Article on Obama's tax plan

[lovemyboys]

After listening to the press conference by Congressional folks on the bailout compromise and issues, I remembered this article from back in the summer.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/09/AR2008080901860.html

 

It didn't get much notice elsewhere but given that this new situation may be vastly increasing the deficit, I figured this was worth looking at.

[kokotg]

That article is contrasting Obama to more fiscally conservative Democrats in congress and to Bush, though--not to John McCain. From your link:

 

Obama economic advisor Jason Furman said Obama compares his tax plans to Bush's instead of to current law because it draws a clear distinction with Republican Sen. John McCain, who wants to keep all the Bush tax cuts and add even more. According to the Tax Policy Center, McCain's tax plans would increase the national debt by at least $5 trillion over the next 10 years. McCain has said he would balance the budget through massive spending cuts.

 

That's the only thing in the article that I can see that references McCain's plan, and it seems to suggest that his would raise the deficit more than Obama's.

[kokotg]

From the non partisan Tax Policy Center:

 

Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years, according to a newly updated analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. Compared to current law, TPC estimates the Obama plan would cut taxes by $2.9 trillion from 2009-2018. McCain would reduce taxes by nearly $4.2 trillion. Obama would give larger tax cuts to low- and moderate-income households and pay some of the cost by raising taxes on high-income taxpayers. In contrast, McCain would cut taxes across the board and give the biggest cuts to the highest-income households.

 

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411750

 

It's certainly true that either candidate will face serious budget challenges in light of the bailout (and how much Bush has run up the deficit), and both of them floundered in the debate in trying to answer how they would do that. Both of them say they'll pay for their plans by eliminating wasteful spending.

 

But the article you linked to is not saying that Obama would run up the deficit more than McCain; it's saying that he is not as committed to a balanced budget as most congressional Democrats are.