Obama and Paying for His Programs

[Singularity]

I know that Obama has talked about raising the capitol gains tax, and he's talking about redistributing the tax burden, but I haven't seen anything where he's talked about how he's going to pay for universal health care, or some of the other big spending items he's campaigning on. Can anyone point me to a source where he has discussed an in-depth strategy for these things, or is this just one of those election year promises that will quickly be forgotten after the election?

[AZRogue]

I'm not sure exactly, though others may have links. I do seem to remember that he promised, during his nomination speech, to cut government spending by eliminating needless programs and spending, which would be an enormous boost, free up a lot of money, and is a very noble goal, if true.

[Singularity]

I'm not sure exactly, though others may have links. I do seem to remember that he promised, during his nomination speech, to cut government spending by eliminating needless programs and spending, which would be an enormous boost, free up a lot of money, and is a very noble goal, if true.

OK, we've heard that before. It's like a blurb from Dole's '96 run at the white house. What exactly is he going to cut?

[AZRogue]

OK, we've heard that before. It's like a blurb from Dole's '96 run at the white house. What exactly is he going to cut?

Hasn't got that specific, that I know of. Department of Homeland Defense? ;)

[Singularity]

I'm still a bit suspicious of Obama. I know that change is his platform, and he has been successful at getting community support, but there are a lot of unanswered questions. What change specifically? Where is the money coming from to pay for the programs he's proposing? Does he really plan to simply withdraw from Iraq (a move that I think would be disasterous for the people of Iraq)?

[Utrecht]

Singularity -

I also beleive that he is looking to increase corporate/business taxes (no cite on that - just what I have heard - so could be complete bullshit) - no idea how much it will bring in.

I would also suspect that his desire to go through the feferal budget "line by line" (ala Dole as you mentioned) while well meaning will not get him where he needs to be - cutting an $18 million dollar pork barrel project here and there - while real money to you and me - is pennies to the federal budget.

I suspect that he (and just about any other president) is going to fall back on the present value of money (and its associated loans) decreasing with inflation - aka, paying of 2005 debt with 2020 money.

[Singularity]

Singularity -

I also beleive that he is looking to increase corporate/business taxes (no cite on that - just what I have heard - so could be complete bullshit) - no idea how much it will bring in.

He did address this in his speech at the convention. I'm in favor of an increase on corporate taxation, but only if he does it in a way that would (to quote him) "close tax loopholes that make it attractive to ship jobs overseas." Question - Do such loopholes exist? If so, would closing those have the effect of creating American jobs at the expense of some corporate profits, or would it simply increase the taxes they have to pay while still getting labor for pennies on the dollar overseas while causing American layoffs as the corporations compensate for the loss of revenue?

I would also suspect that his desire to go through the feferal budget "line by line" (ala Dole as you mentioned) while well meaning will not get him where he needs to be - cutting an $18 million dollar pork barrel project here and there - while real money to you and me - is pennies to the federal budget.

I suspect that he (and just about any other president) is going to fall back on the present value of money (and its associated loans) decreasing with inflation - aka, paying of 2005 debt with 2020 money.

Probably true, however, in an analysis of the Obama tax plan vs. the McCain tax plan, Obama incurs roughly 25% less debt.

Citation: http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/obama-vs-mccain-tax-plans-obama-saves-you-more.html

[Utrecht]

He did address this in his speech at the convention. I'm in favor of an increase on corporate taxation, but only if he does it in a way that would (to quote him) "close tax loopholes that make it attractive to ship jobs overseas." Question - Do such loopholes exist? If so, would closing those have the effect of creating American jobs at the expense of some corporate profits, or would it simply increase the taxes they have to pay while still getting labor for pennies on the dollar overseas while causing American layoffs as the corporations compensate for the loss of revenue?

I am not sure that he will be able to succeed on the shipping overseas - as you indicated , most of it has to do with labour costs - and unless we enter into some kind of mercantilist tariff mentaility - it is going to continue. In fact, I have started to move away from subcontracting to Indian firms - and am using (of all places) Vietnam - where I am able to obtain daily rates comparable to what a US based worker would incure in an hour.



Probably true, however, in an analysis of the Obama tax plan vs. the McCain tax plan, Obama incurs roughly 25% less debt.

Citation: http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/obama-vs-mccain-tax-plans-obama-saves-you-more.html

yep, have seen this, and definately a strike against McCain - bottom line - if McCain is going to keep the Bush tax cuts - then he needs to significantly cut spending.

[Name Lips]

Even the GOOD programs could use some serious revamping and streamlining.

But doing so would eliminate lots of jobs. Even if the program would be cheaper, nobody wants to fire people. It looks bad politically.

To really fulfil that promise, a candidate would have to be objective and ruthless, and not care about political backlash.

[Utrecht]

Even the GOOD programs could use some serious revamping and streamlining.

But doing so would eliminate lots of jobs. Even if the program would be cheaper, nobody wants to fire people. It looks bad politically.

To really fulfil that promise, a candidate would have to be objective and ruthless, and not care about political backlash.


It would be interesting to see if McCain would be that way - since he would be practically limited to 4 years (due to his age and the fact that 12 years holding power is a loooooong time for any party)