John McCain on Budget & Economy

John McCain. Yes, I know . . . it's shocking that I've come from such a strong supporter of Mitt Romney whom I believe would have pulled this nation back from the brink of disaster it currently stands at . . . to being a strong supporter of John McCain. You know, interestingly enough . . . it only takes someone like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to get me to jump on board with McCain. Granted, I'm having to take something for the continual nausea I feel, but there you have it. If we hope to have a nation to turn over to Mitt Romney in 2012 we've got to vote for John McCain. So, I've done some research on the man in the hopes that I can bring more of my fellow Conservatives to the same agreement. (And yes, by the time 2010 rolls around there will be a new political party and home for the Conservatives of America: the Independent American Party. But I'm getting ahead of myself.)

From his website we grab his bio:

John McCain has a remarkable record of leadership and experience that embodies his unwavering lifetime commitment to service. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona in 1982, John has led the fight for reforming Washington, eliminating wasteful government spending, and strengthening our nation's armed forces.

John McCain's reform agenda to reduce federal spending and lower taxes quickly elevated him to statewide office and he was elected to the United States Senate in 1986, after serving two terms in the U.S. House.

In the Senate, John continued to demand that Congress put an end to loopholes for special interests and fix the broken system in Washington that too often allows lobbyists to write legislation and members of Congress to waste taxpayer money. In November 2004, Senator McCain was overwhelmingly reelected with nearly 77 percent of the vote.

As the son and grandson of distinguished Navy admirals, John McCain deeply values duty, honor and service of country. John attended college at the United States Naval Academy, and launched a 22-year career as a naval aviator upon his graduation. He continued the McCain tradition of service to country passed down to him from his father and grandfather when he asked to serve in the Vietnam War.

On July 29 1967, John narrowly survived the first of many near-death experiences during his lifetime while preparing to take off on a bombing mission over North Vietnam from his ship, the USS Forrestal. A missile accidentally fired from a nearby plane struck the fuel tanks on John's plane and created a deadly inferno aboard the ship. John barely escaped the fiery disaster that killed 134 men, injured hundreds more and destroyed 20 planes.

Instead of taking the option to return home after the Forrestal disaster, Senator McCain volunteered for more combat duty - a fateful decision that stopped the clock on his life and separated him from his family, and country, for five and a half years.

During his 23rd bombing mission on October 26, 1967, a missile struck John's plane and forced him to eject, knocking him unconscious and breaking both his arms and his leg. John was then taken as a prisoner of war into the now infamous "Hanoi Hilton," where he was denied necessary medical treatment and often beaten by the North Vietnamese.

John spent much of his time as a prisoner of war in solitary confinement, aided by his faith and the friendships of his fellow POWs. When he was finally released and able to return home years later, John continued his service by regaining his naval flight status.

Senator McCain's last Navy duty assignment was to serve as the naval liaison to the United States Senate. John retired from the Navy in 1981. His naval honors include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Senator McCain has seven children and four grandchildren, and currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife Cindy.

Moving on to his record on the issues:

1. On Budget and Economy

McCain's statements, as drawn from Republican debates, are as follows:

Q: Are Americans better off than they were eight years ago?

A: You could argue that Americans overall are better off, because we have had a pretty good prosperous time, with low unemployment and low inflation and a lot of good things have happened. A lot of jobs have been created. But let's have some straight talk. Things are tough right now. Americans are uncertain about this housing crisis. Americans are uncertain about the economy, as we see the stock market bounce up and down. But I think what we're trying to do to fix this economy is important. We've got to address the subprime housing problem. We need to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which I voted for twice to do so. I think we need to eliminate the alternate minimum tax.

A: I think we are better off overall if you look at the entire eight-year period, when you look at the millions of jobs that have been created, the improvement in the economy, etc. (2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley Jan 30, 2008)

Q: Do you have a plan to help people with bad credit get lower interest rates so they can keep those homes and avoid foreclosure?

