Myth: Sarah Palin is a Fiscal Conservative

Andrew Sullivan writes ("A Disastrous Mayor":

When Palin took over Wasilla, the town had no long-term debt. By the time she was done, debt service had increased by 69 percent, the town had close to $19 million in long-term debt, making the debt around $3000 per capita. And the Mccain campaign is asking us - seriously - to consider her a fiscal conservative.

She is a Bush-Cheney fiscal conservative: low taxes, unprecedented new spending, utter incompetence, endemic cronyism and massive debt.

A Few Myths About Sarah Palin

Frank Rich writes ("Palin and McCain’s Shotgun Marriage"):

She didn’t say “no thanks” to the “Bridge to Nowhere” until after Congress had already abandoned it but given Alaska a blank check for $223 million in taxpayers’ money anyway. Far from rejecting federal pork, she hired lobbyists to secure her town a disproportionate share of earmarks ($1,000 per resident in 2002, 20 times the per capita average in other states). Though McCain claimed “she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities,” she has never issued a single command as head of the Alaska National Guard. As for her “executive experience” as mayor, she told her hometown paper in Wasilla, Alaska, in 1996, the year of her election: “It’s not rocket science. It’s $6 million and 53 employees.” Her much-advertised crusade against officials abusing their office is now compromised by a bipartisan ethics investigation into charges that she did the same.

How long before we learn she never shot a moose?

Myth: John McCain Will Lower Your Taxes

There are actually two myths concerning the candidates and their tax proposals: 1) John McCain will lower your taxes, and 2) Barack Obama will raise them.

Maybe you've seen John McCain's latest ad:

"Celebrities don't have to worry about family budgets, but we sure do," the announcer says. "We're paying more for food and gas, making it harder to save for college, retirement. Obama's solution? Higher taxes, called 'a recipe for economic disaster.' "

"He's ready to raise your taxes, but not ready to lead," the announcer concludes.

It's true, Obama will raise your taxes, but only if your family income is greater than $603,403, i.e. you're among the top 1% of American households. If your family income is less than $111,645, both candidates propose to lower your taxes, but Obama by a whole lot more.

In other words, McCain will lower taxes, but not by much if you're not rich. Obama will only raise taxes on the rich, which is fair, considering how wealthy Americans have benefited disproportionately from the tax policies of Bush-Cheney.

Here are the numbers:


Click here for The Washington Post story, "Obama and McCain Tax Proposals"