WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT: -HIGHER GAS PRICES (opposes offshore drilling) -NO INITIATIVE FOR FREE TRADE (thinks it is oversold) -CUTBACKS IN HEALTH CARE(will cut MEDICARE to fund his pet projects)
OBAMA WILL CUT PROGRAMS AND SPEND TAXPAYER MONEY TO HIS ENDS: ....My plan is detailed and specific when it comes to cutting spending,’’ the Democratic candidate said in a July 7 speech in St. Louis. ....In fact, all my new spending proposals would be more than paid for by spending reductions.’’
THIS IS WHAT HE WILL REDUCE OR CUT: Obama’s proposed spending cuts would touch areas from student loans to Medicare to subsidies for wealthy farmers. Excluding health-care-related savings, they would total less than $30 billion -- 1 percent of the $3 trillion U.S. budget.
Medicare Cuts
The bulk of savings in his plan are health-care related. He would cut $15 billion in subsidies to a private Medicare coverage program and save tens of billions more by modernizing health-care information systems and insurance-payment processes.
The plans ....sound good on paper but don’t produce much,’’ said Isabel Sawhill, an associate budget director during the Clinton administration.
AP Obama proposes $1,000 energy rebates for consumers
By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 12 minutes ago
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday called for a $1,000 "emergency" rebate to consumers to offset soaring energy costs amid fresh signs of a struggling economy with the nation’s unemployment rate climbing to a four-year high. ADVERTISEMENT
Obama told a town-hall meeting the rebate would be financed with a windfall profits tax on the oil industry.
"This rebate will be enough to offset the increased cost of gas for a working family over the next four months," Obama said in the crucial swing state of Florida.
Obama had earlier said the rebates should be part of a larger tax relief package. But now he says the slumping economy demands they be put in place immediately.
Obama’s remarks coincide with news that the unemployment rate climbed to a four-year high of 5.7 percent in July as employers cut 51,000 jobs, dashing the hopes of an influx of young people looking for summer work. Payroll cuts weren’t as deep as the 72,000 predicted by economists, however. And, job losses for both May and June were smaller than previously reported.
July’s reductions marked the seventh straight month where employers eliminated jobs. The economy has lost a total of 463,00 jobs so far this year.
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