John McCain called Tuesday for the federal government to free people from paying gasoline taxes this summer and ensure that college students can secure loans this fall, proposals aimed at stemming the public's pain now from the troubled economy.
In the longer-term, the certain Republican presidential nominee said he would double the tax exemption for dependent children and offer people the option of choosing a simpler tax system.
"We know from experience that no serious reform of the current tax code will come out of Congress, so now it is time to turn the decision over to the people," McCain said in a sweeping economic speech at Carnegie Mellon University a week before Pennsylvania's primaries.
To help people weather the downturn immediately, McCain urged Congress to institute a "gas-tax holiday" by suspending the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. He also renewed his call for the United States to stop adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and thus lessen to some extent the worldwide demand for oil.
Combined, he said, the two proposals would reduce gas prices, which would have a trickle-down effect, and "help to spread relief across the American economy."
Addressing the feared fallout of the ongoing credit crunch, McCain also said the Education Department should work with the country's governors to make sure that each state's guarantee agency - nonprofits that traditionally back student loans issued by banks - has both the means and the manpower to be the lender-of-last-resort for student loans.
Lawmakers, students and financial experts are worried that the credit crisis might make it more difficult for students and their families to find loans. Nearly two dozen lenders have dropped out of the federally backed student loan program.
Students, McCain said, "should not be denied an education because the recklessness of others has made credit too hard to obtain."
Among other proposals, McCain said he would:
_Require more affluent people - couples making more than $160,000 - enrolled in Medicare to pay a higher premium for their prescription drugs than less-wealthy people.
_Raise the tax exemption for each dependent child from $3,500 to $7,000.
_Offer people the option of choosing a simpler tax system with two tax rates and a standard deduction instead of sticking with the current system.
_Suspend for one year all increases in discretionary spending for agencies other than those that cover the military and veterans while launching an expansive review of the effectiveness of federal programs.
You know, I'm a little hard pressed to see a problem with McCain's proposal as long as it pays for itself. More affluent people shouldn't even BE in Medicare if it were up to me. For example, if you're making $250,000 a year, tell me, why do you need to be in Medicare? You can afford health insurance, so I fail to see why you need to be in a program like that besides pure greed.
I'm putting money away for my retirement. I plan on having around $3 million or so in today's terms when I retire. That way I have enough money available to me for my retirement years.
However, some of these suggestions are straight from the Democrat's playbook, however, the difference is, is that McCain is proposing to cut spending in other places. That's something that Democrats will never do.
Travis
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