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West Brom Blogger said:
IMHO you have got this terribly wrong. Take a look behind the spin and Obama is not making a massive tax cutting pledge at all. Most of his tax plan for ‘ordinary Americans’ consists of the creation of a range of new tax credits – similar to what Gordon Brown has done. Also, take a look at what he is going to do with capital gains tax, derivatives tax, payroll tax and death tax. Obama’s policies on the economy and tax risk repeating the mistakes of Hoover/Roosevelt in the wake of the Wall Street crash of the 1920s, worsening and deepening the current rescission. That to me is far more of a worry than Palins nutty social conservative viewpoints.
# 18 October 2008 at 4:49 pm

ThunderDragon said:
Then you have a different priority to me.
Palin’s nutty social views are far more abhorrent to me than any scare stories about Obama’s supposed tax increases. Tax increases are bad, but rabid “Christian Right” ideals are far far far worse.
# 18 October 2008 at 9:07 pm

West Brom Blog said:
Normally I would agree, but the state of the economy is way more important now. Nutty socially conservative ideals are not going to harm you or me back here in the UK, but the US slipping into an even deeper recession because of misguided left wing economic policies will. Surely as a Tory you do not think protectionist, anti-free trade policies along with extra taxes on capital gains etc is a good way to help an economy out of a recession?
It comes down to what you feel is the most important issue right now; ‘rebuilding’ the economy, keeping people in their homes, jobs and out of poverty or preventing a Whitehouse push for creationism to be taught in schools – something that isn’t likely because of the Democratic controlled Congress.
As you say we clearly have different priorities.
.
# 18 October 2008 at 9:48 pm

ThunderDragon said:
To start with, Obama has given far better proposals for how to deal with the economic situation that McCain. And whilst I agree the more taxes will produce a slower recovery, I don’t believe that that is what Obama is offering.
I find the prospect of having a fundamentalist as the “leader of the free world” far more scary. I can stand a slower rate of economic recovery – if indeed what you claim about Obama’s taxes are correct – but I can’t stand for the continual erosion of civil liberties as represented by Palin.
# 18 October 2008 at 10:10 pm

West Brom Blog said:
Have you really read the proposals? Obama wants to increase tariffs and other barriers to free trade. And then of course then there is the role of the Democrats in the creation of the sub-prime mortgage market.
He is proposing a Keynesian style stimulus package that will boost inflation. His dividend and capital gains tax increases will obviously reduce investment; and any increase on iincome and payroll tax rates could not come at a worse time in terms of employment and average take home pay. .
I really do fear that Obama will enact the same sort of policies that were enacted when the U.S. economy was weak in the early 1930s; the policies that greatly increased the severity of the Great Depression.
I am surprised that a Tory considers economic isolationism and policies to “spread the wealth around” – socialism – as good ideas.
McCain is not a fundamentalist social conservative, that’s Palin and as VP she would have no executive powers – unless McCain is going to change the Constitution. The only way she could ever get her crazy social views passed into law is if McCain pegs it in office and there is a sudden upsurge in social conservatism amongst the Dems in Congress and the Senate. IMHO, given the potential pain of a deep rescission, that’s a risk I think is worth taking.
# 19 October 2008 at 3:21 pm

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