McCain: Spending is Out of Control

http://www.centerforajustsociety.org ^ | 07/10/2008 | By Allan Chernoff and Kristi Keck

[Maelstorm]

Sen. John McCain on Tuesday brushed off skepticism from economists and insisted he could balance the budget by 2013 by keeping taxes low and curbing spending.

"We're going to restrain spending, we're going to have the economy grow again and increase revenues. The problem is that spending got completely out of control," McCain said on CNN's "American Morning."

McCain is in favor of extending the Bush tax cuts, which are set to expire in 2010.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has projected that by extending the cuts, which McCain originally opposed, and including the additional cuts McCain has proposed, the deficit for 2013 would be somewhere around $439 billion to $445 billion.

McCain disputes those figures because "they're static numbers -- not saying that revenues will increase with a strong economy and with low taxes. That's the difference, and I respectfully disagree."

"There's a whole lot of economists, including Nobel laureates, that agree with my plan," McCain said.

On his campaign Web site, the Arizona senator has a list of more than 300 economists who support his economic plan.

"We restrain spending. We keep people's taxes low. We create jobs ... and we'll balance the budget," McCain said.

[Maelstorm]

McCain needs to keep emphasizing this. Fiscal responsibility is one of his strengths.

[Chuzzlewit]

no... McCain is on the wrong message...

Drill... Drill.... Drill.... that is the only message. God what a bad candidate.

[arderkrag]

"We're going to restrain spending, we're going to have the economy grow again and increase revenues. The problem is that spending got completely out of control," McCain said on CNN's "American Morning."

Well, he's getting smarter with his talking points, that's for sure.

[SoConPubbie]

He is right in stating this.

Now, if we can only get him to reverse his positions on other issues to match this rhetoric, such as:

1. Granting Amnesty to 20-30 million Illegal Aliens and the resultant chain migration that will occur which will dump millions of poor people into the US electorate who have a history of living off benefits paid for by US tax dollars.

2. Implementation of the Carbon Cap-and-Trade system. He is going to have to increase the size of the Federal government just to implement and monitor this scam, not to mention that it is guaranteed to do nothing except wreck the US economy.

3. His Health Care Proposal which will use US Tax Payer money to give to States to help them subsidize people who cannot afford Medical Insurance.

[zencat]

Fiscal responsibility and national security are McCain’s strengths. As long as I can remember, he’s challenged overspending by the government. I’d like to see his words match his voting record.

[wolfcreek]

He’s been in Congress for 26 yrs. He part of the problem.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

I don’t think the old, post-WWII paradigms are going to work any more.

McCain had better be ready to turn on a dime to a considerably different economic system, one based on the idea that an international credit collapse has happened.

This is not the economics we want to have happen, but the economics that we have to adjust to, because we have no other choice.

If nothing else, think of it as a contingency plan.

McCain had better be ready to provide essentially free food and housing for newly unemployed Americans, a forced balance budget because nobody will loan the US money, and to print a vast amount of currency to take the place of virtual transactions.

Because from internationally, down to the individual level, if you don’t have cash in hand, you won’t be able to buy it.

This will be accompanied by ferocious protectionism, and the rebuilding of US heavy industry.

The US will sell starving nations food in exchange only for cash or US national debt relief. Otherwise most trade will have dried up.

A new world, much like the world of the early 20th Century. We’ve done it before, and we might need to do it again.

[Edit35]

Spending is such an easy issue to criticize, and is done each and EVERY election by both Republicans and Democrats.

It is a toss-away stump speech item, and although it is important function of government, it rarely if ever sways any voters. It is simply too boring and vague.

McCain should stick with Drill Here, Drill now type rhetoric, and he must constantly quote Obama, and Reid, and other Democratic wackadoodgles — all of whom have vowed to NOT seek more energy, and instead suggest we all ride bicycles, have the govt. monitor our thermostats, and other idiotic suggestions.

McCain desperately needs a Top Ten List of things he will do immediately, if not sooner, when elected President.

He should also contrast that with a Top Ten List of things Obama says he will do as President.

