2008 Presidential Election Candidates on the Issues
All I can do is sigh. There's seriously minor differences between McCheney and Obama on a good chunk of the issues.
Break down:
- Roe v Wade: Mc opposes, Ob supports:
- Death Penalty: both support. Ugh
- NCLB: Mc supports, Ob has mixed opinions. I am not happy about that. The NCLB act punishes teachers, who are at the mercy of the administration.
- Embryonic stemcell research: both support. Fine and dandy.
- ANWR drilling: both oppose. Cool beans.
- Kyoto Treaty: Mc opposes and Ob's position is unknown. Kyoto is unreasonable for industrialized nations, at least at the pace it demands.
- Guns: Mc opposes a assult weapons ban while Obama supports one. Both support background checks.
- PATRIOT act: both support. I hate hate hate the PATRIOT act (you heard me!)
- Guantanamo: Mc supports it, Ob opposes.
- Torture: both oppose it (thank god).
- Wiretapping: Mc and Ob oppose it.
- Border Fence: Both support. Le sigh
- Citizenship paths for illegals: both support. What else are we gonna do with them?
- Internet nuetrality: Mc opposes, Ob supports. That counts in Obama's favor, for me at least.
- Sanctions on Iran: both support
- Iran as a military option: Mc supports it (!) and Ob's opnion is unknown (!). That it's even phrased that way makes me sick.
- Iraq war: Mc supports it, Ob doesn't
- Troop surge: Mc supports it, Ob doesn't
- Withdrawal: Mc opposes it, Ob wants it to be gradual. I personally agree with Obama.
- Minimum wage increase: Mc opposes, Ob does.
- Gay marriage: both oppose. Sigh.
- Civil unions: Mc has mixed opinions, Ob supports
- Consitutional ban on gay marriage: both oppose.
- Universal healthcare: Mc opposes, Ob supports.
Edit: From today's Times:
Obama's approach to Wall street makes me a little unhappy. He wants more regulation and I don't. I DO want the companies to bail themselves out or die, instead of my taxes going to save their asses. As a friend said: Privatized profits with socialized losses is fascist.
In fact, I'd like the whole regulatory system to be flushed.
On the other hand, McCain would treat employer-paid healthcare taxable as part of one's income. That in and of itself will probably kill my family, since he want the employers to estimate how much they're spending on your healthcare and you'll be taxed accordingly. All of us in my house are on some pretty expensive meds, and two of us have themost expanisive mental illness to treat. At the moment, I won't be paying extra taxes as I'm not insured by my employer, but my parents WILL.
That would force a hell of a lot of people into the health-insurance market place and out of the current system--which I admit is flawed, but I would think it better than this other system. I'm one of those who thinks that captialism does not belong in the healthcare arena, at least on an individual level. It workds perfectly well for insitutions and corporations but not to much for families, unless we regulate the hell out of it which would make me unhappy.
Bob Herbert:
"When younger, healthier workers start seeing additional taxes taken out of their paychecks, some (perhaps many) will opt out of the employer-based plans--either to buy cheaper insureance on their own or go without coverage.
That will leave employers with a pool of older, less healthy workers to cover, That coverage will necessarily be more expensive, which will encourage more and more employuers to give up the idea of providing coverage at all."
The $5k credit he would offer doesn't even cover my family's medical expenses in a year, I'm danm sure.
Mm, not good. I need healthcare to function.
That said, I disagree with Bob Herbert on his assumption that I can't understand the insurance market well enough to navigate it if I have to. Give me some time and I can manage it. Actually that might create a whole new division of legal expertise. Yay. More lawyers.
Candidate Tax Plans.
McCain wants to keep and create more tax cuts. Obama doesn't. We're so deep in the hole we can't have that. Obama wants an increase in social security taxes for certain brackets ("Social Security tax would be 12.4% for income from zero to $102,000; 0% for income from $102,000 to $250,000; and 4% from $250,000 and up, effective 2018"). Damn it, I already loose about fifteen bucks (out of my $180 average paycheck) and that would be more. Those upper tax brackets need to pay more than I do. I sincerly doubt that as a teacher I'll make enough not to have to pay.
"Create an "American Opportunity Tax Credit." This universal and fully refundable credit would equal 100% of higher education expenses up to $4,000," is a part of Obama's plan and I like that. I'm going to be in school for the next four or five years, so I'll probably get to use that.
Presidential Candidate Tax Plan Comparison
John McCain | Barack Obama | |
Marginal Individual Income Tax Rates | Continue the lower rates enacted in the 2001-03 tax cuts. (Source). | Maintain the current 10, 15, 25, and 28 percent rates from the 2001-03 tax cuts, but allow the top two rates to expire (the 33 percent rate would rise to 36 percent; the 35 percent would rise to 39.6 percent). Eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. (Source). |
Corporate Income Tax | Cut rate to 25%, (from current 35%) fully phased in by 2015. (Source). | Eliminate capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses (Source). "Level the playing field for all businesses by eliminating special-interest loopholes and deductions." (Source). |
Tax Reform | No specifics available. Taxpayers choose between the current system or "a vastly less complicated system with two tax rates and a generous standard deduction." (Source). | No specifics available. Instruct IRS to provide pre-prepared tax forms for many filers (Source). |
Estate Tax | 15% tax rate on estates over $5 million ($10 million for married couples). (Source). | 45% tax rate on estates over $3.5 million ($7 million for married couples). (Source). |
Social Security Payroll Tax | Opposes increasing the payroll tax from the current 12.4% on wages up to $102,000. Supports supplementing the current Social Security system with personal accounts. (Source). | Social Security tax would be 12.4% for income from zero to $102,000; 0% for income from $102,000 to $250,000; and 4% from $250,000 and up, effective 2018. (Source). |
Alternative Minimum Tax | Phase out the AMT (Source). | Extend AMT patch. |
Capital Gains & Dividends Taxes | Maintain the 15% rate on capital gains and dividends. (Source). | Raise capital gains and dividends rates to somewhere between 20% and 28%, keeping them equal. |
Other Tax Policies | -New refundable health care tax credit ($5,000 for family coverage, $2,500 for individual coverage). Replaces the current exclusion for employer-based health insurance premiums. (budget neutral) | - Create a new "Making Work Pay" refundable income tax credit of up to $500 per person or $1,000 per family. It would offset the payroll tax on the first $8,100 of earnings. |
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