Miami Democrats School John McCain on the Economy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 27, 2008

CORAL GABLES - South Florida Democrats united Sunday afternoon to teach John McCain a lesson on one of his greatest deficiencies: the economy.

It also happens to be the most pressing concern facing Americans today. To send a clear message Democrats offered John McCain a giant copy of a popular text book that might be just right to help the Republican nominee brush up on basic economics.

Miami-Dade Democrats, including Democratic Party Chairman Bret Berlin and Young Democrats President Florence Moss, took part in a press conference with local educators in Coral Gables to bring light to John McCain's failures with the economy.

McCain scheduled a media availability for 2 p.m. EST. Democrats decided to give McCain a present: an economic textbook so he can brush up as he slugs through his campaign for U.S. President.

"Miami can't afford John McCain. He's admitted to knowing very little about the economy and claims that our problems - like skyrocketing gas and food prices - are psychological. Fact is John McCain flunks Econ 101, " Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chairman Bret Berlin said.

"South Florida's housing meltdown isn't psychological. John McCain only offers a third Bush term and has no answers to the problems facing working families in South Florida," said Berlin.

In the past year, Florida's unemployment rate jumped from 3.7% to 4.9%. This is the largest of increase of any state in the nation, tied with California, Nevada and Rhode Island.

The Republican Recession fostered by eight years of Bush mismanagement is taking a severe toll. South Florida is groundzero for the subprime mortgage meltdown. But Republican presidential candidate John McCain admits he offers little in the way of direction for America's economy.

"I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated." John McCain quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Nov. 26, 2005

"The issue of economics is something that I've really never understood as well as I should. I understand the basics, the fundamentals, the vision, all that kind of stuff." John McCain quoted in the Chicago Tribune, Dec. 18, 2007

**EVENT PICTURES**

Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chairman Bret Berlin speaks in Coral Gables during John McCain's visit. The Democratic Party created a giant "Economics for Dummies" textbook for the Republican candidate.

McCain Isn't Qualified To Manage the Economy

MCCAIN TODAY: "Economic policy is not just some academic exercise, and we in Washington are not just passive spectators.  We have a responsibility to act - and if I am elected president I intend to act quickly and decisively."
REALITY: In 2005. McCain Says "I Still Need To Be Educated" On The Economy. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, McCain admitted to his inexperience on economics.  He said, "I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated." [Wall Street Journal, 11/26/2005]
REALITY 2007:  McCain Says He Doesn't Understand the Economy. McCain admitted to reporters "[t]he issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should." [Boston Globe, 12/18/07]
REALITY: In 2008, Former Treasury Secretary Paul O' Neill Doubted McCain's Economic Experience. When asked in an interview with New York Times Magazine how he felt about John McCain, former treasury secretary Paul O'Neill replied, "I don't want a straight talker. I want a leader. And a straight talker is one dimension of a leader." When asked about McCain's recent statement that "his grasp of economics is limited," O'Neill replied, "Yeah. That's a great place to start from, isn't it?" [New York Times Magazine, 3/30/2008] 

McCain's Numbers Just Don't Add Up

Though he has admitted he doesn't understand economics, John McCain tried his hand at an economic proposal for our country. The reviews are in, and they're not very good. News accounts and expert analyses show McCain's proposals lack details, his numbers just don't add up, and he's the wrong choice for America's future.  

McCain Doesn't Understand Arithmetic.  The Washington Times editorialized that "Regrettably, Mr. McCain's entire balanced-budget fiscal policy, such as it is, almost certainly is built on smoke and mirrors....we also understand arithmetic, and we're concerned that Mr. McCain does not...His math doesn't add up. Mr. McCain needs to provide much more detailed information about how he intends to balance the budget." [Washington Times, 4/18/08]

McCain Not Explaining How To Pay For Tax Cuts. The Wall Street Journal wrote "But Mr. McCain draws criticism from budget-balancers for refusing to provide offsets to his biggest-ticket item: extending the Bush tax cuts past their scheduled 2010 expiration. That alone will cost about $270 billion a year... The Bush tax cuts included an expiration date when they were passed, and if they are renewed without offsetting cuts, the lost revenue will add to the deficit according to standard budget accounting rules." [Wall Street Journal, 4/16/2008]

