Reality Check: Helping Small Businesses

CBS Evening News: Neither Obama Nor McCain Has A Truly Persuasive Plan For Immediate Job Relief

(CBS)  This story was written by Wyatt Andrews.

As both candidates try to win over the working middle class, they're both claiming to have the plan that creates new jobs -- and does so right away.

Senator Barack Obama often says that “we need an immediate rescue plan for the middle class.” Senator John McCain has laid claim to be the candidate who most helps small business.

McCain's appeal to Joe the Plumber rests on a claim he will cut taxes, including business taxes and in the process create new jobs.

“We will cut business taxes to help create jobs, and keep American businesses in America,” he said this week.

The fact is none of McCain's tax plans help Joe the Plumber right away and his main tax pledge changes nothing at all.

Here's why:

McCain's claim that his tax cut is the "real thing" is based on his pledge to keep all of the Bush tax cuts. Fine, but those are on the books and part of the law for the next two years anyway. Nothing changes here if McCain gets elected, and no extra money goes to Joe.

How about those "business taxes" McCain says he will cut. This is verbal sleight of hand.
McCain is indeed proposing a corporate tax cut, in fact a bold one: 35% down to 25% phased in over five years. But almost no small businesses file taxes as corporations.

In other words, experts tell CBS News, Joe the Plumber, small businessman, isn’t getting these business tax cuts either, because they are corporate tax cuts.

“There would be no direct benefit for small businesses because most small businesses don't pay corporate taxes,” according to tax policy expert Martin Sullivan.

As for Obama, he claims that he can create new jobs by giving employers a $3000 tax credit for every new worker they hire. “I've proposed a new American jobs tax credit for each new employee that companies hire here in the United States over the next two years,” he says.

That proposal was tested in the Carter Administration and was not a great success at creating new jobs. According to Sullivan, it won’t work this time either, because of the slowdown in growth.

“$3000 is a small marginal incentive in an employer’s hiring decision,” he said. “It's a benefit on the margin, it doesn't hurt but it is unlikely to create a major stimulus for employment,” said Sullivan.

In fairness to both candidates, they both propose varying cuts and/or elimination of capital gains taxes for business, and in some cases this would help small business owners. Most neutral economists will tell you capital gains tax cuts, viewed over the long term, do tend to stimulate jobs, and while they are a huge hit to the deficit, capital gains cuts are arguably good investments. Give both candidates credit here.

Similarly, both candidates promise to ramp up the energy economy and create millions of new jobs in the sectors of renewable and nuclear power. But again, these are long term investments. Neither candidate, based on their public claims, has a truly persuasive plan for the immediate job relief needed in the economy.

[nanv102]

For people who want to have jobs back in USA, please limit in buying imported merchandises. Think twice when you buy. Is it really necessary to buy this imported items? If you can live without it, do not buy. I think that we have more than enough to survive for few years with that limiting buying plan in mind.
I do not think Toyota is better than Buick, or GM cars. It depends on you feeling rather than the truth. I have two GM cars. One lasts for 250,000 miles and the other lasts 300,000 miles. I have one Toyota lasts about 120,000 miles,then its engine is in bad shape.
Save your jobs, buy more US products(maybe a little more expensive but last much longer)

[nanv102]

Affirmation action is a good thing, but US has to have a system that encourages and maintain excellency too. Do not let "real" gifted students bored in the classroom. NSF should have more money for this important activity too. Does either Obama or Mccain think of this? I do not hear from them yet.
Do you think foreign scientists will stay in US for ever to save US? If not, please pay attention to children (our homegrown products). Please really love USA, both candidates. You do not have to win because your Democrats or Republicans. Honestly, serve for the survival of our country.

[nanv102]

It does not matter who is in the office. If they do not fix the bankrupt education system, the USA economy will not be the same. After politicized the education system for a long time, teachers can not teach in the classroom and gave grades to satisfy parents. Parents want their children to get good grades with less work. Students play more than spending time to study hard sciences. How can they compete in the global work force? If they can not compete, do you expect them have a good life over the rest of the world as in the past century. Common, wake up America!

