A Great March
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our Founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. B. Obama, 4 November 2008
Senator McCain said it well in his concession speech.
A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington … to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now ... for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.
The stigma of prejudice is still there. You can see it in the election results; though it is muted compared to what it was even 50 years ago. His task is not only to lead the country but also to take that baton to the next level where meaningless alleles that show themselves in skin color, hair texture and other irrelevant attributes are rendered meaningless. The meaningful characteristics are intelligence, sensitivity to the human condition, and the ability to lead in sound directions. He has those in abundance. It is a Camelot moment.
It’s the answer that – that led those who’ve been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. B. Obama, 4 November 2008
That said the societal currents of the last twenty years culminating in the monumental abdication of visionary leadership in the last eight years have created an incredible challenge for any president. If anyone is up to that task, I think it is this man who is so hard to pinhole. Who is neither white nor black. Who is not only American from the plains of Kansas and the sands of Hawaii but also a man of the third world. He transcends description, but it is where America is going in this century.
How ironic that the man who set the course for our nation was the first president from Illinois that is also Obama’s adopted home. I like symmetry and this has it in abundance. The future is not easy, but I now have hope that our great nation, which has suffered so much in loss of integrity in recent years, can once again hold its head high among nations. Mr. Obama said it best,
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.
In my teens, I lived in Georgia, Florida, and Virginia. I saw first hand the subhuman treatment of blacks in the south. The echo is still there, but it is rarely as blatant as then. I did not think I would live to see this day. But we did. I am proud of my country again.
What Happened to McCain?
In the final moments of the most gripping campaign in modern history, John McCain is still trying to costume Barack Obama as a dangerous enigma. But, in an odd and remarkable reversal, it is McCain who is the enigma, even though he entered the race with one of the best brands in American politics.
McCain has gone from a respected senator to a captive of the Bush team. To me, he made a Faustian decision and sold his soul to get elected. He never caved into the North Vietnamese, but he caved into his own ambition.
My one hope is that the Steve Schimdts, Karl Roves, and their ilk will be so discredited that they will exit the American political stage. By always letting the ends justify the means, they have done grave damage to bipartisanship in government and to our republic. It will make the difficult environment far more difficult for the next president who must first repair the damage they have done.
I also hope that Sarha Palin will go back to Alaska and become as anonymous as she was before the fairy godmother’s wand brought her to the national stage. She has nothing to offer. Like his other handlers, she turned McCain into something he was not. By pandering to the right fringe of their now dysfunctional party, they have destroyed John McCain, a good man. They have also put a rip into the American social fabric.
I am 69 and McCain is 72. I know that I am not as resilient as I was even eight years ago and I am sure he is not as well. “Why did a politician who once knew how to play the game so well, who was once so beloved by people of very different political stripes, allow his campaign to get whiny, angry, vengeful and bitter? Why Palin?”
I think the answer is simple. You can see it in his eyes. Blind ambition in a man who sees his life slipping away and wants to stay on the stage to the very end. Ironically, he may have destroyed his place on the stage and done grave damage to the stage itself in the process. How sad. It did not have to end like this.
Tax Explained
JOE THE PLUMBER AND THE $4.60 PROGRESSIVITY DEBATE
By
Samuel C. Thompson, Jr.
Professor Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law
And
Director Center for the Study of Mergers and Acquisitions
© October 28, 2008
Senator McCain has used Senator Obama’s conversation with “Joe the Plumber” as the basis for the assault on Senator Obama’s plan to increase taxes on those making more than $250,000 while at the same time reducing the taxes of middle class taxpayers. Although Joe is in the middle class, he has said that if he is successful in buying a plumbing business and making more than $250,000, he does not want Senator Obama taxing him at a higher rate.
As a result of Senator Obama’s discussions with Joe, Governor Palin has referred to Senator Obama as a “socialist,” and Senator McCain has referred to him as the “Redistributor-in-Chief.” Surprisingly, these pejorative labels are directed at a policy that would reverse tax cuts for the wealthy enacted at the urging of President Bush and initially opposed by Senator McCain who said the following in 2001: "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle-class Americans."
What would happen to Joe if he were successful in buying the business and making over, say, $350,000 per year? Under the current Internal Revenue Code, for each $100 Joe earns over $350,000, he would pay a tax of $35. Under Senator Obama’s tax plan, for every $100 Joe earns over $350,000, he would pay a tax of $39.60. Thus, Senator Obama’s plan would tax Joe an additional $4.60 for each $100 Joe makes over $350,000, and this $4.60 is the basis of the argument around Joe the Plumber.
What would be the economic effect of the increase in tax on Joe’s income and would it be fair? I first turn to the economic effect. Senator McCain says that the additional $4.60 will destroy jobs in small businesses. This statement is flat wrong for at least three reasons. First, 80% of those subject to a tax increase are not owners of small businesses. Second, similar arguments were made in 1993 by the opponents of President Bill Clinton’s proposal to increase the top marginal rate from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, but that tax increase was followed by the greatest economic boom since World War II.
Third, apart from the 1990s, the two highest periods of economic growth since the depression were (1) from 1941 through 1944, and (2) from 1962 through 1969. In both of these periods of high economic growth, the top marginal tax rates were significantly higher than they are today: 94% in the 1940s and 70% in the 1960s. Given the direct relationships between high marginal rates and high economic growth, it is a gross overstatement for Senator McCain to claim that increasing the top marginal rate from 35% to 39.6% is going to lead to a loss of jobs.
I now turn to the fairness question. Different people have different views of fairness. However, throughout the history of the income tax the rates have been progressive, meaning that the more a person has in taxable income, the more the person pays proportionately in tax. Even under President Bush’s current rate structure, the system is progressive, ranging from 10% to 35%. Senator Obama would simply increase the progressivity by reinstating higher marginal rates for taxpayers making more than $250,000.
Since we have always had a progressive income tax system, most informed Americans would likely think that such a system is fair. And, I believe that most informed Americans would believe that the view of progressivity held by Senator Obama today and by Senator McCain in 2001 is fairer than Senator McCain’s view of progressivity today. I also believe that if Joe the Plumber took the time to understand the real issue in this $4.60 debate, he too would think Senator Obama’s proposal is fair.
One final point: When Senator McCain’s father and my father were fighting for this country during World War II, the most well-off Americans were subject to a $94 tax on each $100 subject to the highest bracket, and when Senator McCain and I were fighting for this country during the Vietnam War, the most well-off Americans were subject to a $70 tax on each $100 subject to the highest bracket. But now that this country is in the middle of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Senator McCain claims that Senator Obama’s plan to raise the marginal rate on the most well-off Americans by 4.6 percentage points from 35% to 39.6% is socialist. Every informed American, whether Republican, Democrat, or Independent, needs to understand why Senator McCain’s statement is not true.
Used with permission of the author