Dark Star

This is a great Article on the financial crisis and what McCain can do about it to win the election (and save the country).

A New Opportunity for McCain:

...McCain then needs to project to America a long-term economic recovery plan that would get America booming again, like it did in the 1980s, and the mid-to-late 1990s. We know how to do this. It involves changing the permanent, fundamental incentives that govern our economy.

First, McCain, a supposedly reform candidate, needs clearly and formally to advocate a pro-growth tax reform plan. He has mumbled a few times about a two-rate optional income tax system. He should clearly and forcefully propose, right after the bailout plan is resolved, the freedom of each worker to choose an alternative flatter tax plan with just two tax rates, 10% and 25%. These rates would involve a cut in tax rates for all taxpayers. He has already proposed reducing the federal corporate tax rate to 25% as well. He has also proposed expensing for capital investment, maintaining the dividend tax rate at 15%, abolishing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), and reserving the death tax only for the very richest. Along with the above mentioned zero capital gains tax, this would cause the economy to soar, with millions of new jobs, higher wages, increased savings and investment, new and growing businesses, and a bullish restoration of the dollar.

McCain has also already proposed a budget freeze, and sharp overall spending limitations, leading to a balanced budget at the end of his first term. He should call for a budget cut of $150 billion in the first year, which would be the equivalent relative to the size of the budget of Reagan's 1981 spending cuts

Thirdly, McCain should insist on anti-inflationary monetary policies at the Fed, with adoption of a strict price rule that would short-circuit the Fed discretion that produced the housing bubble. The price rule means that the Fed should conduct monetary policy to keep market prices stable for a representative basket of commodities, including gold. This would cut off budding inflation, and reduce bulging oil and food prices.

Fourthly, McCain should propose regulatory reform that would allow vastly increased production of domestic U.S. energy, including oil, natural gas, and nuclear power, as well as the alternatives of wind, solar, geothermal and others. This would fuel the booming American economy with ample supplies of low cost energy.

In contrast, can you imagine the impact of Obama's 1930s style tax rate increases in this economy? Or his protectionism? When McCain called in the debate for tight spending restraints, Obama specified further welfare spending increases he thinks are necessary. Obama in the debate also equated tax cuts, which allow people to keep more of their own money and grow the economy, with spending increases that do the opposite. McCain also rightly noted that Obama's health plan would ultimately produce a government takeover of health care. McCain rightly noted as well that Obama and his lefty Democrats could not be trusted to increase energy supplies and lower the price of gas. These are the reasons why, contrary to the copycat pundits, McCain won the economic portion of the debate by more than the foreign policy portion.

The above economic recovery plan would precisely get America booming again, and the American people would see that. Indeed, it has the same four components as the Reagan 1980 economic recovery plan. Obama, by contrast, the supposedly forward-looking candidate, is countering with the 1930s Roosevelt plan, which actually did not work to revive the economy. What Obama is advocating across the board is precisely the change we DON'T need.

McCain can get bold, and fresh, and fight, or he can go quietly into history as he now appears to be, too tired, too old, too out of the loop, to fight to save our country from the Hugo Chavez Democrats.

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Let's hope he's still got some game.