Difficult Questions for John McCain

With few exceptions, these questions are based on McCain's stated positions as found at JohnMcCain.com.

1. You called for a suspension of the 18.4 cent federal gas tax over the summer.  This would have saved typical families perhaps $10-$20 a month.  Do you think that would have justified all of the cost required to implement this change?  Also, since gas taxes pay for road and infrastructure that is deteriorating in America, where would you have made up this budget shortfall?

2. Your “HOME” plan allows for “deserving American families” to replace existing mortgages they can’t afford with a new FHA-backed loan.  You claim that the current mortgage company “writes down and retires the existing loan, which is replaced by an FHA guaranteed HOME loan from a lender.”  Will this be adverse for mortgage lenders?  Will they be less likely to make loans in the future to questionable applicants, and will they pass on the added costs to qualified applicants in the future?

3. You want to balance the budget by 2013.  It seems like every president says he will balance the budget but fails to do so unless the stars align (e.g. massive economic expansion).  Given that the U.S.’s current deficit is nearly a half billion, will Americans have to sacrifice in order to balance the budget? 

4. If you fail to balance the budget by 2013, what one factor do you think will be most to blame?

5. You want to “end subsidies to high-income individuals and corporations”.  How would you define “high-income”, and would you end agriculture subsidies?

6. Social security taxes are 12.4% of an American’s income (until they reach the wage limit).  Many people under the age of 30 don’t believe they will ever receive benefits from social security because it will be “bankrupt” or otherwise dismantled by the time we retire.  There are really two ways to fix this: higher taxes or lower benefits.  Your campaign literature says you won’t leave office without tackling this issue, but provides no concrete suggestions for fixing the problem (other than personal accounts, which doesn’t solve the funding gap).  What specifically will you do during your term to shore up social security and ensure the young generation that the 12.4% isn’t merely a tax, but something they will reap benefits from when they retire?

7. You want to phase out the Alternative Minimum Tax.  How much will this cost the treasury in lost taxes?

8. Part of your premise for cutting taxes is that it spurs growth, thereby generating more overall income and covering tax losses from the initial cuts.  For every dollar you cut taxes for the wealthy, how much does that equate to economic growth?  How long does that take?

9. You want to cut the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.  How will these tax dollars be recouped?  How long does it take for the economic benefits of cutting corporate tax rates to be felt in the economy?

10. How will keeping the dividend tax rate at 15% having a meaningful impact on entrepreneurs, as you suggest in your rationale for keeping these taxes low? 

11. You want to provide a permanent 10% tax credit on R&D spending.  There are currently firms around the country going to small businesses and offering to help them capture R&D tax credits for previous years by auditing all of their expenses and then refilling tax returns for those years.  These firms take a percentage of all credits claimed (sometimes 33%).  Obviously, the companies getting these retroactive credits were not incentivized by the credit.  Do you know specifically which types of firms are taking advantage of the R&D tax credit right now?  How would their behavior change if you eliminate this credit?  Would you allow R&D tax credits to apply to previous years’ amended returns?

12. You want to offer consumers a $5,000 tax credit for buying a zero-emissions car.  Who will pay for this tax credit?

13. You propose making prescription drugs cheaper in part by speeding up the introduction of generic drugs.  Doesn’t this reduce drug company’s incentives to invest in new drug discovery?

14. You want to reduce chronic disease by “emphasizing prevention, early intervention, healthy habits, new treatment models, new public health infrastructure and the use of information technology.”  The effects of these changes are realized over the long term.  What incentive will be in place for health care insurers to follow your plan?  Will the government foot the bill?

15. You want to reduce the rising costs of health care.  You say “Families should be in charge of their health care dollars and have more control over care.”  Specifically, how would families have more control over their health care dollars?

16.  How will you pay for your $5,000 per family ($2,500 per individual) tax credit for purchasing health insurance?

17. You want healthcare to be portable, giving people the chance to take it with them when they leave a job.  Currently, there is a short portability period under COBRA for larger companies.  Many states also offer portability for small company health insurance.  Both of these require considerable administrative costs on the part of the insurance companies and former employers.  How would you make this process more efficient?

18. You want to ban new cell phone taxes.  What about existing cell phone taxes?  Should they be reduced?

19. You want states to enact plans to provide health insurance to the uninsurable, such as those with serious pre-existing conditions.  How much will this cost and who will pay for this? 

20. You want to provide funding to border states (presumably that border with Mexico) and require them to set up a plan for securing their borders.  How much will this cost each American tax payer?

21. How many H1-B visas should the U.S. grant each year?  How vital are H-1B visas to ensuring continued excellence of U.S. companies?

22. You want all undocumented individuals to enroll in a program to resolve their status.  What is the benefit to them participating?  How will you make them trust the U.S. government enough to participate?

23. Reading your plan for right-to-life, it appears that your hope is to over turn Roe V. Wade, return the decision of abortion to the states, and then get society to pressure the states to disallow abortion.  Is this correct?  If so, how long do you think it will take to get states to outlaw abortion?  Once it is outlawed, what would you do to keep pregnant mothers from seeking unregulated and unsafe illegal clinics or going to other countries to perform abortions?

24. Is there any circumstance in which you believe that a mother should have the legal right to an abortion?

25. You want to appeal to independent voters.  Many of these voters are pro-life and place this as their most important issue.  How would you convince one of these voters that they should vote for you?

26. You believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.  Do you think same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into a government-recognized union that will afford them similar rights, such as to visit their partner at the hospital?

27. I do not have criminal history.  Do you think I should be allowed to carry an AK-47 on the streets of Washington, D.C.?