The next time Senators McCain and Obama have a debate, here are four questions I would like Senator Obama to answer:
Obamanomics
1) Senator Obama, your campaign web site says that “Obama and Biden will enact a windfall profits tax on excessive oil company profits.” Please explain how increasing the costs of an oil company will cause it to lower the price it charges for its products. Feel free to use arithmetic if necessary.
2) Your compaign web site also says that you will take some of the money seized via the income tax and give it away to 10 million of the 300 million Americans, completely eliminating the income tax liability of three percent of the population. Your site also mentions repeatedly “giving tax relief to the middle class.” In your acceptance speech, you said you would cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans. From this, we can assume you mean to increase taxes on 15 million Americans.
Taking 100 percent of the American population in total, does your economic plan increase or decrease the total amount of money that the Federal government will take from the people?
3) During your first debate with Senator McCain, McCain mentioned that at 35 percent, the United States has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the world. In response, you asserted, “There are so many loopholes that have been written into the tax code, oftentimes with support of Senator McCain, that we actually see our businesses pay effectively one of the lowest tax rates in the world.”
Please give two examples of tax code loopholes that lower the effective tax rate for American corporations, and estimate the amount by which they reduce the effective corporate tax rate. For extra credit, explain how increasing the costs (taxes) of my employer (a corporation) will benefit me.
Intellectual Honesty
4) Senator Obama, please describe two instances in which you disagreed with the Democratic party line and voted with Republicans on a bill or resolution. Feel free to include events from your entire ten years’ experience as a legislator.
