On The Issues, Part 4: The Economy

No doubt about it, this is a hot topic today more than ever! I am not qualified to tackle the issues of the last several days, I'll leave that to John McCain and Sarah Palin. As for where the candidates stand on the issue of the economy, I will simply repeat to you what the McCain/Palin campaign have released on this issue.

Jobs for America:"John McCain is calling for National Commission on Workplace Flexibility and Choice. This Commission would bring together a bi-partisan set of leaders representing workers, small and large employers, labor, and academics. The Commission would make recommendations to the President on how modernizing our nation’s labor laws and training programs can help workers better balance the demands of their job with family life and to enable workers to more easily transition between jobs."

Gas and Food Prices:"John McCain will help Americans hurting from high gasoline and food costs. Americans need relief right now from high gas prices. John McCain will act immediately to reduce the pain of high gas prices. [He] believes we should send a strong message to world markets. Under his plan, the United States will be telling oil producing countries and oil speculators that our dependence on foreign oil will come to an end – and the impact will be lower prices at the pump. John McCain's policies will increase the value of the dollar and thus reduce the price of oil. In recent years, the declining value of the dollar has added to the cost of imported oil. This will change. Americans will have a stronger economy, a stronger dollar and greater purchasing power for oil, gas and food. [He] will repeal the 54 cents per gallon tax on imported sugar-based ethanol, increasing competition, and lowering prices of gasoline at the pump. John McCain will roll back corn-based ethanol mandates, which are contributing to the rising cost of food."

Home Plan: 

"John McCain believes there is nothing more important than keeping alive the American dream of owning a home. Priority number one is to keep well-meaning, deserving home owners who are facing foreclosure in their homes. John McCain's approach to helping sub-prime or other financially strapped mortgage borrowers is built on sound principles: No taxpayer money should bail out real estate speculators or financial market participants who failed to perform due diligence in assessing credit risks. Any assistance for borrowers should be focused solely on homeowners and any government assistance to the banking system should be based solely on preventing systemic risk. Any policy of financial assistance should be accompanied by reforms that promote greater transparency and accountability to ensure we never face this problem again. John McCain has proposed a new "HOME Plan" to provide robust, timely and targeted help to those hurt by the housing crisis. Under his HOME Plan, every deserving American family or homeowner will be afforded the opportunity to trade a burdensome mortgage for a manageable loan that reflects their home's market value." You can see more on this issue on the McCain campaign website. Read further here.

Budget, and Earmarks: Senator McCain and Governor Palin have an enormous plan for overhauling the issues we now face with regard to government spending and earmarks in Washington. I won't even attempt to try and cover it all here. You can click on this link and read all about it! The most important issue to me with regard to the economy is taxes. John McCain and Sarah Palin intend to keep the Bush tax cuts in place. For more information on their tax policies, click here.

Energy: DRILL, DRILL, DRILL!" John McCain will commit our country to expanding domestic oil and natural gas exploration. The current federal moratorium on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf stands in the way of energy exploration and production. John McCain believes it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and work with states to put our own reserves to use. There is no easier or more direct way to prove to the world that we will no longer be subject to the whims of others than to expand our production capabilities." Read further here.


**On Hannity and Colmes tonight, Sarah did part one of the two part interview with Sean Hannity. Part two will be on tomorrow evening at 9 EST. I was incredibly impressed with both the interview and the town hall meeting this evening. She handled herself like an old pro! I hope you saw it!