Archive for August 26th, 2008

Just two middle class guys, right ?

August 26, 2008

Just for yuks, here are the candidates most recent financials. 

McCain says it’s all his wife’s money, and what she does with her money is none of our business.  Hmmm.

Obama says he felt the middle class pain until the book deal. 

Question: Don’t Obama’s record high earnings fall into the category of a “windfall”, and shouldn’t his tax rate be at least as high as Exxon’s?

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Mccain_tax_returns
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2008/04/mccain-releases.html

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Obama_tax_returns_2
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2008/03/obama-releases.html

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Senator and Mrs. McCain have kept their personal finances separate throughout their 27-year marriage. Accordingly, they have for many years filed separate tax returns. However, their home state of Arizona is a community property jurisdiction.  In community property states, individuals maintain a separation of all property brought to the marriage, or inherited during it, but share financial responsibility for other assets acquired through the efforts of each spouse during the marriage. This means that their tax returns report one half of each of their community property income and expenses (such as income each of them earn as salaries, Senator McCain’s book royalties, and expenses attributable to both of them such as charitable contributions from community assets).

http://www.johnmccain.com/mccainfinancial/

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Campaign: Why It’ll Be Mitt …

August 26, 2008

Romney has the experience — in business, in government.  But, he’s flip-flopped on abortion rights … and, did I mention that he’s a Mormon ?

While pundits say his religious affiliation is a big negative, I disagree.

It has nothing to do with theology.  It has everything to do with demographics and logistics.

Obama will take over 90% the African-American vote (unless McCain lands Colin Powell, in which case, all bets are off).  But, there are relatively few states where Obama’s segment-domination will matter — since most of the states are solidly Democratic anyway.

While the Mormon population is smaller, and concentrated in a few states, some are battleground states that can potentially swing the election: Nevada. Montana, Colorado, New Mexico.  And, there are “statistically significant” Mormon populations in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington — which could conceivably be thrown back into play.

The Mormons are legendary for their focused zeal and executional discipline — as evidenced by their missionary effectiveness.  Can you imagine if that force is thrown behind a get out the vote effort in a few swing states?

And, did I mention Michigan ?

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Source : http://www.electoral-vote.com/

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Taxes – Middle class cuts or hikes ?

August 26, 2008

Excerpted from IBD, “Obama’s Tax Hikes”, August 22, 2008

When Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992, the centerpiece of his much-touted economic plan was a middle-class tax cut. Once elected, he announced that the deficit was bigger than he thought, so no tax cuts.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, Obama economic advisers Jason Furman and Austan Goolsbee promised: “The Obama plan would cut taxes for 95% of workers and their families with a tax cut of $500 for workers or $1,000 for working couples” on top of “tax cuts for low- and middle-income seniors, homeowners, the uninsured, and families sending a child to college or looking to save and accumulate wealth.”

But what’s touted as tax-cutting hides tax increases for the middle class. According to the American Enterprise Institute’s … “Senator Obama’s proposed ‘tax cuts for the middle class’ are actually marginal rate hikes in disguise.”

The increase happens because Obama phases out the child and dependent-care credit for one-child families in the $30,000-to-$58,000 income range … and because of changes planned for Bill Clinton’s Hope Scholarship Tax Credit.

An “Economists for Obama” Web site calls the AEI findings “deeply dishonest” because their examples (are) “cherry-picked.” AEI responds that Obama’s use of refundability and phase-outs means that “any example will show these kinds of disincentive effects.”

Full article:
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=304297643560219#

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