May be?? How about "are a stretch"? But I am grateful for the article and surprised it is in the Dallas Morning News.
CONCORD, N.C. – As John McCain trails Barack Obama in swing states he needs to win to claim the presidency, his campaign has promoted the idea that his opponent's tax and health-care policies evoke socialism.
The claim was made after Mr. Obama remarked in Ohio last week that he wanted to "spread the wealth around."
But such comparisons to socialism gloss over important facts, analysts say.
Both Mr. McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, have criticized Mr. Obama's proposal to raise taxes on high earners and require that businesses provide health insurance. Ms. Palin referred to the plan as "a little bit like socialism."
And in a radio address Saturday, Mr. McCain said: "At least in Europe, the socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives."
Mr. Obama hit back Saturday, saying that Mr. McCain is "out of touch with the struggles" of many Americans.
William Wallace, a former vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said the country's progressive tax code, which Mr. McCain does not propose abolishing, is "socialist in nature."
"It's a term that gets people's attention, and therefore I understand why a political candidate might want to use it," said Dr. Wallace, a professor at the University of North Texas. "But to say we are headed toward socialism is a vast overstatement in my book."
Congress' decision this month to allow the federal government to invest directly in failing banks was the most significant government intervention in financial markets in decades – and Mr. McCain voted for it along with Mr. Obama.
Responding to Dr. Wallace's comments, Tucker Bounds, a McCain campaign spokesman, said Mr. Obama's economic plan is "simply not sensible."
"Barack Obama wants to increase taxes on small business, the one current bright spot in the economy," he said, "only to issue handouts to Americans who don't pay income taxes in the first place."
To be sure, there are big differences between the candidates' tax and health-care proposals. Most important, Mr. Obama would raise tax rates on households earning more than $250,000, from 33 percent and 35 percent, to 36 percent and 39.6 percent. Mr. McCain would maintain the current rates for the top two tax brackets, which were set during President Bush's first term.
Both candidates have proposed a mix of tax credits and exemptions that would reduce overall tax bills for many households. According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, Mr. Obama's plan would reduce taxes for 80 percent of households, while raising them for 10 percent. Mr. McCain's plan would lower taxes for 60 percent of households, and raise them for 1 percent.
Mr. Obama fired back at Mr. McCain at a rally in St. Louis on Saturday, which attracted 100,000 people, a record for the Obama campaign, according to aides.
"John McCain is so out of touch with the struggles you are facing that he must be the first politician in history to call a tax cut for working people 'welfare,' " Mr. Obama said.
Mr. McCain also has argued that small businesses would be hurt by Mr. Obama's tax hike on the top earners. At Wednesday's debate, Mr. McCain invoked an Ohio man, whom he called "Joe the Plumber," as one potential small business owner who would be penalized by the increase.
Mr. Obama probably stoked the accusations of socialism when he told the man, Joe Wurzelbacher, that tax hikes on higher earners were important to "spread the wealth around." Mr. Wurzelbacher confronted Mr. Obama over his tax policy when the Democrat showed up in his neighborhood looking for votes last weekend.
Independent analysts have concluded that Mr. Wurzelbacher would likely see a tax cut under Mr. Obama's plan.
With time running short to halt his opponent's momentum, Mr. McCain seemed eager to step up his attacks.
Some prominent Republicans have gone further. Ohio Sen. George Voinovich told a southeast Ohio newspaper outright that Mr. Obama "is left of Teddy Kennedy. With all due respect, the man is a socialist."
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, an Obama supporter, agreed that Mr. Obama's "spread the wealth" comment "wasn't the best way of putting it."
"But what he was talking about was instead of doing the tax cuts for the thinnest sliver at the top, which is the only things the Republicans ever want to do, he wants the tax cuts to go to the majority of Americans," said Ms. McCaskill, a Democrat.
On Saturday, Mr. McCain kept up the accusation that Mr. Obama's tax plan would hurt small-business owners.
McCain aides dressed up Saturday's rally in Cabarrus County, N.C., near Charlotte, with hand-drawn, made-for-TV signs such as "Don't spread the wealth: Let Joe Keep his dough" and "Don't take Joe the Plumber's $$$$."
"The small businesses Senator Obama would tax provide 16 million jobs in America," Mr. McCain said Saturday in North Carolina. "And a sudden tax hike will kill some of those jobs at a time when we need to be creating more jobs."
But less than 2 percent of all small businesses in the country earn enough to qualify for the top tax brackets, according to the Tax Policy Center. The majority pay either 15 percent or 25 percent, according to the center.
Mr. McCain also has criticized Mr. Obama's health-care plan. Mr. Obama would require that businesses either provide health care or contribute to a public system that would cover the uninsured. Mr. Obama has said small businesses would be exempt from the requirement but hasn't defined "small business" for the purpose of his policy.
Mr. McCain's idea is to offer tax credits that could be used to purchase private health-care policies. He would tax workers on the value of their health-care benefits.
Mr. Obama’s plan would “greatly increase” health insurance coverage, reducing the number of uninsured Americans by about 18 million in 2009, according to the Tax Policy Center.
Mr. McCain’s plan would reduce the uninsured by “just over” 1 million in 2009 and by almost 5 million by 2013, the center says.
"In a very technical sense, it is a step toward" socialism, Dr. Wallace said. Yet the government has created many programs that are socialistic in a similar respect, including the Social Security system, Dr. Wallace said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/101908dnpolcampaign.3ddd1ea.html
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