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A Real Whopper: McCain Plans to Use Iraq Victory Dividend to Balance Budget
Check out this remarkable statement in the new economic policy paper from the McCain camp:
“The McCain administration would reserve all savings from victory in"All savings" indeed. This guy may end up making Bush look reality-based. That ain't easy.
the Iraq and Afghanistan operations in the fight against Islamic
extremists for reducing the deficit. Since all their costs were
financed with deficit spending, all their savings must go to deficit
reduction.”
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Comments (12)
Oops, I forgot to include link. The McCain policy paper is quoted by Mike Allen in Politico.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11553.html
July 7, 2008 1:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
My understanding is that all Iraq war-related expense has been off-book. Since there is zero in the current budget from Iraq, any inclusion would be unable to reduce a deficit.
The double-whammy is in play: Not only is current war funding not included in the budget, but no improvement to the budget can be realized by including it. If the war funding had been included in the first place, a reduction in outlay would reduce the amount of red ink in the budget.
Since the funding is not in the budget, reducing it will not make budget dollars available. We can only improve the budget deficit by reduction of non-war-related spending.
Or perhaps McCain can see how to Enron-ize our federal deficit by counting our non-budgeted expense savings as new revenue.
July 7, 2008 6:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not spending a deficit, which is money you don't have, is not 'savings' it's simply not borrowing more. And so he's going to keep spending in Iraq for as long as it takes, reduce the money coming in from business taxes, reduce the taxes from the rich and give them $5000 a family they don't need for health care they can afford; after all, they're rich; and how will he pay for it all? By gutting social programs! Well fuck me, I hope to hell and back that Obama hits him hard and non-stop on this, and that the media reports it.
July 7, 2008 7:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
This country is in really serious shit if McCain gets elected, we can't afford another four years of a War President.
July 7, 2008 11:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
I notice you failed to point out that Obama is claiming to use the savings from the war to pay for his new spending. You point out how the money for the war is borrowed, Obama claims that spending is killing the economy, then he proposes to keep spending that money, just on different things, and suddenly it's OK! Talk about a double standard!
July 7, 2008 1:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
The difference is Obama isn't claiming to balance the budget with cooked books. Obama has said all along he wants to invest in America's Future. Which is code word for Borrow and tax to pay for education, technology, and infrastructure. I'm okay with that.
July 7, 2008 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
He said he would pay for the cost with the savings from the war, and clearly there are no savings. He should say he wants to continue deficit spending to finance his plans and make our grandchildren pay for it, along with wrecking the economy with more taxes.
July 7, 2008 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Go to your local bank. Tell them John McCain sent you. Tell them that you are having a feud with your neighbor, and you want to take out a huge loan; because you want to purchase a bulldozer to level your neighbor's property. Explain to them that as soon as you have completely destroyed your neighbor, you will use the economic dividend, from your victory, to immediately pay of the entire loan and accrued interest.
Brilliant!. That John McCain is an Economics genius. Until they hand him the Nobel prize, treat him to a Guinness. Brilliant!
July 7, 2008 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not spending money doesn't pay debts.
Earning more money AND reducing spending does.
Did he really propose this nonsense? I thought the gas tax was stupid. And then there was the immediate gains of offshore drilling. Yep. The guy's a genius. No doubt about it.
July 7, 2008 5:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're not half as clever as you think, Bulldog. Obama has never based his premise on some loopy notion of "victory." Hey, wake up! There's no way we're going to achieve any kind of "victory" in Iraq. McCain's assertions are not just dumb, they're demented.
July 7, 2008 7:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is one of the funnest things I've read in a long time.
The "SAVINGS from the VICTORY in Iraq"! Laughable. Downright nervy.
July 7, 2008 7:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
If McCain's going to win the CiC position on this issue, then I think that his victory in Iraq should entitle me to more and bigger rebate check. The budget be damned. ;-)
July 8, 2008 1:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
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