Out of Egypt:

McCainomics: a teaser for my critique

When McCain clinched the Republican nomination, there were two primary reasons I was opposed to his candidancy: 1) his overly militaristic foreign policy, and 2) his regressive and economically unsound tax proposal, which is a reversal from his previous stance.

I'll do my own critique of his tax proposal, and the rest of his plans, later. Till then, here's a liberal policy group's analysis of his plan (PDF). While I may not agree with all their conclusions, I agree with the general tenor of the report. The following line is worthy of special note:
"This analysis likely understates the true regressive nature of both the Bush and McCain tax cuts because it does not include the cost to families of the budget cuts that will ultimately be needed to pay for the tax cuts."

Here's one of the ways McCain would try to pay for his tax cuts: "heavy [funding] cuts [for] after-school programs, student aid, public broadcasting, and job training." Oh, and elimination of the low-income housing tax credit. But, according to this analysis, none of this would be nearly enough. He would have to eliminate major programs or cut entitlement spending dramatically if he wanted to even have a chance to balance the budget.

I did say in my critique of Obama's policies that I was in favor of a consumption tax of some kind, instead of an income tax. But if we were to have a consumption tax, low-income Americans would have to be exempt in order to prevent the tax burden from falling disproportionately upon them. Also, I wouldn't support elimination of taxes on wealth, such as the inheritance or capital gains tax. As far as corporate tax rates go, I'd have to study the issue further, but I doubt that McCain's plan would have the magical growth-inducing properties he claims.

For the above-mentioned reasons, I find it difficult to support McCain in good conscience. I can only hope that he goes back to his previous stance for fiscal responsibility (he opposed the Bush tax cuts when they were enacted), and abandons the attempt to curry favor with "the base" by advocating an inequitable and fiscal irresponsible tax policy. If he becomes President, and this plan is passed, it will be my generation who ends up paying for it. As the Concord Coalition says, we're already in a budget crisis now. Let's get out before it's too late.