BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhuanet)-- Economy has taken
the center stage in the U.S. presidential contest as rivals Republican
John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama made dueling economic
speeches over how to boost the ailing U.S. economy on Monday.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate
