McCain confused about his own tax policy?
Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/5pj2ht
John McCain used to be very sure that he will be able to stay away from new taxes while balancing the budget by the end of his first term, thanks to the Holy Grail of pork-barrel spending. He has frequently promised not to raise new taxes and in fact has criticized Obama for not supporting Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, a position McCain himself took in 2001 and famously said - “I cannot support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle-class Americans who most need tax relief.”
However, as things keep changing with McCain without a reason, it doesn’t take more than few hours for McCain to articulate a fresh position. At a July 7 town-hall meeting in Denver, he said voters faced a stark choice between him and Democrat Barack Obama. “Sen. Obama will raise your taxes,” McCain said. “I won’t.” 48 hours later on July 9th, McCain answered a tax related question as - “I cannot tell you what I would do, except to put everything on the table,”. If his supporters thought it was a simple case of McConfusiation like confusing Shia with Sunni earlier this summer or confusing that Czechoslovakia is stiall an existing nation, McCain made it clearer on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week”. “There is nothing that’s off the table. I have my positions, and I’ll articulate them. But nothing off the table,” McCain said. “I don’t want tax increases. But that doesn’t mean that anything is off the table.”
Fast forward to 24 hours later on Monday, McCain was either back on the no-tax wagon or his staff did not get the memo. Reacting to the news of close to $490 billlion budget deficit for 2009, McCain’s campaign chanted no-new-tax mantra again. His website JohnMcCain.com has following response to the deficit news -
“Strong economic growth is the first step to getting back to a balanced budget. My Jobs for America plan — a comprehensive strategy that includes keeping taxes on individuals, investment, and small businesses where they are today; incentives for businesses to invest more and keep well-paying jobs in this country; and leading to more jobs, higher pay, and — ultimately — growth in revenues.
Asked for an explanation of McCain’s latest comments, campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said the Arizona senator “has a clear and demonstrated record of opposing tax increases. John McCain is going to cut taxes” and improve government discipline, he said.
It seems McCain wants to be able to maintain both positions at the same time - no-tax-cut position via his team and nothing-off-the-table by himself. Smart move!
