McCain’s Economist

This article introduces John McCain’s main economic advisor.

Interestingly, John McCain has managed to harm his image as a fiscal conservative by outlining his plans for tax cuts in detail, while only being vague about the spending cuts that are supposed to generate the necessary revenue (necessary, that is, if the tax cuts are supposed to be revenue neutral) and various ‘base broadening’ measures (i.e. closing tax loopholes) .

This leads to the question whether enthusiastic tax cuts are George W. Bush’s pet peeve - or whether they are something that donors to the Republican campaign successfully insist on, independent of who is running for office.

I, for one, would find it more helpful if McCain were to outline detailed plans regarding the ‘fixing’ of ballooning federal spending programs, as opposed to concentrating on yet more tax cuts.