A Summary of the Presidential Candidates’ Economic Policies

January 11, 2008

I have not been able to find a good summary of the positions of all the Presidential candidates and what their plans are for the economy. Therefore, as someone interested in the economic policies of our next President, I put together a summary of their published policies. In order to make it easier to understand, I made up their responses to the question,

As president, how will you help the economy during your first term in office?

Democrats

Hilary Clinton

“I am going to make health care affordable to, and required for, all, but not the way I tried to do it last time. This time I’m going to involve the private sector more. I want to add more tax incentives for saving for retirement. I want to raise the minimum wage. Other than that, I haven’t said many specifics, because I’m a front-runner and don’t want to alienate anybody.”

John Edwards

“My dad was a mill worker, and I’m sure he would approve of my plan to match up to $500 in savings for all families making less than $75,000/year to use however they want. My dad would also approve of a commission to investigate predatory lending, the creation of a universal health care plan, a higher minimum wage, and legislation to ensure that our trade partners enforce minimum working standards. These are the down-home ideals that my dad, who was a mill worker, believed in.”

Mike Gravel

“I support universal health care and the abolishment of the IRS and the replacement of the income tax with a sales tax. I also endorse the Common Sense Budget Act, which would drastically cut military funding and put the extra money into funding health care, energy independence research, and family services. I am hopelessly idealistic.”

Dennis Kucinich

“I would withdraw from NAFTA, the WTO and other organizations that take jobs away from Americans. I would increase the tax rates on the wealthiest citizens, who have gotten a free ride for too long. If you believe in hippie economic ideals, I am your man.”

Barack Obama

“I believe that we need to hope for change. In order to do this, I propose a $4,000 yearly tax credit for workers to go back to college and improve - and thus change - themselves. We need to change the country so that average workers can have a low-cost, affordable health care program like federal workers. I would also change the policies of the companies of the US so that they automatically enroll workers in retirement plans.”

Republicans

Rudy Giuliani

“I’m the real fiscal conservative in 2008, a true believer in supply-side economics, and have been since before 9/11. I will cut the federal workforce by 20% in the next decade. However, to be nice to lower-income people who may vote for me, I will also propose a health care credit.”

Mike Huckabee

“I believe that just as Jesus turned water into wine, we can turn our national income tax into a sales tax. I also think that through the power of my religious anecdotes and down-home wisdom, we can balance the budget and I will do that as President of these United States of America. We can trim the fat of the budget just as I trimmed down!”

Duncan Hunter

“I will work to withdraw us from the WTO and repeal all trade deals with China. We don’t need to worry about a balanced budget, since I will work to grow the economy so much that it won’t matter. Vote for me if you want a more traditionally conservative version of George Bush.”

John McCain

“I will increase world trade, but also institute legislation to help those who have been displaced by it. I will also continue work to cut more pork and special interest money from the budget, as I have a long history of doing that. I will reduce restrictions on health care providers and offer a tax credit for health care. I actually have a plan ready, instead of vague promises.”

Ron Paul

“I am the most Libertarian candidate running. I don’t think the government has any business regulating the economy, or much of anything else, and would lower taxes and government services dramatically. I’d abolish FEMA, the IRS, the Department of Education, and pretty much any other federal agency created after 1798. I would also return the US to the Gold Standard (backing US dollars with gold) and abolish the Federal Reserve. Vote for me if you are truly against big government.”

Mitt Romney

“As a former CEO, I know what we need to do to increase economic growth. I’m only going to speak in generalities while campaigning, but we need to increase trade, not decrease it. In addition, I want to get rid of basically all taxes on investing to encourage more savings.”

Fred Thompson

“I like Bush’s current economic plan, but I have a few specific proposals. I think supporters of economic earmarks should have to identify themselves, to reduce government expenditures. I also want to partially privatize social security.”

Remember, though, that Democrats are better for the stock market than Republicans.

(Sources: FACTBOX: Presidential Candidates’ Economic Policy Views, Mike Gravel 2008 , Ron Paul’s wikipedia page, and the MSNBC Candidates + Issues Matrix)

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