In response to a number of attacks from John McCain about his tax plan, Barack Obama has made a website that can help voters figure out how much they will save under both Obama and McCain's tax plan.
Figure out how much you are saving and decide for yourself!
I would like to take this time to applaud Campbell Brown on CNN for correctly addressing the issue of Obama being an "Arab."
At one of McCain's rallies a few days ago, an ignorant and obviously uninformed woman called Obama an Arab.
Check it out for yourself here.
Although McCain did address the issue and set her straight, in my eyes it's really his campaign's fault that this image is being attached to Obama to begin with. Here's how I feel, whether people realize it or not, the word "terrorist" has a negative, connotated meaning attached to it. It's sad to say that the image most people get when they hear "terrorist" is a person of Middle Eastern descent. So whenever the McCain camp starts talking about how Obama was "palling around with terrorist" and how Ayers was a domestic terrorist 40 years ago, it sends the wrong message out to people. The bottom line is that Ayers was a "terrorist" (even though he is a REFORMED ONE and NOT Arab), Obama had an affiliation with him, and Obama's middle name is Hussein (which we will never stop hearing about because the McCain campaign continues to reiterate it) the McCain campaign is knowingly spreading and painting the wrong image to millions of Americans all over the country. Obama is not a Muslim, Obama is not an Arab, and Obama is not a terrorist. So why is this the implied message that everybody keeps on getting?
But this issue affects more than Obama and his campaign, think about the MILLIONS of Arab Americans that the McCain campaign and the media alienates every time something like this happens. That's not in any way a smart strategy to win this election, if anything it's extremely dangerous. There are extremist in every race, group, religion, and nationality whether people admit it or not (many people would be surprised to learn that the "Sons of Liberty," the patriotic group of Americans from the Revolutionary War, are categorized as TERRORISTS in British textbooks), but there are a lot more normal people from different backgrounds just trying to live their life everyday like you and me.
An even bigger problem that arises is what if Obama WAS an Arab? Why would that be a problem? In Brown's program, she stated:
When did that (being Arab) become a disqualifier for higher office in our country? When did Arab and Muslim become dirty words? The equivalent of dishonorable or radical? Whenever this gets raised, the implication is that there is something wrong with being an Arab-American or a Muslim. And the media is complicit here, too. We've all been too quick to accept the idea that calling someone Muslim is a slur. I feel like I am stating the obvious here, but apparently it needs to be said: There is a difference between radical Muslims who support jihad against America and Muslims who want to practice their religion freely and have normal lives like anyone else.
We can't tolerate this ignorance -- not in the media, not on the campaign trail. Of course, he's not an Arab. Of course, he's not a Muslim. But honestly, it shouldn't matter.
With the instability of home price and foreclosure rates, it's easy to see how the housing market is the root of the current economic problem. Along with their views towards the passing of the 700 billion dollar bailout plan, both Obama and McCain offer more solutions to the housing crisis.
Part of Obama's solution is to create a 10 billion dollar fund in an attempt to prevent foreclosures while also eliminating taxes and fees for families that are forced to sell their homes. Under Obama's plan, homeowners will get the chance to refinance a loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Obama also wants to implement a "credit card bill of rights" that will provide the disclosure of hidden credit costs.
McCain's plan is to help homeowners that meet certain criteria by giving them the chance to have their loans modified. McCain also offers financial assistance to borrowers dependent on lending reform. Along with these proposals, McCain recently created a mortgage plan that would direct the federal government to buy 300 billion dollars worth of bad mortgage loans from banks and homeowners.
With the issue of health care, both candidates are distinctly different in their proposals.
Obama's plan relies on government and mandates to make coverage affordable. His health care plan includes the creation of a national health insurance program for individuals who do not have employer provided health care and who do not qualify for other federal programs. His plan doesn't make individual coverage mandatory for all Americans, but requires coverage for all children.
Mccain opposes mandated health care coverage. He believes competition will improve the quality of health insurance and wants to rely on free market to lower costs. McCain also claims that he would reform the tax code to offer Americans choices beyond employee based health insurance coverage. Under this plan, individuals will receive a direct refundable tax credit for 2,500 dollars while families will receive a tax credit of 5,000 dollars.
Continuing with the financial crisis, both presidential candidates laid out new economic proposals on Friday.
Mccain and Obama both agree that there should be a temporary lifting of taxes on unemployment insurance benefits. Both also favor eliminating capital gains taxes, although Obama's proposal is aimed more at small businesses and start-ups.
Obama has unveiled a plan to rescue small-business owners that are currently struggling because of the problems in the economy and proposed a program to guarantee loans for them.
Obama also called for new legislation that would give families the option of withdrawing a maximum of 10,000 dollars from retirement savings.
McCain's plan will help seniors by lowering taxes on withdrawals from their retirement accounts and suspending tax rules that force them to sell their stocks during the financial crisis.
Obama's speech
As for taxes, Obama and McCain claim that their tax plans would result in cuts for most American families.
But the difference is distinct: Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least and McCain would give the largest cuts to the wealthy.
According to the Washington Post, the difference between the candidates plans is especially noticeable with the top 0.1 percent of the income scale.
McCain's tax plan offers a $269,364 tax cut to these families while Obama's plan would raise their taxes by $701,885, resulting in a 1 million dollar difference.
While the economy continues to stagger, McCain and Obama face yet another challenge to in over voters: the Bush administration’s 700 billion dollar bailout plan to save America’s economy from collapse.
Although Obama and McCain have come out in support of the economic bailout plan, both have proposed different ways of making it more palatable to voters.
Obama’s plan is to cut federal contracting by at least 10 percent a year, while McCain proposed an oversight board to monitor the bailout.
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