A: Yes, and it's tough here in California, it's tough in Arizona, it's tough particularly all over, but it's very tough particularly in the high growth states. The efforts that have been made so far are laudable. We may have to go further, but the fact that the FHA and the other organizations of government under Secretary Paulson's direction, and he is doing a good job of sitting down and fixing at least a significant number of these problems. We've got to return to the principal that you don't lend money that can't pay it back. There's some greedy people on Wall Street that perhaps need to be punished. There's got to be a huge amount more of transparency as to how this whole thing came about so we can prevent it from happening again. If necessary, we're going to have to take additional actions and particularly in cleaning up a mortgage. (2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley Jan 30, 2008)

A mortgage should be one page and there should be big letters at the bottom that says, "I understand this document." We ought to adjust the mortgages so people who were eligible for better terms, but were somehow convinced to accept the mortgages which were more onerous on them. We need to fix the rating systems, which clearly were erroneous in their ratings, which led people to believe that there were these institutions which were stable, which clearly were not. We may have to take further steps if this subprime lending situation continues to be serious. Part of the problem in any recession is psychological. I'm still optimistic that nothing is inevitable. I still rely on the innovation and the talent of the US. But we've got to make the tax cuts permanent. We need to get rid of the Alternative Minimum Tax. We need to give people a depreciation in one year for their business and investment. We need to encourage research and development and tax credits that are associated with it. (2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley Jan 30, 2008)

Q: Is it a problem for your campaign that the economy is now the most important issue, one that, by your own acknowledgment, you are not well versed on?

A: Actually, I don't know where you got that quote from. I'm very well versed in economics. I was there at the Reagan Revolution. I was there just after we enacted the first tax cuts and the restraints on spending. I was chairman of the Commerce Committee in the Senate, which addresses virtually every major economic issue that affects the US. I'm very well versed on economics. That's why I have a strong team around me that respect my views and my vision. And that's why The Wall Street Journal, in a survey of economists recently, that the majority of economists thought that I could handle the nation's economy best. And I have been a consistent fighter to restrain spending and to cut taxes. And my credentials and my experience and my knowledge of these economic issues, I think, are extensive. And I would match them against anybody who's running. (2008 GOP debate in Boca Raton Florida Jan 24, 2008)

FactCheck: Said--then denied--he needed economics education

McCain cast doubt on moderator Tim Russert's assertion that the candidate had said he was no expert on economics. Russert claimed that McCain had repeatedly said, "I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated." McCain responded, "Actually, I don't know where you got that quote from. I'm very well-versed in economics."

Russert's quote comes from a 2005 interview with the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 26, 2005: "I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated."

We could not find that McCain has said that quote "repeatedly," but he has made similar comments recently The Chicago Tribune quoted McCain talking to reporters on Dec. 18, 2007: "The issue of economics is something that I've really never understood as well as I should. I understand the basics, the fundamentals, the vision, all that kind of stuff." (FactCheck.org on 2008 GOP debate in Boca Raton Florida Jan 24, 2008) (OntheIssues.org)

Q: Why should we continue a Republican in the White House with the current kind of economic record?

A: I will, as president, veto every one of these big spending bills. I will impose some fiscal discipline. We will clean up our act and we will regain the confidence of the American people as being careful stewards of our tax dollars, and we will fix this problem with having to borrow money from China, then we will balance our budget, just like every governor in America has been required to do. (2008 GOP debate in Boca Raton Florida Jan 24, 2008)

Q: You would leave troops in Iraq for an indefinite period. How will you do this, both militarily & economically?

A: I know of no military leader, including Gen. Petraeus, who says we can't sustain our effort in Iraq. So you're wrong. The fact is, we are succeeding in Iraq. We're going back down to previous levels, and we will be able to withdraw troops over time if we succeed. We have American troops all over the world today & nobody complains about it because we're defending freedom That's one of the obligations of being the world's superpower. I'm proud to adopt the strategy that is succeeding, and that's happened. I'm the only one that said that. It is succeeding. We will be able to reduce our costs, and we will be able to have a stable Middle East, where our vital national interests, national security interests are at stake. I'm so proud of the job that the men and women in the military are doing there, and they don't want us to raise the white flag of surrender. (2008 GOP debate in Boca Raton Florida Jan 24, 2008)

On reforming insurance to cover violent weather patterns, McCain said:

As more and more violent weather patterns take place, people's homes are more and more in jeopardy. We can address it regionally. We can address it with the governors and the legislatures working with the federal government to have insurance spread across state lines, increasing the risk pool. We can reform insurance. I will call the regulators, the governors and the legislators and work together to provide every American that's in jeopardy to have the insurance that they need and deserve. (2008 GOP debate in Boca Raton Florida Jan 24, 2008)

Q: If we're talking about a recession in the next few months, in 2008, what kind of short-term, more immediate government fixes would you propose to try to keep the slowdown diminished or to reverse it? And would you support them even if they added to th government deficit?