The anti-Obama quotes are easy to find. McCain should have them playing on a Video-Tron machine behind him during each and every campaign appearance from now until November.

[TADSLOS]

22+ million freshly minted citizanos under a McCain inspired shamnesty plan says that McCain ain’t seen out of control spending yet. It’s coming in any event, because both parties and both candidates will sell their nation out to get the illegal turned citizenry’s votes. Welcome to 3rd world socialism, America.

[avacado]

"Fiscal responsibility and national security are McCain’s strengths. As long as I can remember, he’s challenged overspending by the government. I’d like to see his words match his voting record."

One thing that I see as a good sign is that McCain has run a lean campaign financially.

[mnehring]

He’s been in Congress for 26 yrs. He part of the problem.

Actually, this is one of McCain's few strengths. In addition to never requesting an earmark to a bill, he was one of the designers of legislation to make all earmarks transparent and disclosed to the public. I believe he and Fred Thompson where the first to sign a pledge that they would disclose all earmark requests and budgets in full of bills they drafted.

[al_c]

Drill... Drill.... Drill.... that is the only message.

You can't be serious. Only one issue? There are plenty of issues in the air for this election ... not just the price of (foreign) oil.

[mysterio]

You can't be serious. Only one issue?

Believe it or not, pretty much.

[BibChr]

Wow. Daring, cutting-edge statement there, John.

Does anyone know when McClain plans to start campaigning?

[SECURE AMERICA]

Spending is out of control?
Really. You think?
I mean we only have a 9 TRILLION DOLLAR National Debt.

[tumblindice]

“Drill... Drill.... Drill.... that is the only message”

For now at least, short term. Then he’s got to get people thinking about `resource substitution’, e.g. when whale oil got scarce we switched to kerosene.
Now that oil’s dear, what—electric cars? Electric power from what—coal? No, nuclear power.
But he’d have to reach across the aisle to the Republicans....same with enforcing USC Title 8, and so forth and so on.

[HwyChile]

This (along with cutting taxes) needs to be the primary issue for every republican. All we get is raising taxes and more spending by the democrats. If the Republicans concede cutting spending and don't talk about it, the democrats talk about balancing the budget, which is code word for increasing taxes and even more spending.

[agere_contra]

I mean we only have a 9 TRILLION DOLLAR National Debt.

Add 6 Trillion for the Freddie/Fannie defaults, and pretty soon we're talking real money :0(

[Polybius]

Spending is such an easy issue to criticize, and is done each and EVERY election by both Republicans and Democrats.

McCain has been championing cutting Government spending looooong before this election. And loooong before the Republicans lost Congress.

November 30, 2003 ...... McCain: Congress spending money 'like a drunken sailor'

[Cobra64]

Drill... Drill.... Drill.... that is the only message. God what a bad candidate.

Jeeze, your mantra sounds like a single issue democrat talking about electric cars. I ask them how they would plug in their Chevy Volt to charge up the batteries if they live on the 97th floor of an apartment building? Hmmmm? Easy, buy a long extension cord.

First, in itself, drilling for oil anywhere is not a total solution. Are 300,000,000 American cars and trucks supposed to stop by an oil field, uncoil a garden hose, and fill up their cars and trucks with crude?

Concurrent with drilling, there are pesky infrastructures (roads and pipelines) required to be built to transport crude from the wells to new refineries. Similar infrastructure is required to get refined product to distribution points for delivery to gas stations.

Then there is coal. Few mention coal because there is a perception that it is dirty, and it's also not as glamorous or popular an energy source as oil.

Nukes. Since the DOE is essentially worthless, they could do a one week energy study to determine, by state, nuclear kilowatt production to kilowatt consumption, and establish a benchmark for the states. If states failed to provide nuclear energy to its residents, they would lose a proportionate amount of Federal spending in that state. This puts the pressure on the States to be accountable for its electrical energy instead of outsourcing from neighboring states.

People need to look at energy from a total solution perspective, and think through the issues and solution resolutions instead of yelling and ranting DRILL, DRILL, DRILL !!!!