What can Obama do? What can Mccain do? So they have to say what you want to hear. Nothing can be changed about economy.

[pollroller1]

In my humble opinion, both candidates are full of--- well you know. Both of them are telling us what they think we want to hear. I however do believe that Barack Obama is the lesser of the two evils. That is why I voted for him. I guess time will tell if I voted for the right man.

[jhy190]

This is to those who accuse Democrats of %u201Csocialism%u201D.

What%u2019s bigger government spending today than this war with Iraq that never attacked us? Isn%u2019t it what the %u201Ccommunist%u201D Soviet kept doing towards its economic demise?

[fbla1805]

So is the fake Plumber, and the fake McCain gal was trying to heat up racism, and who''s now charged with the crime of reporting a crime she invented, doing ploys, doing stunts, or doing slime?

No matter, in just 10 days, the politics of ploys, stunts, slime, deceitful mailings, sleazy robocalls, & culture war will be on the ballot!

On Nov. 4th, the politics of Bush/Cheney, McCain/Palin, Karl Rove/Steve Schmidt, and Rupert Murdoch%u2019s Fox News Channel, will be defeated because Americans in the millions are fed up with this brand of McCain/Palin politics.

Americans, remember! We need a huge turnout and a landslide victory, because as we can see already today, the Republicans are again trying to steal this election at the polling stations, just like in 2000 & 2004!

People, vote with strength and courage, elect Obama/Biden in overwhelming numbers, and return honesty, decency, and integrity to our American politics!

Starting Nov. 5th, we%u2019ll begin the hard work of repairing the immense damage these Republican Party thieves and scoundrels have done to our economy, our country, & our people.

May God bless us all.

[bigjoe-24]

Just a couple days ago Tex was a pre-law student. Yesterday he says he drives from Illinois to Indiana to see his child. Now he runs a business -- Busy man there Tex from Illinois.

Posted by misha128 at 08:36 A
...................

Talk about a backward "B" situation:)

[bigjoe-24]

@Posted by FromTexwLove

I guess you''re doing extremely well now... like making a lot of $$$$

[bigjoe-24]

@Posted by OneAmerican7

You have a video? if not go to hell!

[fbla1805]

Sadly, %u201CJoe the Plumber%u201D turns out to be just another McCain gimmick. Yet he%u2019s making %u201CJoe the Plumber%u201D the centerpiece of his campaign.

Too bad for McCain that he didn%u2019t vet %u201CJoe the Plumber%u201D any better than he did Sarah Palin!

Turns out Samuel J. Wurzelbacher (alias McCain%u2019s %u201CJoe the Plumber%u201D) doesn%u2019t have a plumber%u2019s license. Nor did his boss know he was selling his own business to Sam (%u201CJoe%u201D)!

That business is apparently worth less than $100,000, nowhere close to the $250,000.00 %u201CJoe%u201D claimed it was worth in his conversation with Obama (in other words, he barefaced lied).

Truth is, Samuel (%u201CJoe%u201D) makes about $40,000 a year, has a state tax lien from Ohio for nearly $1,200.00, a second lien for $1,261.00.

Not being able to keep up with his own bills, he''s buying a business, as he claimed to Obama on camera, right?

Turns out that good ol%u2019 Samuel (%u201DJoe%u201D) prominent on the local right-wing radio station, and a financial donor to McCain. He%u2019s also famous for posting youtube rants attacking Social Security.

In other words, Joe is just a mole, a shill. So maybe we should just stop calling him Samuel %u201CJoe the Plumber%u201D and refer to him as %u201CJoe the McCain Mole%u201D.

Weirdly, McCain still believes he can sneak this fraud by the American people, even in this day and age with the internet and 24/7 news cycles.

Who would have thought?