Armchair political quarterbacks are arguing about the right focus for John McCain’s campaign . The best example of what he should be doing — explaining what his opponent is offering on the economy — comes from Michael Boskin ,who kicks off a must-read column with this:
What if I told you that a prominent global political figure in recent months has proposed: abrogating key features of his government’s contracts with energy companies; unilaterally renegotiating his country’s international economic treaties; dramatically raising marginal tax rates on the “rich” to levels not seen in his country in three decades (which would make them among the highest in the world); and changing his country’s social insurance system into explicit welfare by severing the link between taxes and benefits?
Aside from some pithy jibes about Barack Obama’s economic literacy, he has some salient facts: Obama’s tax increases would effectively raise the marginal rate to 62.8% — a “reduction of one-third in the after-tax wage.” Boskin’s stats on free trade are equally compelling.
So far the entire economic debate has consisted of “McCain embraced Bush’s tax cuts.” But the discussion has yet to address what the alternative is, or to remind voters, that they will eventually have to pay for Obama’s massive domestic spending. McCain would do well to spruce up his own package and offer the “McCain tax cut plan.” But he could at least start with a Boskin-like dissection of Obama’s plans. They are quite a bit more frightening frankly than his national security views (at least the latest ones).