Organizing for America

DEBATE REALITY CHECK: MCCAIN'S "NOT CREDIBLE" BUDGET

TONIGHT:
McCain: “No matter what, we have got to cut spending. We have, as I have said, we have let government get completely out of control.”

THE FACTS: MCCAIN’S BUDGET PROPOSAL HAS BEEN CALLED “NOT CREDIBLE”

Washington Post: McCain’s Plan To Balance The Budget By 2013 “Is Not Credible.” “McCain says that President McCain would balance the federal budget by 2013. The plan is not credible. … Mr. McCain sells American voters short -- and he does himself a disservice -- with his implausible claim.” [Editorial, Washington Post, 7/14/08 ]

New York Times: It’s Unclear How McCain Plans To Balance The Budget. "Mr. McCain has promised once again to balance the budget by the end of his first term in 2013, his advisers said Monday. They were reverting to an earlier pledge that Mr. McCain abandoned in April, when he proposed a series of costly tax cuts and, citing the ailing economy, said that it might take two terms to balance the budget… But it is unclear how Mr. McCain intends to balance the budget. Fiscal analysts who have examined Mr. McCain's plans say his calls to extend President Bush's tax cuts and cut corporate and other taxes without calling for comparable spending cuts could increase the federal budget deficit significantly." [New York Times, 7/8/08 ]

Wall Street Journal: McCain’s Plans To Eliminate Earmarks Will Not Pay For Lost Revenue From His Tax Cuts. “When asked Wednesday, after a town-hall meeting in Exeter, N.H., how he would balance his proposed budget, Sen. McCain responded, ‘By eliminating wasteful and pork-barrel spending, to start with.’ How much would that get him? In fiscal 2008, there were 11,737 appropriation earmarks totaling $16.8 billion. That is down from a peak in 2005, when there were nearly 13,500 earmarks totaling almost $19 billion. Eliminating earmarks wouldn't restore revenue lost by Sen. McCain's other propositions, including a litany of tax cuts. He plans to not raise taxes, but he also plans to increase the size of the military and institute health-care overhauls.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/14/08]