Math Doesn't Work.  NBC News reported that "critics and some economists argue McCain's math is wrong, that his plan would tilt toward the wealthy, swell the deficit and not trim enough." [NBC Nightly News, 4/17/08]

How Can He Pay For It? ABC News broadcasted that "critics question how McCain expects to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, enact massive tax cuts, and balance the budget. McCain says he can do it." [ABC World News Tonight, 4/15/08]

Where Will The Money Come From? Marc Ambinder headlined his post "McCain's Economy: Where Will The Money Come From?" and noted that McCain didn't really answer the question.  [Marc Ambinder, TheAtlantic.com, 4/16/08]

Economic Conservatives Say "Foolish." Conservatives "don't like McCain's gas tax holiday -- they find it foolish and they wonder where McCain would find the money for it." [Marc Ambinder, TheAtlantic.com, 4/16/08]
 
"Earmarks" Aren't Magic Solution - There Just Aren't Enough To Pay For His Spending Plans.  McCain "wants to cut some $160 billion in discretionary spending out of a budget" but only 11% is 'earmarks.'"  [Washington Wire, 4/16/08]

McCain Numbers For Earmarks Don't Match Reality. The Wall Street Journal wrote that while McCain suggest there are $60 billion in earmarks to cut, "There was only $18.3 billion per year for earmarks in the fiscal 2008 budget, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group."  The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder similarly noted that "the most I've seen in terms of an earmarks tally has been about $20b dollars."  [Washington Wire, 4/16/08 ; Marc Ambinder, TheAtlantic.com, 4/16/08]

What Balanced Budget?

McCain Reverses Self On Balanced Budget.  By outlining tax reductions in his economic proposals, the New York Times observed, McCain was, "backing away from his pledge to balance the budget by the end of his first term."  There was "a decidedly less hawkish note on deficits," the Times continued, "as McCain called for spending cuts but did not mention balancing the federal budget."  McCain said in Wisconsin in February that he would balance the federal budget by the end of his first term as President, but "seemed to reconsider that on Tuesday, saying at a news conference later in Villanova that "economic conditions are reversed" and that he would have a balanced budget within eight years."  [New York Times, 4/16/08]

McCain Changes Mind On Balanced Budget. The Wall Street Journal reported that "Sen. McCain's new-found enthusiasm for tax cuts could undermine his reputation as antideficit budget hawk. Given the new proposals, it was unclear how Sen. McCain will achieve his previously stated goal of eliminating the federal deficit by the end of his first term, and he didn't mention that in his speech Tuesday...Sen. McCain later told reporters that it might take two terms to achieve that goal of eliminating the deficit. He has also said that some of his tax cuts might need to be phased in." [Wall Street Journal, 4/16/2008]

McCain's Plan Is Just Bad For America

"Under a McCain Presidency, National Debt Would Soar As it Has Under Bush."  According to a Boston Globe editorial, " Under a McCain presidency, the national debt would soar as it has under Bush." [Editorial, Boston Globe, 4/16/2008]

McCain's Gas Tax 'Holiday' "Smacks Of Poll-Driven Gimmickry." The Wall Street Journal reported, "Less credible is Mr. McCain's call for Washington to suspend the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gasoline tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day to help consumers hit by high oil prices. There are few tax cuts we don't like, but this one smacks of poll-driven gimmickry. If Mr. McCain wants to cut the price of gasoline, he should tell the Federal Reserve to stop fueling the commodity boom by cutting interest rates." [Editorial, Wall Street Journal, 4/16/2008]

McCain Promised Help For Working Americans, But Proposals Reveal More Aid For Corporations. According to the Washington Post, revealing his economic agenda, McCain "offered sweeping rhetoric about the economic plight of working-class Americans, promising immediate assistance even as he spelled out a tax and spending agenda whose benefits are aimed squarely at spurring corporate growth." [Washington Post, 4/16/2008]