Candidates on the Economy
CNN has been doing a few special articles this week on America’s #1 Issue: Money. And of course, with the economy tanking, it is on the forefront of everyone’s mind. So, I thought that I would head over to their election headquarters and see what they had the candidates down for as far as stimulating the economy.
First, let me say that I really believe that the government is way too involved in much of the economy. Sure, it’s their responsibility now to keep it from total collapse, but otherwise, I really think they should keep their greasy little mitts off of it. So, with that said, which candidate is the better of the bunch as far as the economy is concerned?
The answer may surprise you. It’s “D: None of the Above”. At least that’s the answer if you ask me. Let’s take a quick look. I’m paraphrasing here, so keep that in mind.
McCain wants to cut corporate taxes, allow faster writing off of equipment, and give a tax credit that is equal to 10% of the wage cost on research and development.
Obama wants to start dishing out the money. Temporarily of course. A one time stimulus paired with a $45 billion reserve to do the same if the economy goes south again. And if none of that works, he’s planning on extending and expanding unemployment insurance.
Then there’s Hillary. She thinks she can fix the economy with $30 billion to put a cork in the subprime mess, freeze the rates on those same loans, as well as $25 billion for energy subsidies to families, $10 billion to expand and extend the unemployment insurance, and $5 billion to jump start the eco sensitive “green-collar” job market.
Here’s what’s wrong with each one. McCain is coddling the corporate world. It’s a typical Republican M.O. and only goes so far. Cutting corporate taxes is only going to inflate the CEO salaries a little bit more. That’s good for McCain and the others because those same CEOs are the ones that are featured prominently in the list of heavy hitting campaign donations. It would benefit small business somewhat, but more would have to be done to stimulate the small business sector and these cuts would only serve to strengthen the hold the big corporations have on the market.
Obama thinks the government is made of money. (I don’t agree with the latest stimulation package either) Instead of fixing the problems with the economy (bad lending practices, corporate fraud, etc…), he wants to give us a temporary boost in hopes that it will pull the economy back up. The main problem with that is that it doesn’t really help. They claim that it stimulates the economy and brings it back up out of the dip. I think it just levels it out and then it climbs back out on it’s own. Even if that’s not the case, a temporary fix is only that. Temporary. It’s time for permanent fixes.
Hillary wants us all to be wards of the state. If you signed the dotted line on a loan you couldn’t afford, the state will bail you out. Loaned money to a bad borrower? The state will bail you out. Can’t pay your heating bill? Here’s a check to bail you out there too. Expanding unemployment insurance will only make things worse. There are people who play that program almost as bad as many play the welfare program. And the $5 billion to jump start the green collar job force? A coyly disguised push for a higher approval rating.
None of these candidates have a solid workable solution to the problem. Each will patch it in their own way. Some (Hillary) in a way only Marx could be proud of. So what is the answer? That’s another article I think.