Obama promotes middle-class tax cut
Barack Obama will highlight his middle-class tax cuts during an event today in Wisconsin, a potential battleground state in November.
Obama is talking to Ryan and Jenny Micke of Appleton. With two kids, Ryan is a unit director with the Boys and Girls Club at the local middle school and Jenny works as an educational assistant at a nearby preschool. With a combined income of less than $40,000 year and $120,000 left on their mortgage, they live paycheck to paycheck and work hard to make ends meet, the Obama campaign said.
The presumptive Democratic nominee will go in armed with a study that suggests that his proposals would give families making between about $38,000 and $66,000 a year an average tax cut of $1,042 -- three times more than the $319 in savings they would get from the tax cut plans of Republican John McCain.
The savings in 2009 would be closer for families making between $66,000 and $112,000 a year -- $1,290 under Obama's plan and $1,009 under McCain, according to the Tax Policy Center , a nonpartisan research initiative of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution in Washington.
The biggest gap would be for the 0.1 percent of taxpayers with incomes of more than $2.9 million a year. They would pay $270,000 less under McCain, but pay $702,000 more under Obama.
Both plans, however, would dramatically increase the federal deficit, the study found.
Obama's proposals include a tax cut of $500 per person or $1,000 per couple for most families, but letting President Bush's tax cuts lapse for those making $200,000 or more a year and raising the capital gains tax rate.
McCain wants to make Bush's tax cuts permanent and also double the deduction for children and eliminate the alternative minimum tax.
UPDATE: Meanwhile, McCain, who supports a summer-long suspension of the federal gas tax, is trying to capitalize on Obama's remarks that a "gradual" increase in prices at the pump could encourage a badly needed change in US energy policy.
Asked on CNBC about whether high prices could end up helping, Obama replied, "I think that I would have preferred a gradual adjustment. The fact that this is such a shock to American pocketbooks is not a good thing. But if we take some steps right now to help people make the adjustment, first of all by putting more money into their pockets, but also by encouraging the market to adapt to these new circumstances more quickly, particularly US automakers, then I think ultimately, we can come out o f this stronger and have a more efficient energy policy than we do right now."
That prompted this missive this morning from McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds:
"Barack Obama's assertion that the only problem with higher gas prices is that they've gone up too fast -- saying he'd prefer a 'gradual' increase instead -- shows how clearly out of touch he is with Americans struggling with record gas prices. At a time when Americans need relief at the pump, Barack Obama's support for higher gas prices and higher energy taxes is just another example of his weak economic judgment."
Dear American Voters,
Hon. Senator McCain and Obama, besides each having many attributes and characteristics. The critical differences between the two of these presidential presumptive nominees are as under:
1. Presidential "Temperament and Composer".
2. Little Washington "insider Versus outsider" experience.
3. "Vision and mission" for our nation future rather than past.
4. American policies, " first U.S.A Centric" than any other country [ ies ] centric.
In my professional opinion Senator Obama leads in all above qualities.
The need of our next movement and generation is a change. The Change in " past Washington and its Leadership". A change we can believe in and not the seductive, deceptive, and confusing slogan of "leader we can believe in" [? Effexor ?".
Our Greatgrand Nation has to address many present and future challenges and start with new clean "Slate and Senator".
God Bless America. its diverse people, and our Greatgrand Nation.
Our Greatgrand Nation is needs the CHANGE at every level and for long time.
I am sure Senator Obama with the help of Senator Clinton and her supporters, can deliver that CHANGE.
Please stay involved, stay engaged, and stay informed. Please do not allow any seduction, deception, and or confusion by some partisan media and leaders effect your vote [ Psychological Terrorism ]..
Yours truly,
COL. [retd] A.M.Khajawall
Disabled American Veteran
Forensic psychiatrist, Las Vegas
PS: It hard not to admit that Hon. McCain does not have calibre, composer, and "Presidential Temperament and Togetherness " to lead our country during our current complex and critical challenges.
McCain is out of touch with reality. Sharp price increases are painful, and this is what Obama is addressing. Helping Americans deal with a gradual increase is something most economists would agree with....giving people money to make decisions is much better than fudging with the market by artificially lowering the price of something through subsidies. Gradual increases in the price of gas would have allowed for Americans to plan ahead by purchasing more fuel efficient cars, such as they have in Europe and Japan. Instead, obscenely low prices encouraged Americans to buy gas guzzlers and now they are suffering.
Obama should promote a plan that helps lower-income families purchase new fuel efficient cars with a tax credit of $4000 for anyone making less than $50k/year to buy ANY car that averages over 30MPG, rising to 35MPG in 3 years and 40MPG in 4 years. This on top of higher CAFE standards would greatly increase the use of fuel efficient cars.
McSame said that bringing the troops home is not important.
My husband is currently on active duty in the military. This just shows you how out of touch this man is. He opposes the bill that would give active duty personnel extra benefits. There is a large number of military families who live on food stamps. I don't hear him talk about that. McSame is living in the past. Kudos and repects for his military record, but he returned home. Over 4,000 soldiers died in Iraq and million more died in previous wars. These soldiers never came home to thier loved ones.
