump, seems at least a responsible notion, but the keen economic observer, Paul Krugman, has pointed out how the whole idea is basicly much ado about nothing.
Obviously, McCain has a political need to get out his message (The Audacity of Nope?) regarding what he intends to do with the ecomony, while bringing down opinion of the Democratic front-runner's plan. But the claim of "insensitivity to the poor" is a little funky coming from a Republican, with, as I do believe I've mentioned, his poor record on Labor issues "sensitive" to the working class, a poor retirement security view (something many Boomers should think about as they see what the turbulent market and general bad faith has done to their retirement saving portfolios), and a shocking antipathy to the minimum wage. And if one wished to view a moment of insensitivity to working class ideals, here's your sound bite:
But he took more questions, including a pointed one on his immigration plan.
McCain responded by saying immigrants were taking jobs nobody else wanted. He offered anybody in the crowd $50 an hour to pick lettuce in Arizona.
Shouts of protest rose from the crowd, with some accepting McCain’s job offer.
“I’ll take it!” one man shouted.
McCain insisted none of them would do such menial labor for a complete season. “You can’t do it, my friends.”
Some in the crowd said they didn’t appreciate McCain questioning their work ethic.
This was from a speech to labor leaders. Very Straight-Talking. I know more than few people who would do any of a number of things for $50 an hour. You could call those things menial; they would call it a living.
What we have in the potential McCain economy is not just an insensitivity to the issues regular working people face, people who aren't millionaires collecting Social Security as well as a disability pension and enjoying a Senator's health care benefits (oh, my little piece about his health care will come), but it's altogether unrealistic for middle-class savers and investors. What I've mentioned about his free-market thing is nothing compared to his trickle-down thing, and at long last, we can see how the GOP has coughed up a Reaganesque figure, in that he resurrects the idea that budget cuts can meaningfully make up for irresponsible tax cuts, and that, as some Dick once said, "Deficits don't matter." But they do--it matters in terms of our spending power. This cobbling together of bad, just about discredited economic points, is a kind of FrankenReaganomics.
That drip, drip, drip of trickle-down is really a flushing sound...or have I mixed my political metaphors? Anyhow, I just think he's really wrong about what works, because Bush is all about the tax cuts--and it really hasn't worked.
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