WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office.
Obama's assertion that "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond" the expense of his promises is accepted only by his partisans. His vow to save money by "eliminating programs that don't work" masks his failure throughout the campaign to specify what those programs are — beyond the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
A sampling of what voters heard in the ad, and what he didn't tell them:
THE SPIN: "That's why my health care plan includes improving information technology, requires coverage for preventive care and pre-existing conditions and lowers health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year."
THE FACTS: His plan does not lower premiums by $2,500, or any set amount. Obama hopes that by spending $50 billion over five years on electronic medical records and by improving access to proven disease management programs, among other steps, consumers will end up saving money. He uses an optimistic analysis to suggest cost reductions in national health care spending could amount to the equivalent of $2,500 for a family of four. Many economists are skeptical those savings can be achieved, but even if they are, it's not a certainty that every dollar would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums.
___
THE SPIN: "I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care."
THE FACTS: That belief should not be confused with a guarantee of health coverage for all. He makes no such promise. Obama hinted as much in the ad when he said about the problem of the uninsured: "I want to start doing something about it." He would mandate coverage for children but not adults. His program is aimed at making insurance more affordable by offering the choice of government-subsidized coverage similar to that in a plan for federal employees and other steps, including requiring larger employers to share costs of insuring workers.
___
THE SPIN: "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost."
THE FACTS: Independent analysts say both Obama and Republican John McCain would deepen the deficit. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates Obama's policy proposals would add a net $428 billion to the deficit over four years — and that analysis accepts the savings he claims from spending cuts. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, whose other findings have been quoted approvingly by the Obama campaign, says: "Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years." The analysis goes on to say: "Neither candidate's plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified."
___
THE SPIN: "Here's what I'll do. Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year. Give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. over the next two years and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help homeowners who are making a good faith effort to pay their mortgages, by freezing foreclosures for 90 days. And just like after 9-11, we'll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open. "
THE FACTS: His proposals — the tax cuts, the low-cost loans, the $15 billion a year he promises for alternative energy, and more — cost money, and the country could be facing a record $1 trillion deficit next year. Indeed, Obama recently acknowledged — although not in his commercial — that: "The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals."
A lot of the BHO proposals don't add up but no one wants to listen. All the holes in his background that no one will investigate. Tales that should alarm us but the press ignores and gives him a pass. I could go on but whats the use ... he is anointed and so it goes.
Father and his small son while walking down the country road came upon two dogs who were at it. The boy asks his father what these two dogs are doing.Father is sort of embarrassed so he tells him that it looks like one of the dogs injured his leg so the other dog is helping him carrying him on his back.The little boy laughs and tells his father that now he understand what people mean when they say"when you try to help somebody they f..k you".
"The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something they can't get and to promise to give it to them. Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time is made good by looting A to satisfy B. In other words, government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods."[H. L. Mencken]
Conrad73: "The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something they can't get and to promise to give it to them. Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time is made good by looting A to satisfy B. In other words, government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods."[H. L. Mencken]
Yep and I know WHERE the pillage is going (again) to be...
Don216: A lot of the BHO proposals don't add up but no one wants to listen. All the holes in his background that no one will investigate. Tales that should alarm us but the press ignores and gives him a pass. I could go on but whats the use ... he is anointed and so it goes.
The media hates Bush, and Republicans in general, so they paint a black picture of him and all he does and totally ignore the good. They love Obama so they paint everything he does and says with gold and paint McCain black. It's the thinking people who catch and remember things like Obama turning away from the flag that will vote against him. I just hope that there are enough of us. I can't convince my best friend of it, and yet I remember a big deal was made of that when he was fighting Billary for the candidacy. She has no memory of it. It boils down to people believing what they want to believe. Democrats still love Bill Clinton...Republicans still remember him as the evil man he is, and know his wife is worse.
Knowing I'll never change anyone's mind about politics is why I ignore the political threads on here and keep my mouth shut in public...normally. (Occasionally I forget myself, like now, and get involved.)
shipoker58: the Progrtams of OBama without raisng taxes would add up to 3.5 trillion Dollars!!The McCain programs would add up to 5 trillion dollars So go figure
But Ship............. The difference is a mere 1.5 billion.. CHump change in Washington, what is the problem??
Has any Politician EVER give all of the detailed info on how They plan to accomplish all that they say they will do?
