Are Obama's ideas really that cool?

So Mccain will cut taxes for corporations, and Obama will cut taxes for low/middle income Americans.

I may be wrong here, but isn't the U.S. economy 60% consumer driven? It seems that issuing another rebate and cutting taxes for the primary drivers of this economy would spur growth more than cutting taxes for corporations.

Here are some of Obama's ideas:

Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need. Obama will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.

Provide Tax Relief for Small Businesses and Start Up Companies: Barack Obama will eliminate all capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses to encourage innovation and job creation. Obama will also support small business owners by providing a $500 “Making Work Pay” tax credit to almost every worker in America. Self-employed small business owners pay both the employee and the employer side of the payroll tax, and this measure will reduce the burdens of this double taxation.

Raise the Minimum Wage: Barack Obama will raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs.

Ensure More Accountability in the Subprime Mortgage Industry: Obama has been closely monitoring the subprime mortgage situation for years, and introduced comprehensive legislation over a year ago to fight mortgage fraud and protect consumers against abusive lending practices. Obama's STOP FRAUD Act provides the first federal definition of mortgage fraud, increases funding for federal and state law enforcement programs, creates new criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud, and requires industry insiders to report suspicious activity.

Establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to Protect Consumers: Obama will create a Credit Card Bill of Rights to protect consumers. The Obama plan will:

Ban Unilateral Changes
Apply Interest Rate Increases Only to Future Debt
Prohibit Interest on Fees
Prohibit "Universal Defaults"
Require Prompt and Fair Crediting of Cardholder Payments

Invest in the Sciences: Barack Obama supports doubling federal funding for basic research and changing the posture of our federal government from being one of the most anti-science administrations in American history to one that embraces science and technology. This will foster home-grown innovation, help ensure the competitiveness of US technology-based businesses, and ensure that 21st century jobs can and will grow in America.

Obama and the Economy

He has some really good ideas...those are some that I like from his platform. McCain also has good ideas (and some bad ones, just like Obama), but this isn't a thread about him so I didn't post the good from his platform.

Hope that helps! Personally, I'm still up in the air about the whole thing. My advice would be to read both of their sites. A part of me thinks though in ten years I bet we'll be sitting here complaining about the deficit, the jobless rate, taxes, silly social issues and the like anyway.

And aliens. Don't forget them.

Oops

[edit on 9-9-2008 by vatoloko]

Originally posted by West Coast

Originally posted by vatoloko
If people like you don't change your idiotic way of thinking we are gonna parish
together as fools. You are truly lost and truly blind my friend. People with only a naive
perception of the world don't make the world dangerous.

It would appear that the only fool here is the one who is ignorant of current world affairs and realities.

If America is the most powerful nation on earth why don't it use it's power to
make earth a better place, by making people recognize true evil, or leading by
example.

I do not proclaim the United States to be perfect. But even with all our imperfectness, you would be hard pressed to find a nation that has done more positive good for this world, than any other single nation at any time in history.

Smart people like you are steering the world towards total destruction with
your way of thinking. Don't you think it's time to hit the brakes? Let's see how smart you are.

The problem with strategically disarming yourself is making sure the other side is willing to do the same. This assumes the other side has more to gain than to lose by doing this. We do not yet live in a world where this is, or can be, a reality. Too many Americans (such as Mr.Obama) are being astonishingly naive and self-loathing in thinking that if not for the current 'US foreign policy', the world would be peaceful and prosperous, and without war. This simply is not true.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are not smart because you crashed, you didn't hit the brakes.
The only real fool is the one who is trying to wash away blood with more blood.
The only real fool fails to understand that we are heading towards total destruction
and is not planning to hit the brakes.

America is positive? Are stupid, evil or both? America has gone to war with far
more country than any country on earth. America is the first country that used
the nuclear bomb against humans, great country. America is like a man that
helps an old lady across the street, turns around and throws a hand grenade in a group of people. I can write a whole bible revealing Americas evil actions. You sound like
you are a victim of mass brainwashing, you are still sleeping, you are still a zombie
my friend. If America was a person that person would be in prison, in a mad house or
even dead. You are blind to true evil, you can't even protect your own mind,
let alone your country. This will be the last time that I will answer you, I am
gonna use my time thinking about how I am gonna cure and save people like you from
harming themselves and others. If you love yourself, if you truly love your country
seek professional help.



