While I try to print graphs that prove the obvious – that Bush has been a steward to the rich, but to neither the country nor the majority of Americans, I’m something of a rookie. Reed Hundt , former FCC Chairman, is a lot better at it. His comments on TPM Cafè, Why It Matters: McCain vs. Obama and the Problems of the American Economy, are worth reading in their entirity, but I’ll purloin just a few of them for a nibble.
McCain has, in one of his characteristically revealing off-hand remarks, said he doesn’t know much about the economics. It is, therefore, highly unlikely that he knows that income has gone up at the same level for the rich under both Republicans and Democrats, as seen in Figure 4…
Figure 4: But what this shows is that while the rich do as well under Republicans and Democrats, the rest of the country does much better under Democrats than under Republicans
Presumably McCain thinks that the world will always have both rich and poor. Or maybe, since he said in another offhand remark (he really reveals himself primarily in this way) that being rich means making more than $5 million a year, he thinks of the world as dividing between rich and other.
Hundt goes on to show plenty of other data that reiterates the Republican penchant for creating increasing income inequity. And, what about the Republican record on jobs?
In this respect, McCain is part of a tradition of poor attention to job growth under Republican Administrations.
Figure 7: Back to 1952 Republicans have produced fewer jobs than Democratic Presidents
What are the reasons why a Bush or a McCain isn’t the right choice for getting Americans back to work? They will bail out a low-employing investment bank, but they will do little or nothing to fix an ailing auto industry develop new engines and new cars, at least until the recent spate of government intervention in the economy.
And then there is the McCain tax-cut scam modelled on Reagan/Bush I/Bush II:
But McCain shows his ignorance of all these needs by proposing a smaller tax cut for almost all Americans than Obama proposes. A smaller tax cut than Obama for almost everyone. Amazing! That bears repeating. It is shown below.
Figure 12: Only at incomes above $100,000 do the McCain tax cuts exceed Obama’s. Most Americans of course make less than that level. And remember that when people earn more income, even if they pay at a higher marginal rate, they can end up better off. A rising tide does in fact lift all boats.
And McCain shows his indifference to good economics by proposing to increase the government debt much more than anyone but Bush has done…
In order to get elected, McCain is now making promises he cannot or will not keep. And if he does find a way to keep them, we’re screwed forever…
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