A: The first thing we need to do is stop the out-of-control spending. Out-of-control spending is what caused the interest rates to rise. It causes people to be less able to afford to own their own homes. We need to stop the spending And the way we can get our budget under control is to have strong, fundamental fiscal underpinnings. The second thing that we need to do, of course, is stop spending $400 billion a year overseas to oil-producing countries that come right out of our economy immediately. Some of that money goes, unfortunately, to fund terrorist organizations. We've got to develop technologies to reduce this dependency on foreign oil, and eventually eliminate it, and stop this outflow of some $400 billion a year. (2008 GOP debate in S.C. sponsored by Fox News Jan 10, 2008)

Q: Does our country's financial situation creates a security risk?

A: Of course, any nation that no longer has economic strength sooner or later will lose its military strength, so it's a national security issue. We have many trillions of dollars of unfunded liability. Obviously, we've been on a spending spree. If oil reaches $100 a barrel, which many people think it may, $400 billion of America treasure will go to oil-producing countries. Some of those monies will go to terrorist organizations.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican debate Dec 12, 2007

Q: Have Republicans forgotten how to control spending?

A: Absolutely. We let spending lurch completely out of control. As president of the United States, I'd take an old veto pen that Ronald Reagan gave me, and I'd veto every single pork barrel bill that comes across my desk. And we've got to stop it and stop it now. I look forward to it. (2007 GOP YouTube debate in St. Petersburg, Florida Nov 28, 2007)

Congress spends money like a drunken sailor, McCain responded:

"We lost the election in 2006 because we lost our way. We began to value principle over power, and spending got out of control. Spending lurched completely out of control. Ronald Reagan used to say, we spend money like a drunken sailor. I never knew a sailor, drunk or sober, with the imagination of the Congress. I received an e-mail recently from a guy who said, "As a former drunken sailor, I resent being compared to members of Congress." (2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007)

Q: How will you be different, in any way, from Pres. Bush?

A: I would have vetoed spending bill after spending bill after pork-barrel project after pork-barrel project, in the tradition of President Reagan. The first pork-barrel bill that crosses my desk, I'm going to veto it and make the authors of those pork-barrel items famous all over America. We're going to stop it.

Q: What specific programs would you cut if you were president?

A: Line-item veto is the best tool. We need it very badly. (2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007)

For Balanced Budget Amend., & off-budget Social Security

McCain was one of only two Republicans who voted twice, in 1995 and again in 1997, to take Social Security “off-budget” - removing it from balanced budget calculations as part of a constitutional balanced budget amendment - which would have prevented the government from filling the trust fund with “IOU’s”. (McCain for President web Site Jul 2, 1999)

List of budgetary spending priorities

* McCain would “maintain status” on spending for:
* AIDS programs
* Environmental programs
* Foreign aid
* Housing projects
* Job training programs
* Medicaid & Medicare
* Student loan programs

* McCain would “slightly increase” spending for:Education (K-12)
* Law enforcement
* Military & Veterans Benefits
* Border Control

* McCain would “slightly decrease” spending for:NASA
* Welfare

* McCain would eliminate spending for:Arts funding

Source: Project Vote Smart, 1998, www.vote-smart.org Jul 2, 1998

From John McCain's website we find his economic stimulus plan for dealing with all these budget and economy issues:

• Cut The Corporate Tax Rate From 35 To 25 Percent.
• Allow First-Year Deduction, Or “Expensing”, Of Equipment And Technology Investments.
• Establish Permanent Tax Credit Equal To 10 Percent Of Wages Spent On R&D.
• These Are Essential First Steps On The Path To Fundamental Tax Reform, Which Could Increase U.S. GDP By As Much As 10 Percent Over The Long Term.[
  

Senator McCain . . . you NEED Mitt Romney desperately to help come up with an Economic Stimulus plan that will help America across the board.

All in all, he has some good ideas, both in his responses in the debates, and his plan, but he doesn't have the "know how" to get the job done. He needs Mitt Romney as his running mate. With McCain's strength in national security and Romney's strength in business and the economy, they'd be an unbeatable team.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have plans that will do nothing but bring us into a full slide in socialism (government takes care of you because you're not smart enough to do it yourself,) and stomping toward communism. These two, independently of each other, or together, will bring down the America we know and introduce the way Russia governs her people on to these sacred shores.

John McCain WILL defend this nation. He's done so personally and as a Senator. He will make sure we remain strong as a nation. With Mitt Romney handling the business matters here at home--HINT, HINT, HINT--they would insure America would remain as a leading superpower. And that's right where we want her. If America falls, as she would under Obama or Clinton, there will be no last line of defense for freedom in the world. And if you think that's bad, stop and think what freedom you will have lost right in your backyard.

Watch for John McCain on Energy & Oil . . . coming Monday, March 24, 2008.