As Republicans generally do when they get really desperate, the McCain campaign has gone into full swing on the "Obama will raise your taxes during an economic crisis! A disaster!" line of attack. They've brought it up time and again, most recently brought up by McCain chief campaign strategist Steve Schmidt this morning on Meet the Press. In Missouri, they are so keen and committed to this accusation that, when Obama supporters dared to try to defend him, Governor Matt Blunt issued a press release stating, basically, "ZOMG the Obamaschtapo and the digitotalarian bloggers are coming for us!!!!!!!!!!" (I wish I were kidding)
Of course, Obama has told the nation he will cut taxes for 95% of American working families, and based on the post-debate polls, they believe him.
However, nobody has told the terrible truth about John McCain: He's been voting to raise your taxes ever since he got to Congress, during a time when banks were failing left and right.
I'm referring, of course, to John McCain's vote on March 24, 1983 to approve the Social Security Amendments of 1983.
Among other things, this act:
- Advances scheduled increases in Social Security tax rates (from the then rate of 6.7%). Social Security tax rates (which include the Hospital Insurance tax rates) for employers and employees will increase to 7.0 percent in 1984,1 7.05 percent in 1985, 7.15 percent in 1986-87, 7.51 percent in 1988-89 and 7.65 percent in 1990 and thereafter.
- Increases tax rates on self-employment income equal to the combined employee-employer rates and provides credits against tax liability to offset part of the increase.
- Beginning in 1984, includes up to one-half of Social Security benefits as taxable income for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income, combined with half their benefits and any tax-exempt interest they may have exceeds $25,000 for a single taxpayer and $32,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly. Benefits received by married taxpayers filing separately are taxable without regard to other income. Appropriates amounts equal to estimated tax liability to the Social Security trust funds.
1 Subject to a credit of 0.3 percent for employees.
Of course, this was probably generally a pretty good compromise bill for a Democratic Congress and Republican president; the conference report passed the House 243-102, with 80 Republicans voting YEA, 48 Republicans voting NAY, 106 Northern Democrats voting YEA, 42 Northern Democrats voting NAY, 57 Southern Democrats voting YEA, and 12 Southern Democrats voting NAY (on the other hand, people ranging from Henry Waxman and Barney Frank to Newt Gingrich and David Dreier voted against it)
Joe Biden voted for the Senate version of the Conference Report, too.
However, that is all irrelevant to the fact that John McCain voted to raise taxes less than 3 months after he came to Washington and has continued to support raising taxes even in his campaign, in the form of taxing health benefits.
Moreover, this law was passed in 1983.
42 FDIC banks had failed in the previous year (1982), with another 49 FDIC banks failing in 1983; that is still the record.
To put that in perspective, if my count is correct, only 38 banks have failed during the entire Bush presidency (15 of which were in the last 12 months and 9 of which were in the last 3 months).
And yet during this major financial crisis, John McCain voted to raise your taxes.
John McCain: "I don't really understand economics"