Goolsbee, who also teaches economics at the University of Chicago, sought to put in sharp relief the differences between the two candidates on issues such as tax policy, healthcare, trade and efforts to kickstart the ailing economy. At the same time, he sought to tie McCain’s economic proposals to those of President George W. Bush.
“The contrast couldn’t be greater with the approach of McCain, which is the same as the Bush approach that ‘hey, we’re in trouble so let’s cut taxes for the highest income people and the biggest corporations and hope it trickles down’,” Goolsbee said.
The message is one the Obama campaign, and Democrats more broadly, are expected to hammer Republicans on ahead of November’s elections. Polls repeatedly show the economy continues to be the number one concern for voters, an anxiety reinforced by data released Friday showing the nation’s jobless rate at a five-year high and home foreclosures at record levels.
Goolsbee’s comments came after a week in which Republicans used their national convention in Minnesota to criticize Obama’s economic proposals, particularly his plan to cut taxes for families making less than $250,000 a year.
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