Lube The Mind

It’s the time of the season to get a little political at Lube…

Congratulations, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama and Mr. John Sidney McCain III. You are now going head-to-head for the unenviable position of bringing a wounded nation back to its feet.

Based on a Reuters factbox and the two candidates’ official websites, Business Pundit has compiled the main economic points for each candidate as well as brief conclusions which I will list below. They offer two radically different models for the nation:

Part 1: OBAMAVILLE

A green society of telecommuters where poor families enjoy tax credits, children can skateboard without helmets (they have free health insurance, after all), and words like “Iraq” and “loan shark” are things of the past.

HEALTHCARE
Give healthcare to kids
Keep the current job-based system intact, but expand government healthcare so that it covers children. What his government will do for the 40+ million adults without healthcare coverage remains unclear.

IRAQ
Get out of Iraq
Remove troops from Iraq within less than 1.5 years of taking office.

TAXES
The rich pay, the poor get credits
Let Bush’s tax cuts on the wealthy expire. Raise capital gains tax rates. Implement tax credits of $500-1000 that will “eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.”

FREE TRADE
Expand and make it fair
Renegotiate NAFTA so that it “works for American workers.” He also plans to increase free trade.

EMPLOYMENT
Build a society of green, scientifically-advanced telecommuters
-Double federal funding for research.
-Subsidize automakers so that American workers can build fuel-efficient vehicles.
-Sponsor job-training programs in green/sustainable areas such as green technologies.
-Require 25% of electricity in the US to come from renewable sources, such as wind, by the year 2025.
-Raise the minimum wage.
-Put more federal money into after-school programs; promote flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting.

THE SUBPRIME CRISIS
Give people a break
-Revise bankruptcy laws to make them more lenient on consumers.
-Increase regulation on the mortgage industry.
-Create a universal mortgage tax credit (averaging $500) for homeowners.
-Provide a credit card rating system to simplify credit card shopping for consumers.
-Drive shady payday loan outfits out of business by encouraging banks and other legitimate lenders to make short-term microloans .

Conclusion: I’m all for tax credits for my income and mortgage. And green technology is absolutely fundamental for long-term forward movement in the economy. But where is the government getting the money to fund this? I mean, the only papers the Feds are rolling in right now are I.O.U. slips…

PART 2: McCAINLAND

We’re gonna kick some ass in Iraq and pull out victorious within five years. Private health insurance will become more competitive, so average Joes and Josephines to afford policies. Kids will have a better education. The government will be run like a Navy SEAL team, with no excess pork and no corruption. Thanks in part to this, Social Security will be saved.

HEALTHCARE
Still up to us, but a break for seniors
Implement tax credits to boost an open-market system where the public picks from competing policies. McCain hopes that healthcare insurance will move away from employer-based systems and into private consumers’ hands. He would also lower Medicare premiums.

IRAQ
We’re gonna kick some ass
McCain wants to keep troops in Iraq “until the war is won,“ which he claims can happen by 2013.

TAXES
More of the same
Keep Bush’s policies of tax cuts for the wealthy intact, while also cutting corporate tax rates.

GAS PRICES
Gassackwards
Remove federal gas taxes for a period in the summer, “giving a boost to struggling families seeking a vacation.”

FREE TRADE
More of the same
Keep current policies in place; promote low barriers to trade.

EMPLOYMENT
Better-educated kids, hope for the future, and unemployment bootcamp.
-Promises to save the social security system without raising taxes.
-Increase educational opportunities for children by allowing them a free choice of schools to attend.
-Overhaul unemployment insurance and turn it into a program that helps retrain and relocate people who have lost their jobs. Funding community colleges and technical training programs will be part of this effort.

INTERNAL GOVERNMENT POLICIES
Make the US government a lean, mean accountability machine. Free up more money for better causes.
-Will single-handedly veto any earmarked or pork-barrel bills.
-Promote accountability and performance in the federal workforce.
-Cut wasteful spending anywhere he sees it, in defense and non-defense programs. Get rid of government programs that do not work.

Conclusion: I’m all for a lean, corruption-free government. But how is organizational sharpness going to help Americans cope with increasing food, fuel and other commodity prices? And is increased competition in the private healthcare sector really going to reduce prices by that much?