So Barack Obama said in his Town Hall in Dover, NH, this morning.
Spurred on by the obsession in the blogosphere by all things Palin, I'm writing this diary to urge a return to the issues, and to working for the Obama campaign. As pointed out in the top recommended diary today, Is dkos being played by Rove?, what happened to all the positive diaries about Barack Obama and this historic campaign? We complain that the Republicans want to make this all about personalities, rather than the issues, about distractions, rather than what is going on in real Americans' lives everyday, yet we are the biggest offenders when it comes to jumping on top of one controversy or another. So here is my contribution today: a brief synopsis of Senator Obama's tax pledge to the American people, that he offered today, in Dover, NH.
Here's what Obama said in Dover, today:
My plan – all together – is a net tax cut. My plan will cut taxes to a smaller share of the economy than they were under President Reagan. Under my plan, income taxes for typical American families will be the lowest that they’ve been in more than a half century. Everyone in America – everyone – will pay lower taxes than they would under the rates Bill Clinton had in the 1990s. And under my plan, middle class families will get three times as much relief as Senator McCain is offering. In fact, his plan gives absolutely nothing to over 100 million American households.
And he made this pledge to the American people:
And I can make a firm pledge: under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase – not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes. My opponent can’t make that pledge, and here’s why: for the first time in American history, he wants to tax your health benefits. Apparently, Senator McCain doesn’t think it’s enough that your health premiums have doubled, he thinks you should have to pay taxes on them too. That’s a $3.6 trillion tax increase on middle class families. That will eventually leave tens of millions of you paying higher taxes. That’s his idea of change.
So, under an Obama administration:
- incomes taxes for typical American families will be the lowest they hav been for fifty years
- middle class families will get three times more relief than under Senator McCain's plan
- no family making under $250,000 will see an increase in ANY tax whatsover.
Whereas, under McCain's plan, at least 100 million Americans will get no tax relief at all, AND, McCain plans to tax your health benefits.
(Sorry I don't know how to embed this, but there's great video of Obama in Dover today on the Obama website Road Blog)
In case you need further third party proof that Senator Obama's plan is better for the vast, vast majority of the American people, take a quick look at this analysis and graph from Ezra Klein's great blog at American Prospect
The basic lay of the land remains fairly similar. Obama will cut taxes for most taxpayers, and center his cuts on low- and moderate income families. McCain will cut taxes across the board, but focus his cuts on the rich and the wealthy. Here's what this looks like:
In other words, McCain wants to give money to the rich, Obama to the poor. Now, it could be that McCain is out of touch, and doesn't understand the effects of his own policy. Or it could just be that he thinks rich people need more money. Or it could just be that he's a liar and has some secret tax plan he's hoping to implement in office. Any of these things are possible. But let's cut the crap: McCain is going to blow a hole in the deficit in order to accelerate income inequality. It's incredibly irresponsible, and he should be hounded over it.
Got it? He should be hounded over it.
AND if you need any further proof about the ones who are really scared of Barack Obama (i.e., the fat cats), take one more look at this clip of Obama with O'Reilly...