[edit on 9-9-2008 by vatoloko]

Obama credit card bill of rights to protect consumers...

Sounds interesting.

I wonder if Senator MBNA helped him with this one. After all he is probally a good reason we need a bill like this.

Another point.

Is Obama not still a member of the US Senate?

Then why the hell do we have to wait till he becomes President to protect cardholders when he could have tried to pass this initiative a long time ago.

Makes one wonder if he is really serious or if he is just trying to blow smoke up our you know what in an effort to get elected.

I am also against this work pay or should I say corporate welfare. Why should the US taxpayers further foot the bill so that companies like WALMART can continue to pay low wages. That is basically what it does.

Obama's government can't expect to tax the rich more and then turn around and let the rich corporations keep more due to businesses paying low wages. On one hand they are taxing the rich more and on the other hand they are giving the rich their money back.

Walmart pays low wages. Goverment gives extra assistance to these workers (Insurance, rent subsidies, food stamps, EITC, etc). Walmart makes huge profits.
Who are the ones keeping the profit? Who are the ones paying the bill for the extra assistance?

double post for some reason.

[edit on 9-9-2008 by jam321]

reply to post by jam321


But would increasing minimum wage (and indexing it to inflation) have the same effect as increasing pay out to entitlement programs?

It seems that setting minimum wage to a realistically livable level would have the effect of reducing the number of dependents on entitlement programs such as Food Stamps, because they would no longer qualify for them. Entitlement programs benefit the poor. Remove the poor from poverty and you eliminate the need for an entitlement.

Putting the onus on corporations to do this would mean it would never happen. Corporations, especially public ones, only work in the interest of increasing the bottom line. How do you increase the bottom line (profit) of a business? Keep wages where they are (or cut), find the cheapest way to build your product in the shortest amount of time possible.

For those at the very top of the larger corporations, and for shareholders in well-performing companies, this is great. Their salaries and profits explode and they become more rich. Now, do you think these benefits are realistically filtered down to the employees of the company? With wages stagnant, inflation increasing, unemployment increasing, and the "top" of society still reaping huge benefits, I don't think letting corporations regulate themselves is a viable idea to the overall and future health of our economy.

I'm not ardently Left or Right, but man, our government and our business world are seriously screwed up right now. Something needs to happen to move us out of this downward spiral.

reply to post by Avenginggecko

t seems that setting minimum wage to a realistically livable level would have the effect of reducing the number of dependents on entitlement programs such as Food Stamps, because they would no longer qualify for them.

In theory it should. But all of this is tied into political pandering also. Ultimately they will tie the poverty level to inflation also. Prices will also continue to increase.

Putting the onus on corporations to do this would mean it would never happen. Corporations, especially public ones, only work in the interest of increasing the bottom line. How do you increase the bottom line (profit) of a business? Keep wages where they are (or cut), find the cheapest way to build your product in the shortest amount of time possible.

If Congress was to get stern, instead of buddy buddy, with corporations and people begin to demand then Corporations will do what is right and still make a good profit. Why are companies trying to go green? Because Congress and Government are demanding it.
However you do have companies like WALMART that are paying low wages and causing jobs to go overseas. You should read up on walmart business model.

Not all shareholders are rich. A lot of my 401k are invested in corporations as well as many other workers who make a mere living.

Corporations don't regulate themselves. But Congress does write a lot of bills that benefit them over the workers.

I agree that this is screwed up. Congress really have to find a good balance between corporations and workers. The pendulum leans to the corporation side.

Thanks for replying, all! I am still reading all of your thoughts. Thanks for sharing!

This is the BEST academic analysis of the 2008 Presidential Election I've ever read.

Kudos, my friends.

KU

DO

S

Originally posted by ZuzusPetals
This is the BEST academic analysis of the 2008 Presidential Election I've ever read.

Thanks!