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**Razor** · 09-17-2008, 11:34

jamber, thanks for responding. Like others have pointed out, however, your stated reasons for supporting Obama lack some depth. Since USANick has started with a focus on economic policies, I suggest we continue the discussion there, if you're willing.

First, so everyone has an equal baseline understanding of Obama's economic policies, the link to his stance on this issue from his official website is here.

At the top of the page, BHO is quoted as saying, "“I believe that America's free market has...provided great rewards to the innovators and risk-takers who have made America a beacon for science, and technology, and discovery…". My first question is how is innovation and unproven technology or methodologies most often funded? The largest source is venture capitalists from the free market, followed by loans and then government funding. The primary motivation behind venture capitalization is profit. However, the first point of the BHO/Biden plan is to enact a Windfall Profits Tax, whose very purpose is to punish financial success by taking a large percentage of profit and handing it out to the masses with no conditions or requirements. It doesn't take too much of that to discourage the domestic investment required to fund innovation and risk-taking.

The second gaping hole in BHO's economic plan involves the funding source of his planned spending. Assuming that Congress follows his direction lock, stock and barrel (ignoring constituent desires), let's look at BHO's announced spending:

$1 billion a year in energy rebates/tax relief
$50 billion to "jumpstart" the economy
Unidentified amount (easily hundreds of millions) for an "Advanced Manufacturing Fund"
Unidentified amount (again, easily hundreds of millions) to fund a Manufacturing Extension Partnership
$150 billion for clean energy
$60 billion for a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank
Unidentified amount to fund job training in "clean" technologies
Extention of broadband connectivity to every community in the country (funded through the USF charge on all phone bills)
$250 million per year for a National Network of Public-Private Business Incubators
Untold billions for a Universal Mortgage Credit
The creation of another bureaucracy - the Credit Card Rating System
Unidentified amount for nationwide 21st Century Learning Centers
50% credit to "low income" families for child care expenses
$1.5 billion to encourage paid-leave policies

At the same time, BHO wants to get Congress to enact the following tax cuts (which reduce available funding sources):

Eliminate income tax for 37 million citizens (over 3% of the population)
Tax breaks to companies that do not offshore work, regardless of the economic efficiency of doing so
A non-specific R&D tax credit
Eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses (the most prolific source of employment in the US)
Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit
Provide a $7000 tax credit for buying hybrid cars

So we're left with greater spending, much of it on wealth redistribution programs and business plans that discourage investing in innovation, and deeper cuts in the majority of the tax base, which serves as the funding source for all the aforementioned programs. I suppose this assumes that the "rich" (between 1 and 3% of the population) will fund all of this through higher taxes in order to benefit the remaining 97 - 99%? That doesn't sound like free market economics to me.

Lastly (for now), BHO appears to favor creating domestic trade restrictions to reduce foreign competition while concurrently eliminating foreign trade protection policies (that should play out well), forcing companies into inefficient resource allocation to protect expensive American labor, supporting labor unions over consumers, and forcing companies to provide compensation to workers that are not working (more paid leave, more FMLA). These initiatives display a gross lack of understanding of even the most basic free market concepts. Is this the person that should be at the helm of the largest economy in the world?

09-17-2008, 11:34	#75
Razor Quiet Professional Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 4,535	jamber, thanks for responding. Like others have pointed out, however, your stated reasons for supporting Obama lack some depth. Since USANick has started with a focus on economic policies, I suggest we continue the discussion there, if you're willing. First, so everyone has an equal baseline understanding of Obama's economic policies, the link to his stance on this issue from his official website is here. At the top of the page, BHO is quoted as saying, "“I believe that America's free market has...provided great rewards to the innovators and risk-takers who have made America a beacon for science, and technology, and discovery…". My first question is how is innovation and unproven technology or methodologies most often funded? The largest source is venture capitalists from the free market, followed by loans and then government funding. The primary motivation behind venture capitalization is profit. However, the first point of the BHO/Biden plan is to enact a Windfall Profits Tax, whose very purpose is to punish financial success by taking a large percentage of profit and handing it out to the masses with no conditions or requirements. It doesn't take too much of that to discourage the domestic investment required to fund innovation and risk-taking. The second gaping hole in BHO's economic plan involves the funding source of his planned spending. Assuming that Congress follows his direction lock, stock and barrel (ignoring constituent desires), let's look at BHO's announced spending: $1 billion a year in energy rebates/tax relief $50 billion to "jumpstart" the economy Unidentified amount (easily hundreds of millions) for an "Advanced Manufacturing Fund" Unidentified amount (again, easily hundreds of millions) to fund a Manufacturing Extension Partnership $150 billion for clean energy $60 billion for a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank Unidentified amount to fund job training in "clean" technologies Extention of broadband connectivity to every community in the country (funded through the USF charge on all phone bills) $250 million per year for a National Network of Public-Private Business Incubators Untold billions for a Universal Mortgage Credit The creation of another bureaucracy - the Credit Card Rating System Unidentified amount for nationwide 21st Century Learning Centers 50% credit to "low income" families for child care expenses $1.5 billion to encourage paid-leave policies At the same time, BHO wants to get Congress to enact the following tax cuts (which reduce available funding sources): Eliminate income tax for 37 million citizens (over 3% of the population) Tax breaks to companies that do not offshore work, regardless of the economic efficiency of doing so A non-specific R&D tax credit Eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses (the most prolific source of employment in the US) Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit Provide a $7000 tax credit for buying hybrid cars So we're left with greater spending, much of it on wealth redistribution programs and business plans that discourage investing in innovation, and deeper cuts in the majority of the tax base, which serves as the funding source for all the aforementioned programs. I suppose this assumes that the "rich" (between 1 and 3% of the population) will fund all of this through higher taxes in order to benefit the remaining 97 - 99%? That doesn't sound like free market economics to me. Lastly (for now), BHO appears to favor creating domestic trade restrictions to reduce foreign competition while concurrently eliminating foreign trade protection policies (that should play out well), forcing companies into inefficient resource allocation to protect expensive American labor, supporting labor unions over consumers, and forcing companies to provide compensation to workers that are not working (more paid leave, more FMLA). These initiatives display a gross lack of understanding of even the most basic free market concepts. Is this the person that should be at the helm of the largest economy in the world?
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