Maybe you are right, We should continue to spend trillions on a pointless war,, Corporate bail outs and so on......... but Not spend the $$$$ to take care of our own healthcare needs
Just can't please some people........
wine about how bad the current system is.. our people doing without while we have a bottomless wallet for the above mentioned...
then also wine if our Government wants to spend the $$ for a good reason.. like helping as we have asked for.
rasgumby: Has any Politician EVER give all of the detailed info on how They plan to accomplish all that they say they will do?
Maybe you are right, We should continue to spend trillions on a pointless war,, Corporate bail outs and so on......... but Not spend the $$$$ to take care of our own healthcare needs
Just can't please some people........
wine about how bad the current system is.. our people doing without while we have a bottomless wallet for the above mentioned...
then also wine if our Government wants to spend the $$ for a good reason.. like helping as we have asked for.
just can't win either way
No McCain would rather help his big business buddies like the oil companies who are making record breaking billions off the backs of the average American and who can scratch his back...not the rest of the lazy Americans who don't make over $250,000.00....
Hugz_n_Kissez: No McCain would rather help his big business buddies like the oil companies who are making record breaking billions off the backs of the average American and who can scratch his back...not the rest of the lazy Americans who don't make over $250,000.00....
The way I see it, at least Obama is willing to TRY.. to put a plan in place to help the people. as with any plan it can be tweaked with time to improve it.
Bur HZ.. please tell me McClones plan to recoup any at all of his planned spending for the war.. do we ever get to see a penny of that again,, or the bail out $$$$, Is he going to even try to do anything to help the American citizens??
Please do give us some details on how exactly he is going to improve anything... or even try?
rasgumby: The way I see it, at least Obama is willing to TRY.. to put a plan in place to help the people. as with any plan it can be tweaked with time to improve it.
Bur HZ (oops- meant HJ).. please tell me McClones plan to recoup any at all of his planned spending for the war.. do we ever get to see a penny of that again,, or the bail out $$$$, Is he going to even try to do anything to help the American citizens??
Please do give us some details on how exactly he is going to improve anything... or even try?
shipoker58: the Progrtams of OBama without raisng taxes would add up to 3.5 trillion Dollars!!The McCain programs would add up to 5 trillion dollars So go figure
Okay, try this on for size:
During the last presidential debate with GOP opponent John McCain, BHO repeatedly claimed that under his plan, the rich would pay "a little more" in taxes.
BHO has proposed increasing the top tax rate to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. He also has talked about extending Social Security taxes on those with incomes above $250,000. The Tax Policy Center noted that if BHO carried through on the idea, which is not included in his official plan, "the proposal could raise effective tax rates on labor income for high earners above 52 percent (and more than 55 percent for residents of states with high income taxes such as California)."
The Tax Policy Center also estimates that, under Plan Obama, 49 percent of Americans will not pay federal income taxes. So when Obama talks up his plan to send a $500 to $1,000 "rebate" to American taxpayers, he is talking welfare. And if half of American voters don't pay income taxes, then what is to stop them from raising taxes on the half that does? So much for Obama's 30-minute television commercial calling for a "new era of responsibility."
During the last presidential debate with GOP opponent John McCain, BHO repeatedly claimed that under his plan, the rich would pay "a little more" in taxes.
BHO has proposed increasing the top tax rate to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. He also has talked about extending Social Security taxes on those with incomes above $250,000. The Tax Policy Center noted that if BHO carried through on the idea, which is not included in his official plan, "the proposal could raise effective tax rates on labor income for high earners above 52 percent (and more than 55 percent for residents of states with high income taxes such as California)."
The Tax Policy Center also estimates that, under Plan Obama, 49 percent of Americans will not pay federal income taxes. So when Obama talks up his plan to send a $500 to $1,000 "rebate" to American taxpayers, he is talking welfare. And if half of American voters don't pay income taxes, then what is to stop them from raising taxes on the half that does? So much for Obama's 30-minute television commercial calling for a "new era of responsibility."
Not gonna raise taxes hmmmmm, right.
