According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center,
"These estimates make one thing clear. Senator McCain plans a radical downsizing of government. Slashing pork, earmarks, and underperforming programs would offset only a fraction of the revenues. Cuts the size of those he proposes will require slashing discretionary spending and entitlements, and probably even reining in defense spending. Small wonder he has backed away from his earlier pledge to balance the budget—meaning that these tax cuts, like the ones signed by President Bush, will be paid for by our children." (http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org/blog/_archives/2008/4/17/3644448.html)
The Tax Policy Center estimates that under Obama's plan "the middle fifth of the income distribution would receive an average cut equal to 2.4 percent of income ($1,042)." They estimate that under McCain's plan "those in the middle fifth of the income distribution would receive an average cut equal to 0.7 percent of income ($319)." (http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/411693_CandidateTaxPlans.pdf)
Don't be fooled. The McCain plan is just another remix of the Trickle-down Theory. Those of us who are not rich are expected to believe that money left in the hands of the rich will somehow magically trickle down to the middle class. This is the American dream in reverse: we are being asked to vote our future away.
There are two great lies that the neocons use to maintain hegemony in America:
Lie #1 is the lie they tell the rich: The only reason why the poor aren't rich like you is because they did not work as hard or make the right choices like you did. Never mind the poor immigrant maids you see at the bus stops each afternoon with grocery bags in their hands to do the same duties they did for the rich folks' kids for their own. Never mind the immigrant father who holds three jobs to make ends meet. Never mind the myriad advantages, connections and opportunities that rich kids have growing up. Nope; the poor deserve to be poor, and the rich deserve to be rich.
Lie #2 is the lie they tell the poor: You could be rich someday, and all you have to do is work hard enough. You are closer than you think. So don't buy into the liberal "soak the rich" philosophy. That would be stealing from yourself, as soon as you join their ranks. There are lots of rich people who started out poor, just like you. Never mind the sociological studies that show that people rarely end up in a different social class than the one in which they started. A few anecdotal examples of rags-to-riches Cinderella stories should dissuade you from over-reliance upon pesky ivory tower statistics or what you really want to believe. You're almost there. Someday your row boat will be a yacht, and then you will appreciate the tax laws that will allow you to keep getting richer without any responsibility for helping the poor. No one ever helped you, now, did they?
Barack Obama is the leader who can convince Americans that we have responsibility for each other and the world. He has the idealism and independent thought that America needs in a leader right now. We must not continue to chart a course toward disaster. There is no frontier left. The vast open spaces and inexhaustible resources are gone. The world is too small for this mentality.
We must move beyond the politics of division. We should not allow the rich to be pitted against the poor or vice-versa. Environmental sustainability should not be pitted against business; it is arguable that environmental technologies will benefit businesses as much as they will impede them. We should not allow religion to be pitted against gay rights; since when is it pro-family to disenfranchise a large chunk of our population? We should not allow whites to be pitted against blacks; we are all Americans, with families, hopes and dreams. We should not buy into the lies that divide us. We are one people with one interest: a brighter tomorrow for our children and grandchildren. What affects one affects all.
Tell your government that you have had enough of the politics of division and exclusion. Vote for Barack. Vote for your children’s future. Let’s not go down in history as the generation who drank the Flavor Aid.
