Senator Obama has made it a pillar of his campaign that he will "lower taxes for 95% of Americans - any American making less than $250,000". If you have been paying attention to the campaign you have heard this phrase again and again.
Now he is changing the threshhold to $200,000, and Senator Biden was quoted as saying the threshold could actually be $150,000. If this change in policy gets the press coverage it deserves, it should have a significant impact with voters for two reasons. 1) This change is just one more broken pledge that further undermines Senator Obama's credibility (federal funding of his campaign, standing behind Jeremiah wright) 2) $250,000 seems like a very high number, affecting only "the rich". Many people believe "the rich" should pay more taxes, and are fine with this threshold. Start moving the number down, though, and many voters are going to become nervous that they might soon be included in the proposed tax increases. I am reminded of the quote that finished the October 22 post. If you don't remember it, go read it again.
Here is the information about Obama's broken pledge and a video confirming the change in policy.
1 comment:
Listen, I am no fan of taxes. And I think that taxes do discourage innovation and free enterprise.
But your support for McCain and the Republicans is galling for the following reason:
- The Republican Party over the last 8 years has ran up extremely large deficits which will haunt this nation for many years to come
- They have reduced taxes, but they have increased spending (including in Iraq)
The Republicans view the government as a big pot of money, which everyone can tap (although in practice only the rich and the corporations can) and no one has to pay into (although in practice, everyone does)
We are so far up the creek on deficit spending, external debt, and public debt, that most economists foresee that it will take *decades* of higher taxes and controlled spending just to get back to 0.
And yet, we still talk about reducing taxes and pumping money into Iraq -- unbelievable.
I used to be a Republican-leaning centrist when the Republicans were a party of George Senior...
fiscally conservative and socially liberal (or at least not too fanatic)
Now they are ass backwards...
Socially conservative (actually fanatic) and fiscally liberal
And McCain has done nothing to convince me that he can turn this around. In fact, he has abandoned his previously centrist policies to appeal to his base -- a tragedy at best!
I am voting Democrat this time around.
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