The truth:
Washington Post Fact Checker: Three Pinocchios for McCain claim that Obama's tax cut is like welfare. "John McCain hammered his Democratic opponent over the weekend for 'phony tax cut' policies that will allegedly harm hard-working Americans such as his new-found friend, 'Joe the Plumber.' The Arizona senator claims that Obama has been going round the country promising to 'cut income taxes for 95 percent of Americans' at a time when 40 percent of Americans pay no income taxes. According to McCain, welfare payments for non-income tax paying Americans will inevitably mean higher taxes for 'folks like Joe.' Is the Republican presidential candidate telling the truth about Obama's tax plan? ... But the McCain claim his rival's current plan will force 'folks like Joe' to subsidize welfare checks to non-tax-payers does not stand up to serious scrutiny. The McCain campaign has erected a bogus straw man argument with its claim that Obama has promised "to cut income taxes for 95 percent of Americans." [Washington Post Fact Checker, 10/20/08:
During the last presidential debate with GOP opponent John McCain, BHO repeatedly claimed that under his plan, the rich would pay "a little more" in taxes.
BHO has proposed increasing the top tax rate to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. He also has talked about extending Social Security taxes on those with incomes above $250,000. The Tax Policy Center noted that if BHO carried through on the idea, which is not included in his official plan, "the proposal could raise effective tax rates on labor income for high earners above 52 percent (and more than 55 percent for residents of states with high income taxes such as California)."
The Tax Policy Center also estimates that, under Plan Obama, 49 percent of Americans will not pay federal income taxes. So when Obama talks up his plan to send a $500 to $1,000 "rebate" to American taxpayers, he is talking welfare. And if half of American voters don't pay income taxes, then what is to stop them from raising taxes on the half that does? So much for Obama's 30-minute television commercial calling for a "new era of responsibility."
Not gonna raise taxes hmmmmm, right.
Directly from the pages of * Republican propaganda quarterly Magazine* Now can we try some facts?
rasgumby: Has any Politician EVER give all of the detailed info on how They plan to accomplish all that they say they will do?
Maybe you are right, We should continue to spend trillions on a pointless war,, Corporate bail outs and so on......... but Not spend the $$$$ to take care of our own healthcare needs
Just can't please some people........
wine about how bad the current system is.. our people doing without while we have a bottomless wallet for the above mentioned...
then also wine if our Government wants to spend the $$ for a good reason.. like helping as we have asked for.
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Obama's assertion that "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond" the expense of his promises is accepted only by his partisans. His vow to save money by "eliminating programs that don't work" masks his failure throughout the campaign to specify what those programs are — beyond the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
A sampling of what voters heard in the ad, and what he didn't tell them:
THE SPIN: "That's why my health care plan includes improving information technology, requires coverage for preventive care and pre-existing conditions and lowers health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year."
THE FACTS: His plan does not lower premiums by $2,500, or any set amount. Obama hopes that by spending $50 billion over five years on electronic medical records and by improving access to proven disease management programs, among other steps, consumers will end up saving money. He uses an optimistic analysis to suggest cost reductions in national health care spending could amount to the equivalent of $2,500 for a family of four. Many economists are skeptical those savings can be achieved, but even if they are, it's not a certainty that every dollar would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums.
___
THE SPIN: "I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care."
THE FACTS: That belief should not be confused with a guarantee of health coverage for all. He makes no such promise. Obama hinted as much in the ad when he said about the problem of the uninsured: "I want to start doing something about it." He would mandate coverage for children but not adults. His program is aimed at making insurance more affordable by offering the choice of government-subsidized coverage similar to that in a plan for federal employees and other steps, including requiring larger employers to share costs of insuring workers.
___
THE SPIN: "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost."
THE FACTS: Independent analysts say both Obama and Republican John McCain would deepen the deficit. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates Obama's policy proposals would add a net $428 billion to the deficit over four years — and that analysis accepts the savings he claims from spending cuts. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, whose other findings have been quoted approvingly by the Obama campaign, says: "Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years." The analysis goes on to say: "Neither candidate's plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified."
___
THE SPIN: "Here's what I'll do. Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year. Give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. over the next two years and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help homeowners who are making a good faith effort to pay their mortgages, by freezing foreclosures for 90 days. And just like after 9-11, we'll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open. "
THE FACTS: His proposals — the tax cuts, the low-cost loans, the $15 billion a year he promises for alternative energy, and more — cost money, and the country could be facing a record $1 trillion deficit next year. Indeed, Obama recently acknowledged — although not in his commercial — that: "The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals."