New McCain Ad Built Out Of 100% Fear And 0% Facts
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, McCain, Taxes, VideoSeriously. The “facts” in this ad are completely wrong at best and outright lies at worst.
Yes, he’s using the whole “celebrity” theme again…as if McCain hasn’t been featured on numerous magazine covers. Seriously John, you need to quit pulling the jealous schoolgirl act. It’s wearing thin.
But getting to the real point of the ad…that Obama would raise taxes on people making $42,000…where is McCain getting that number? And taxing small business and seniors? In what ways?
Obama has said time and time again that he would give families who made under $250,000 tax breaks and raise taxes for those who make over that amount. There has been no hesitation in that policy.
In fact, when comparing their two tax plans, here’s what a nonpartisan study found…
The rich would pay more under Barack Obama’s tax plan, and the poor and middle-class would pay less, a nonpartisan analysis finds. Under John McCain’s plan, the rich would pay much less than they do now, the poor and middle-class would pay a bit less, and the federal deficit would grow, the study found. [...]The 95 percent-plus of the American population that earns less than $250,000 would see the following tax breaks: A $500-per-worker tax credit for people who earn less than $150,000 and do not itemize, and a $4,000 credit per child in college. Seniors who earn less than $50,000 would pay no income tax. [...]
McCain would make permanent most of the tax cuts President Bush has already enacted, including those that benefit the middle class, such as elimination of the marriage penalty and the increase in child credits. He would also keep cuts that benefit the wealthy, such as the elimination of the highest tax brackets. Obama would keep the breaks for the middle class but not the ones for the wealthy.
It’s unfortunate to see that McCain is turning into the kind of politician who’ll do or say anything to become President. I genuinely didn’t expect this type of campaigning from him.
UPDATE:
MSNBC calls the claims in this latest ad “dubious.”
That’s a nice way of saying they’re lies.
This entry was posted on Friday, August 8th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Barack, McCain, Taxes, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 8th, 2008 at 10:37 am
“And taxing small business and seniors? In what ways?”
A cap gain tax raises taxes on every senior that in that it takes their savings and investment. It is a tax on seniors. HE IS ABSOLUTELY correct. He also wants to raise the payroll tax. That is a tax increase on SMALL BUSINESS. The is ad is 100% true and Obama is promising to be a huge tax and spender. Great ad.
August 8th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Nope, you’re wrong…
The cap gains tax he’s proposing is on those who make over $250,000, as mentioned in the story I linked to…
So 1) it’s not some type of tax on seniors, and 2) the seniors who are getting taxes are well heeled.
Also, the payroll tax is, once again, on people who make over $250,000. How many small businesses do you know have employees who make over $250,000 a year?
Again, this is merely fear disguised as facts. One of the most misleading ads of the entire campaign from either side.
August 8th, 2008 at 11:20 am
The ad didn’t mention that Obama would raise taxes on working people, it claims that Obama already has voted to raise taxes on them. We should wait for FactCheck.org to look into what the specific item McCain is talking about here.
August 8th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
“A cap gain tax raises taxes on every senior that in that it takes their savings and investment. It is a tax on seniors.”
What a load of malarky. Everyone knows that seniors derive the vast majority of their dollars from income on investments such as bonds. If grandpa is getting capital gains on his stock portfolio, his investment advisor needs to be taken out back and shot.
Thanks for the laugh.
August 8th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
The “tax increase on people with a $42k salary” comes from simply letting the Bush tax cuts expire… which isn’t exactly the same thing as having voted for a tax increase.
August 8th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Dhimmi and J.Harden-
This ad has already been debunked by FactCheck on July 8th, if you are interested in the truth.
It’s just a reworking of McCain’s original lies about Obama taxing those making $32K a year, which is the after-tax take-home pay of someone making $41,500 (rounded up to $42K for this current ad).
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/the_32000_question.html
To recap: Obama voted on a budget resolution that would allow the Bush tax cuts to expire in 2011. He DID NOT vote to raise taxes. His economic plan would REPLACE those cuts with tax credits.
This is a typical Republican campaign tactic. For instance, if two competing bills come up for vote, and both cut taxes, but the one with less of a tax cut is passed, Republicans always say that Democrat X voted for “higher taxes”. Republicans, more than anything, fear the truth because they are always on the wrong side of it. As the article points out:
“The most comprehensive nonpartisan analysis of Obama’s tax proposal available is the Tax Policy Center’s comparison of McCain’s and Obama’s economic plans. That analysis mostly supports Obama’s claim that his plan won’t raise taxes, though it says that families earning between $169,480 and $237,040 would see an average tax increase of $486 under Obama’s plan. All those earning less than $169,480 would see tax cuts. In fact, that hypothetical taxpayer with the $32,000 in taxable income would get a $502 tax cut under Obama’s plan. McCain’s plan, by contrast, would leave that person’s taxes unchanged.”
August 8th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Rob, Ed, thank you.
August 8th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
It took a very thorough post here to set the record straight. The question I have is how do Dems counter Republican spin which always seems to misrepresent in two sentences what takes four paragraphs to explain? Why isn’t Obama more forceful in getting the message out with these policy facts? Not every voter is going to have Rob and Ed whispering in their ear.
August 8th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
mike mcEachran said:
“… Not every voter is going to have Rob and Ed whispering in their ear.”
I don’t think I have that kind of time. :-D
Here’s FactCheck.org’s bit on the small business pablum McCain’s been tossing about. Not exaclty one-to-one as far as the ad goes, but … yanno.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
What mike mcEachran says is exactly right: it would take 2 paragraphs to counter what Republicans say in 2 sentences.
It saddens me. There’s no way to convey the amount of information needed for each voter to make their own decision. All that ends up happening is the general public votes based on who they think is a “good guy,” which is really what all the smears and news items that leak into head add up to.
The media sucks. Every watch nightly news? It’s just smiling anchors talking half about celebrity stuff, and the other half about what I “should” know. It’s also at about a 6th grade reading level.
This country is pathetic. Even a retard can vote and cancel out mine.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I’m sick and tired of the bull that a tax on capital gains is really “against business and seniors.” If a business makes a capital gain, it’s a profit, and why shouldn’t that be taxed like any other profit? And seniors can get capital gains tax relief on their biggest gain, that of their residences. Besides, if lawmakers are worried about seniors, why not create a specific break for them, rather than using them as an excuse to give capital gains tax breaks to the rich.
The reality is that the tax system is rigged to tax income typically earned by the lower and middle classes (wages) most heavily; income typically earned by the rich (capital gains & dividends) very lightly; and the biggest source of wealth of the super-rich (inheritances) not at all, or even negatively. Middle class impact has a nice discussion of this at http://www.middleclassimpact.com/our-regressive-income-tax/ .
McCain will do nothing to address the real inequities of the income tax system (he’ll probably make them worse). Whether Obama will do so remains to be seen. If he really wants to promote tax fairness, he won’t waste his time twinking percentages, but instead will go after capital gains, dividends, and inheritances.
August 8th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
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