I am also concerned about a lot women issues that McSame does not support especially Roe vs. Wade. I refused to have the government tell me what and what I cannot do with my body. That is what McSame will give women if he wins the election.
I would encourage all military wives and women out there to not vote for this man. Bring the troops home so they can enjoy their families just like McSame is doing with his.
Obama is an empty suit who can not explain his "I'll bring change" mantra
With his background American should be aware of the type of change he is likely to bring
Maybe ob does not know McCain has a son in the combat zone(pay attention lady)
Did anyone hear Obama explain how he will bring prices down??
His close friends probably know
volunteer: you don't hear it because you don't want to. in this article alone, you see the drastic difference in change. Obama wants to give most tax cuts to reward work. McCain wants to reward wealth. You're trolling for a man who is allotting a full 25% of tax cuts go to people making over $2.8 million. Obama wants to do the opposite. On the other hand, if you make more than $2.8 million a year, never mind.
He will bring prices down by increasing CAFE, which the Japanese and Europeans have already done successfully. More fuel efficient cars will reduce demand. If half of new cars had 30+MPG by 2010, we'd see prices go down. McCain has no plans whatsoever here. Obama is looking at putting money in people's pockets on the consumer side and on the corporate side increasing R&D and government investments partnering with the Big 2 for hybrid and fuel-cell cars. Otherwise, just wait until 2010 when Toyota releases and profit from their plug-in hybrid platform for Prius as well as medium and large size cars. With McCain, we'll just sit still and let progress fly on by while right wingers continue to yap Japanese-bashing BS and the rest of us sane people with pocketbooks wondering what could have been.
Sen. Obama spoke of gradual increase of gas prices meaning over a period of years, and he did say it is unaffordable now and he suggested immediate relief.
Tucker Bounds said "at at time when Americans need relief at a pump, Barack Obama's support for higher gas prices..." clearly shows Bounds to lack the intelligence to understand the concept of time in relationship to economics.
Sen. McCain, while of great character, unfortunately supports his spokesman. This act underscores his own admission of lacking understanding in economics.
Volunteer possibly before you tell ob to pay attention you should pay attention first Obama may not be the best candidate has to offer but his "'I'll bring change' mantra" is much better then John "4 more years" McCain. His change is shown in this article, where his tax cuts for the ever decreasing middle class where his counter part wants to make tas cuts for the wealthy permanent. Who do u think is struggle in the economy the most right now those people who are spending any where from a sixth to a third of their weekly paycheck on gasoline or those people who are making well over six figures? If you ask me that is change and a great step toward slightly rebuilding an economy that was destroyed by the republican party.
Please Obama fan you are not helping the candidate bring real CHANGE to the American people by your defending him from criticism of his economic policies.Since Obama is running for CHANGE it is very important to satisfy every individual people whether they belong to a Party or not rather than changing from Republican to Democrat that does not constitute any change at all.Defending him shows you are only interest in changes that benefit yourselves and your Party rather than benefitting all Americans and people living in this country.The much better CHANGE is to dismantle any Party affiliation and ending all political Parties from existing because if Obama thinks he is for CHANGE and still belong to a particular Party then all the words he spoke and is now speaking about CHANGE is just a flush down the drain with an awful smell.Real CHANGE is ending the current political parties and that requires picking a candidate that is not a democrat to be his VP that shows real change.
Obama and taxation? In the Senate (when he did show up) he voted over
90 times to increase taxes. This is a tax, tax, tax, and spend, spend, spend man.
If you want to pay a lot more taxes, vote for this liar. I don't and I will under no
circumstances vote for a man who befriends Jim Johnson, Jeremiah Wright,
Father Michael Pfleger, William Ayers, members of Nation of Islam; and who Fidel
Castro, Hamas, the Middle Eastern countries, to name a few, are wetting their
thinking of Obama as president.
Oh the pain of election time.... Every four years we have the "I'll lower taxes." pledges from both sides and then argument over who will take care of who. Clearly every time we do it, actually have a tax cut or rebate we are selling out our children and grandchildren. Every one of them increases this counrtries debt which we will, if lucky not have to feel the full consequences of in our lives but our little ones will at some point. Every war, every natural disaster, every pledge of aid to other countries, all of it increases the debt we have as a nation. As long as we insist on spending half our budget every year on defense"?" we will not have the ability to control budgets and thus will leave a mess for the future.
Real change would be a President and Congress willing to reduce our military footprint, stop the military give aways in the budget and putting those funds into deplomacy and debt reduction.
Is Obama's tax increase on capital gains figured into his Middle class tax cut? It is no secret that many middle class people invest in the stock market, including mutual funds, which pay capital gains. This tax increase should be factored into his tax cut.
The top 10% of taxpayers pay over 70% of the individual income tax share. This has increased from under 50 % in 1980. Is it fair that a smaller and smaller group of tax payers pay the vast majority of the bill?
What about the other "middle class" that Obama doesnt speak so much of? Because my husband makes more than 50K we're rich and shouldnt get a tax break? Why, because we went to school and worked hard to get what we have (which still isnt much) we are to help those who havent? Those who make more still pay more!!! Its not the millionares fault that the rest of us didnt keep fighting to make that much!!! We should have one tax across the board, can anyone say FAIR TAX!!!!!
Melissa don't be a "neck".
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