TaxVox: Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

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The voices of Tax Policy Center's researchers and staff

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

McCain and Obama Stimulus Plans: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

October 14, 2008 –
Both Barack Obama and John McCain have rolled out new economic stimulus plans. Each is a hodgepodge of some good ideas, some not-so-good, and some potentially awful. Obama says his new ideas would cost $60 billion. McCain says his would cost about $52 billion. Here is a quick look at what they have in mind: The centerpiece of Obama’s proposal is a new refundable tax credit for companies that add domestic jobs. Businesses would get $3000 for every net new full-time worker they hire. Any business would be eligible, even those that pay no taxes.
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Tax Cuts Coming? Investors Don’t Think So

October 7, 2008 –
With Barack Obama and John McCain arguing about who is going to cut taxes more, I though it would be interesting to find out what investors think is going to happen to their tax bills in the coming years. So, in a totally unscientific survey, I asked four money managers what their clients think. The results were striking: Every one said their clients overwhelmingly believed their taxes would rise in the coming four years, no matter who is president. As you watch tonight's debate, keep in mind both candidates are desparately pitching tax cuts to voters who don't believe either will deliver.
Federal Budget and Economy

Do the Candidates’ Spending Plans Add Up?

September 29, 2008 –
On Friday morning, I am going to moderate what promises to be an enlightening discussion of the spending plans of the major Presidential candidates. Panelists will be Rudy Penner of The Urban Institute, Jim Horney of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and Bill Hoagland of CIGNA (and formerly the top budget guru for ex-Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist).
Individual Taxes

The Worst Tax Holiday Idea Ever

September 26, 2008 –
We had fun ridiculing the idea of suspending the gasoline tax for the summer, but the gas tax holiday was minor mischief compared with the newest idea for dealing with the financial market meltdown: a two year holiday on capital gains taxes.
Federal Budget and Economy

The Bailout and the Next President: Getting Real

September 23, 2008 –
Barack Obama and John McCain are slowly beginning to get it: For the next President, this week’s financial market meltdown has changed everything. Suddenly, their grandiose promises of new tax cuts and ambitious spending are sounding more hollow than ever. An $11.3 trillion national debt will do that to you every time.
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Campaign Deficits

September 16, 2008 –
In January, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the federal budget would maintain rough fiscal balance over the coming decade. Last week, CBO updated that forecast and found that the government would run a cumulative $2.3 trillion deficit. That sharp change reflected a slowing economy and rapid spending growth.
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Taxes and Religion

September 11, 2008 –
Should clergy have the right to stand up in their tax-exempt pulpits and endorse political candidates? For a half century, the answer has been no. But The Washington Post's Peter Slevin reported on Sept. 8 that a conservative group called the Alliance Defense Fund wants to change that.
Federal Budget and Economy

The Budget Deficit is Getting Worse

September 9, 2008 –
The deficit is about to get a lot worse, a lot faster. At least that's the latest projection by the Congressional Budget Office. In the past six months, Washington's medium-term fiscal health has deteriorated markedly, and what CBO once projected to be a small surplus beginning in 2012 has now morphed into annual deficits in excess of $100 billion as far as the eye can see (to borrow a phrase).
Federal Budget and Economy

Obama and the Deficit

September 9, 2008 –
I was, to say the least, surprised to read a couple of comments posted last week that claimed FactCheck.org was asserting Barack Obama’s tax-and-spending plans would pay for themselves. I was even more surprised to read that FactCheck was supposedly basing its conclusions on TPC data. So, I looked it up.
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Who Is John McCain?

September 5, 2008 –
Listening to John McCain's acceptance speech last night, I found myself asking the question that others have been asking me for the past year: Who is John McCain really? Is he the McCain of 2000-2003, who blasted both wasteful government spending and the unaffordable Bush tax cuts? Or the McCain of 2008, who not only wants to extend President Bush's tax cuts but expand them without coming close to paying for this largess? Is he the supporter of limiting offshore oil drilling and requiring tradable credits for carbon-based fuels--which would sharply raise the price of oil and gasoline? Or is he the new darling of the "drill baby drill" crowd?