McCain calls Obama insensitive to poor people

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Sunday called Democratic rival Barack Obama insensitive to poor people and out of touch on economic issues.

The GOP nominee-in-waiting rapped his Democratic rival for opposing his idea to suspend the tax on fuel during the summer, a proposal that McCain believes will particularly help low-income people who usually have older cars that guzzle more gas.

"I noticed again today that Sen. Obama repeated his opposition to giving low-income Americans a tax break, a little bit of relief so they can travel a little further and a little longer, and maybe have a little bit of money left over to enjoy some other things in their lives," McCain said. "Obviously Sen. Obama does not understand that this would be a nice thing for Americans, and the special interests should not be dictating this policy."

The Arizona senator deflected questions about his record on the Bush administration's tax cuts _ he initially opposed them but now supports extending them _ by again criticizing Obama.

"Sen. Obama wants to raise the capital gains tax, which would have a direct effect on 100 million Americans," McCain said. "That means he has no understanding of the economy and that he is totally insensitive to the hopes and dreams and ambitions of 100 million Americans who will be affected by his almost doubling of the capital gains tax."

In an interview with "Fox News Sunday," Obama said McCain "not only wants to continue some of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and corporations, he actually wants to extend them, and he hasn't told us really how he's going to pay for them. It is irresponsible. And the irony is he said it was irresponsible."

Obama also said he would not raise the capital gains tax higher than it was under President Reagan and added, "I'm mindful that we've got to keep our capital gains tax to a point where we can actually get more revenue."

Comments

[graffen48]

As we slide down the bannister of life, we'll always remember McCain as a splinter in our ass....

[zjr909]

Wonder if McCain'll take his message of hope and love for the poor to New Orleans? You know: THAT New Orleans, where the poor had to weather Katrina in the sports arena because...because they had no cars to get out of town with! They were too poor to own cars - that's one of the things being poor is all about. Gas tax? I don't think the poor wake up every morning despairing that the gas tax - not to mention the capital gains tax - might be too high for their American Dream master plan. Get a grip McCain.

[NYC07]

The man's wife is worth a gazillion dollars so why is he collecting Social Security ??

At a press conference during his "Out of Touch Tour" McCain was asked about the high price of Rice around the world and that many poor people can't afford it . McCain's answer was "If they can't afford Rice, then let them eat cake!!!"

[Hillrick]

oh boy. Another compassionate conservative....

[SCG2]

If you want to have a better understanding what has been going on with the oil markets I suggest you read Raymond J. Learsy's posts here at Huffington post. I wish I could find the post which pointed out how the oil companies made out on the lending of oil from the resvere in 06 and were allowed to replace the oil at the lower price, instead of the government just selling the oil in the open markets.

[cnick]

Yes, and he always borrows Michelle's private plane for campaign purposes too, McCain doesn't even understand that 401K payouts are taxed as ordinary income and have nothing to do with capital gains. Won't someone tell hiim about that soon??

[DXM]

What?!?!?! First off, the whole idea of a gas tax holiday is BS. If the price of gas is completely static, it will only save drivers on the order of $50 over the summer (and lower income people even less since they can't afford to buy much gas and drive far to begin with). Since gas prices are NOT static, market forces will quickly raise the price by the 18.4 cents tax anyway (plus the "usual" price increases as well) so there would be no net savings. Next, 100 million people might own stocks but most of them, I'd dare say, own them in retirement accounts (e.g. IRA & 401k). It is my understanding that income from these sources is taxed NOT at the lower capital gains rate but at the higher earned income rate. Besides, how many low income or even middle class families have much or anything at all tucked away in their retirement accounts? Once again - this is total BS!!!

[chroipahtz]

Has anyone noticed that McCain is taking potshots at Obama every single day for the last 3 days or so? I'm surprised he didn't demand an "apology" for being "against the poor" like he did for Rev. Wright and Ayers.

[abby4ever]

You might call bombing Iraq, and possibly Iran, insensitive to poor people as well---thousands of poor Iraqis have lost their lives, and more will if he were to bomb Iran. What a hypocrite.

[thatsNotWhatIHeard]

Wow, and there's a fear in some people that the Democrats won't be able to beat this guy in November?

[SCG2]

The only fear I smell is coming from the Republicans about running against Barack Obama.

[IntelligentDesign]

Comedians should pay McCain a commission for all the material he provides to them.

[grinreaper]

on rev nobomba, on shrilary, on dems

[rollingdivision]

Truth is gasoline taxes, since they don't account for income in any way and the poorer you are the bigger percent of your income you pay are very unfair. This is case where the poor and middle class have to spend a high portion of there money on gas. But the rich spend a tiny percent of their wealth on gasoline. So the poor and middle class pay the huge majority of the gas tax while the rich pay little.

[Earl]

But lowering the gas tax won't lower the price of fuel, because increased demand will fill in the difference. So we would end up with more government debt, a reduction in domestic infrastructure expenditures (where the gas taxes are earmarked), increased costs to implement a three-month plan, increased opportunity for tax cheating (do you think that the fuel industry is really going to report which fuel was sold on which day with any sort of accuracy?) and zero help for "the poor" (who ride the bus anyway).

