I'm confused re: McCain

[Deja Q]

He disagreed with Bush's big tax cuts,

then says they must be made permanent,

and also says his party is responsible for poor spending habits.

(watching 60 Minutes right now)

I'm missing something out on something; wouldn't making these cuts permanent be a mistake?

Please discuss. I'm no economist...

[babylonsister]

1. That's weathervane McCain. He changes his opinion on a dime

depending on how many voters he thinks he might sway. Too bad they didn't ask him about torture. He was against it before he was for it.

[Montauk6]

2. If I'm reading this interview correctly...

This is, in effect, an early concession speech.

"America is a right-of-center country..." He's goin' down.

[Deja Q]

4. In some ways we are.

Thanks to an MSN article on credit card debt, I think more people than naught are hard working, good citizens who don't "keep up with the Jones" -- at least to the extent the media sometimes implies.

Everyone wants the new gadget, often promoted by the same people who told them to get the original gadget. The pied piper effect counts too; especially in an economy ran by spending (note the details of the "FairTax"; if we weren't in national debt, it'd make sense -- but right now, all it would seem to do is to crash the economy. I might be wrong; when I look at things it's usually with blinders on, or at least one particular mindset...)

[stellanoir]

3. He was tortured, was against torture, then voted against the anti-torture bill.

McCain is confused about McCain.

[zbdent]

5. Straight from the U-Turn Expresser himself ...

[bbinacan]

6. Tax cuts can help.

The problem is finding the right equilibrium. And yes, I am referring to the Laffer Curve. At a zero tax rate the treasury, obviously, receives no revenue. At 100% tax rate, once again, the treasury receives no revenue. The answer lies somewhere in between. When Kennedy cut taxes when the top rate was 70% or 90% (I can't remember which) it did increase revenues and stimulated the economy. Some will argue that the early Reagan tax cuts did the same (I think the top rate was around 45%), but he later raised taxes.

HypnoToad, you can read About Dr. Laffer's theory here.http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/bg1765.cfm

[WoodyM]

7. There were taxes in the 70% and 90% range.

If memory serves, there was one up to 93%. Franklin Roosevelt said there would be no “war profiteers” in World War ll. These tax rates on certain incomes were part of insuring that. Those were the taxes Kennedy cut and by that time the World War ll debt and mostly been paid.