October 31, 2008--Hey Big Spender

During the entire campaign John McCain has attempted to make the case that if Barack Obama is elected he will raise everyone’s taxes while increasing government spending by nearly a trillion dollars.

So then I read this piece in today’s New York Times that compares Obama’s tax proposals with McCain’s. It is based on analyses conducted by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, which concluded that contrary to McCain’s relentless accusations that Obama would raise everyone’s taxes “those who make less than $250,000 a year would not see their taxes raised under Senator Barack Obama’s plans.” Also, Obama would cut taxes more than McCain for households with incomes under $100,000. (Article linked below.)

If this constitutes socialism, call me a socialist.

But then, two pages on in the Times there’s an equally interesting article about what kind of spenders both candidates are. Here we learn about how much and for what purposes both candidates have been spending their money. In sum—it appears that John McCain, who presents himself as a budget cutter, is outspending his so-called liberal tax-and-spend opponent.

For example, from both campaigns, only two of all of the fifteen highest paid staffers are Obama’s. And even though Obama has raised $400 million more in contributions than McCain he has spent less in total on fund-raising consultants.

When it comes to local field offices around the country, though Obama has 700 to McCain’s 400, again in total he is spending less in rent, partly because he has figured out how, fully legally, to allow campaign workers in some circumstances to use their own offices and to bill them as in-kind campaign contributions.

The Obama people dramatically limit per diems for their staff. In order to be reimbursed for trips to the airport, workers at the Chicago headquarters must take public transportation; and staffers on the road get only a $30-a-day allowance for meals while McCain permits $40 dollars a day.

At Obama headquarters, David Axelrod his chief strategist, jokes—or perhaps this is true—that in the men’s room, where there is an electric paper towel dispenser, when staffers wave their hands in front of it to get a hunk of towel, if they wave twice to get some more, the extra towel that is dispensed has printed on it “See Plouffe,” Obama’s notoriously frugal campaign manager.

So much for who is the real taxer and spender.