McCain Plan: Repeal Arithmetic

The long-awaited McCain Plan for the economy has finally been leaked.

The Republican presidential nominee keeps saying that he will balance the budget by the end of the four-year term he would serve if elected on November 4th.

At the final debate last Wednesday, moderator Bob Schieffer asked the candidates, "Do either of you think you can balance the budget in four years? You have said previously you thought you could, Sen. McCain."

Sen. McCain's response was of his usual decisive, don't-bother-me-with-the-facts-and-figures sort: "Sure I do. And let me tell you . . . ."

"You can still do that?" Schieffer inquired.

"Yes. . . . I will balance our budgets and I will get them and I will . . . ."

"In four years?" an incredulous Schieffer interrupted.

". . . reduce this -- I can," McCain proclaimed.

McCain had the gall to make this statement, which is reminiscent of H. Ross Perot's favorite, "It's just that simple," at a time when the federal deficit has just skyrocketed to a half-trillion dollars and the federal government is spending in various multiples of a hundred billion dollars to deal with the financial and economic crisis, meaning that next year's deficit may reach $1 trillion.

On top of all that, Mr. McCain wants to cut everybody's taxes, engage in even more military actions, and . . . so on and on.

And, he says the last thing we should be doing in the face of a recession is raising anyone's taxes, so he would have to eliminate the trillion dollar deficit entirely by spending cuts. But cutting spending in a recession would have the same sort of negative effect on the economy that he says raising taxes would.

Voodoo Economics Squared

There is precedent for Mr. McCain's literally incredible promise to balance an already enormously imbalanced budget while increasing military spending, cutting taxes, and preserving the "social safety net." Ronald Reagan made such a pledge in 1980.

At that time, Republican John Anderson said the only way to do it was "with smoke and mirrors." George H.W. Bush called Reagan's proposals "Voodoo Economics."

John McCain's promise to balance the budget is Voodoo Squared.

But to understand what that means, someone has to understand enough simple mathematics to know what "squared" means.

A Constitutional Amendment Repealing Arithmetic

John McCain says he's going to take an ax to the budget. He must also be planning to take an ax to mathematics. Addition and subtraction and all that stuff is just for intellectual elites from the "un-American" parts of the United States, anyway.

All of this adds up--my apologies for mentioning such an elite concept as addition--to the McCain Plan. To do what he is promising, his first step must be to push through a constitutional amendment repealing arithmetic.


Historian Robert S. McElvaine is Elizabeth Chisholm Professor of Arts & Letters at Millsaps College. His latest book is Grand Theft Jesus: The Hijacking of Religion in America (Crown). He is currently at work on a book on America in the 1960s, Oh, Freedom! (Norton).

Comments

[Toonadude]

.........reminiscent of H. Ross Perot's favorite, "It's just that simple,"

That's funny. I recall Perot's solution to the spotted owl problem as stated in a debate went something like this: Collect them, put them on a cargo plane and ship them to the Amazon.

Perot's undestanding of ecosystems and habitat (that "LIFE" stuff) equals McCain's understaning of economics.

[Bitsko]

Good old Ross had the ultimate "simple" solution to running a successful company: Government Contracts.

[boldrdash]

I agree with everything you have reported except for the term "Voo Doo" economics. Voo Doo and Hoo Doo are practiced in some African cultures and is used by white supremists as a negative muse toward black people. Why not call it "christian ecomomics?" You know, changing a loaf and one fish to feed a multitude. Sounds like a better analogy to me. I know you did not come up with the term, but you don't have to perpetuate the lie.

[rextrek]

This from a man who who says he doesn't understand/know much about the Economy!

[Bitsko]

"Though he has sometimes worked well with Democrats to get legislative results, McCain also has the amateur chess player's weakness for making an impulsive move just to see that will happen: thus his eleventh-hour intervention in the Wall Street crisis negotiations. In chess what almost always happens after the impulsive move is doom."

-- Russell Baker, NY Review, November 6, 2008

[Elder2]

Reminds me of a former student of mine who thought multiplication was "higher math."

[Toonadude]

But I'll bet he or she had no problem multiplying ... as in "be fruitful and......"

[honestpolitician]

Not too worry....The financial pro's will totally discredit their economic plan....In perspective it does not matter of what plan they come up with. Ya see, war costs money...lot's of it...we are already paying 10 Billion per month in Iraq. If McCain is in office, there will be more war...Very likely with Iran - seeing that he is giving him the cold shoulder already...So then we will be in 3 main wars (maybe more)... Iraq, Afganistan and then Iran .You do the math.....

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[dutch163]

he makes no sense to me...and I taught math!!
and foreign language!

here is bad math for seniors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNxyvmvmXr8

[elizaconnors]

Hmmm.... I thought that it was pretty clear that he was going to subtract Medicaid and Medicare and social security benefits while adding social security tax receipts.

Oh, and subtract the department of education and the EPA and FDA and guaranteed student loans.

That might do it.

[wmfor]

How about FEMA? Surely we can do without FEMA. Who do you want saving your life in a disaster--some government bureaucrat or your own family members? Isn't FEMA tantamount to socialism?

[Bitsko]

That also goes for the Department of Education. Who needs education when we already have the bible?

[ElBruce]

Throw all the facts in Gitmo, while he's at it. Obama probably wants to hold facts' hands and read them their rights.

[Paralogos]

Yup, Palling aroud with facts. Shame! Shame!

[patianneb]

The title is so good I almost didn't stop to read the article. Brilliant!

[medusa08]

His second amendment will repeal scientific research and the use of empirical data, in support of VP Palin's assertion that global warming is not caused by mankind.

How about a trip to the Creationist Museum everybody!!!!!

[PDinCA]

Or kill two birds with one stone and just ban reality-based thinking.

[sociocanuck]

Or ban reality altogether. We can all live in some kind of Republican Matrix.