[rollingdivision]

So keep regressive taxes which place a bigger burden on the poor and middle class? Because removing the tax would increase demand? So gasoline use may go up because without the tax poor and middle class people can afford more. Than let's do the right thing, impose a large increase in gasoline taxes immediately! BTW with the government in deficit claiming gas taxes go to infrastructure is a falsehood.

[Mike O.]

Having designed and written a state's motor fuel taxation system, I can tell you, without a doubt, that motor fuel transactions are tracked and reported at each point in the process.

Each entity that wishes to engage in motor fuel transactions must be licensed by the state. Once licensed, you must report, on a monthly return, the received from and delivered to entity for each motor fuel transaction that you make. There are well into the millions of transactions that are tracked each month in that state alone.

Then you have all of the cross-checks that are run on dealer-to-dealer, rack-to-dealer and dealer-to-retailer transactions. Tolerable error in the cross-checks is less than 500 gallons. One dealer licensed that state remits over $20 million in motor fuel taxes alone each month.

Get the facts before you make a post and sound like an ignorant fool.

[Mike O.]

And as for the increased costs to implement a plan, the system that I designed and wrote has the capability to change the rates, change the effective dates or forgive or suspend taxation at the 'click of the mouse'.

I think computers are really gonna catch on one day!

[SpoxLogic]

Wha..? What kind of convoluted argument is this you're spouting, rollingdivision? Yes, it is true that the gasoline tax takes a bigger chunk percentage wise from lower income people. However, that isn't the reason they pay more of the taxes, they will pay the same amount in tax as the rich guys does. (Unless the rich guy is buying his gas for $2/gal, while the poorer guy is buying it for $4/gal.
The reason the middle class and poor pay most of the taxes is because there is a WHOLE LOT MORE OF THEM!! Get your logic right.

[rollingdivision]

Regressive Taxation Rage, March 1, 2002, Democratic Underground, By Chris Harrison “Perhaps an even better example for the innate unfairness of regressive taxation is a gasoline tax. While well-intentioned advocates of a gasoline tax tout the way it will shift demand away from gas-guzzling SUV's and toward hybrid cars and public transit, they fail to recognize how it will devastate large groups of lower-income commuters.” “Plainly put, regressive taxes (such as gasoline taxes) are unfair, and they are wrong.”

Regressive tax Definition:A tax that takes a larger percentage of the income of low-income people than of high-income people. Poor people pay a much higher percentage of their income on gas taxes than the rich by far. If Jane has $10 and John has $5, a tax of $1 on a purchase would result in a different percentage of total income applied to taxation, 20% for John and 10% for Jane. Thus, a tax that is fixed to the value of the good/service (without exemptions or rebates) would likely, in effect, result in a higher burden of taxation to people with less money (depending on consumption level and timeline examined - year or lifetime). A regressive tax system does not mean and likely would not result in low income earners paying more taxes than the wealthy, only that the effective tax rate relative to income or consumption would be a larger tax burden to low income earners.

[SCG2]

Not to mention, REPUBLICAN George Bush Jr. Opened the oil reserve in Spring 06' to the oil companies, by fall of 06" gas prices fell, remember anyone? the pre 2006 election gas price drop? Then Jan 07' REPUBLICAN Bush, announced during his "State of the Union" speech, the opening of another "new" oil reserve. Oil went from 50.00 at barrel in early Jan 07", upward to where it is now today.

Bush Halts Deposits to Oil Reserve April 25, 2006 NYT

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/25/us/25wire-bush.html

"I ask Congress to double the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve." - Bush (State of the Union 2007)

Link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070123-2.html

[Earl]

The oil reserve is a drop in a bucket.

[SCG2]

Yes, but filling and not filling can affect the demand for crude enough to more the price. As it did in 2006. The commodity traders would not be so bold, if they feared a possible loss.

[HopeObama08]

LOL McCain the compassionate rich who doesn't even know what being a community organizer is about. That was his best one!

[lastams]

When will we wake up to the understanding that these people don’t live in the same world as the rest of us?
They are not like us; none of them, the politicians or the pundits.
They don’t worry about things like the price of milk or what it costs to fill the family car.
They don’t worry about putting their kids through collage.
They don’t worry about things like retirement or healthcare or crime in their gated communities.
What they know about us, the American people, comes from polls conducted by corporate owned media centers. They live in a bubble and pick and choose whom to interact with.
How amazing is it that come election time they all roll up their shirtsleeves and pretend to be Joe Public, and how much more amazing is it that we continue to buy the act.
All three of these candidates are current serving US senators, although by viewing their complete avoidance of actual legislation; the extension of Nafta into Peru, two six hundred billion dollar spending bills, and this week, the extension of the Farm Bill, one might find it hard to surmise what any of these candidates would actually do if elected.
Would that the Press focus on their actual, current jobs, and start treating this election as something more that political entertainment; perhaps then the American people could begin to separate the candidates from their media personas.