Randy Inman
Kim K.
Budgeting McCain and Obama Style
July 8th 2008 15:52
The economy has obviously been at the forefront of political discussions right now, especially since it has been defined as the #1 issue for the people of the USA. Jumping on board, McCain and Obama are both discussing how they plan to fix it.
I'm entirely convinced that neither one has a clue how to actually help the USA out of this funk.
Obama wants a $50 billion package to "fight foreclosures and offset high energy prices. He said he would tighten rules for credit card companies and relax bankruptcy laws to help those struggling with debt." The problem is, these things are temporary relief- not long term policies. It is more debt for the country as a whole that goes toward nothing. I have serious problems with Obama's bail-everyone-out policies. For example, straight from Obama’s Subprime fact sheet:
“Obama will create a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The fund will also assist individuals who purchased homes that are simply too expensive for their income levels by helping to sell their homes. The fund will help offset costs of selling a home, including helping low-income borrowers get additional time and support to pay back any losses from the sale of their home and waiving certain federal, state and local income taxes that result from an individual selling their home to avoid foreclosure”
So when someone either falsifies their income to be able to get the mortgage that they desire, or they simply don’t know how to budget, guess who pays for it: Jane and Joe taxpayer.
What’s next? An add-on to his credit card reform to bail out those who spend too much on credit and screw themselves?
Mcain is no better. He released his new budget proposals detailing his plan.
A few parts of his plan I find particularly amusing:
* Summer gas tax holiday from Memorial Day to Labor Day- WOW 18 cents a gallon off? Instead of $80 a fill-up I'll be spending $77. Now I can get a coffee from the Quick-Stop while I'm there. This does nothing but reduce the money that should be going directly to research new fuel options. If it isn't coming from gas, you can guarantee it is coming from somewhere else. Something like this is about perception- you feel like the government is helping you, but really they are just screwing you somewhere else.
*Will tell foreign markets and speculators that our need for oil will end, which will lower costs- You know, I'm going to go to the grocery store and tell them that I won't need formula for the baby anymore (although I will need it until May 2009) and maybe they will knock the price down for me now. Yeah- that'll work...
*Give families $5000 tax credit for health care- OK, but healthcare is already a write off...I'm not an accountant, but using my 12 years of experience doing my own taxes and running numbers in my head, it doesn't seem like it is going to make a big difference. I suppose it’s better than Obama's every-employer-is-required-to -pay insurance option...
* Balance the Budget by 2013- Um...can we just do that right away? It would be a hell of a lot easier. It’s like saying that in 6 years you are going to stop spending money on your credit cards that you already can't afford to pay back.
*Offering incentives for people who can develop new battery powered or alternative fueled vehicles- I see the intention here, but I have to wonder why the oil companies aren't offering this incentive themselves. It is their livelihood at stake here. If they held the rights to new technology, they could stay alive in the oil-free-future that McCain imagines. There is no reason these incentives can't remain in the private sector.
His plan isn't ALL bad, but maybe I'll focus on the very few positives another day when I'm feeling optimistic abd have more than $30 in my checking account.
Here's the lowdown:
*Our national debt has done nothing but grow since it started (no- Clinton didn't pay it down either)
*Inflation rates are remaining consistently high for the longest it has in almost 20 years
*The dollar is down so far in value we might as well be throwing scraps of paper to the cashiers.
What concerns me is that NEITHER major candidate is recognizing that the basic problem with our country right now is that spending is beyond intake. NEITHER one has a plan that is seriously going to reduce spending for quite some time. They talk about where money will go and how much will be used to help this one or that one, but not so much about where it is coming from or how they are going to STOP spending. How are Americans supposed to learn how to control their own spending and stop buying on credit (which decreases the value of the dollar by the way) when their own government is living in trillions of dollars of debt.
I'm entirely convinced that neither one has a clue how to actually help the USA out of this funk.
if only I could budget so well...
Obama wants a $50 billion package to "fight foreclosures and offset high energy prices. He said he would tighten rules for credit card companies and relax bankruptcy laws to help those struggling with debt." The problem is, these things are temporary relief- not long term policies. It is more debt for the country as a whole that goes toward nothing. I have serious problems with Obama's bail-everyone-out policies. For example, straight from Obama’s Subprime fact sheet:
“Obama will create a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The fund will also assist individuals who purchased homes that are simply too expensive for their income levels by helping to sell their homes. The fund will help offset costs of selling a home, including helping low-income borrowers get additional time and support to pay back any losses from the sale of their home and waiving certain federal, state and local income taxes that result from an individual selling their home to avoid foreclosure”
So when someone either falsifies their income to be able to get the mortgage that they desire, or they simply don’t know how to budget, guess who pays for it: Jane and Joe taxpayer.
What’s next? An add-on to his credit card reform to bail out those who spend too much on credit and screw themselves?
Mcain is no better. He released his new budget proposals detailing his plan.
A few parts of his plan I find particularly amusing:
* Summer gas tax holiday from Memorial Day to Labor Day- WOW 18 cents a gallon off? Instead of $80 a fill-up I'll be spending $77. Now I can get a coffee from the Quick-Stop while I'm there. This does nothing but reduce the money that should be going directly to research new fuel options. If it isn't coming from gas, you can guarantee it is coming from somewhere else. Something like this is about perception- you feel like the government is helping you, but really they are just screwing you somewhere else.
*Will tell foreign markets and speculators that our need for oil will end, which will lower costs- You know, I'm going to go to the grocery store and tell them that I won't need formula for the baby anymore (although I will need it until May 2009) and maybe they will knock the price down for me now. Yeah- that'll work...
*Give families $5000 tax credit for health care- OK, but healthcare is already a write off...I'm not an accountant, but using my 12 years of experience doing my own taxes and running numbers in my head, it doesn't seem like it is going to make a big difference. I suppose it’s better than Obama's every-employer-is-required-to -pay insurance option...
* Balance the Budget by 2013- Um...can we just do that right away? It would be a hell of a lot easier. It’s like saying that in 6 years you are going to stop spending money on your credit cards that you already can't afford to pay back.
*Offering incentives for people who can develop new battery powered or alternative fueled vehicles- I see the intention here, but I have to wonder why the oil companies aren't offering this incentive themselves. It is their livelihood at stake here. If they held the rights to new technology, they could stay alive in the oil-free-future that McCain imagines. There is no reason these incentives can't remain in the private sector.
His plan isn't ALL bad, but maybe I'll focus on the very few positives another day when I'm feeling optimistic abd have more than $30 in my checking account.
Here's the lowdown:
*Our national debt has done nothing but grow since it started (no- Clinton didn't pay it down either)
*Inflation rates are remaining consistently high for the longest it has in almost 20 years
*The dollar is down so far in value we might as well be throwing scraps of paper to the cashiers.
What concerns me is that NEITHER major candidate is recognizing that the basic problem with our country right now is that spending is beyond intake. NEITHER one has a plan that is seriously going to reduce spending for quite some time. They talk about where money will go and how much will be used to help this one or that one, but not so much about where it is coming from or how they are going to STOP spending. How are Americans supposed to learn how to control their own spending and stop buying on credit (which decreases the value of the dollar by the way) when their own government is living in trillions of dollars of debt.
| 55 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by Proctor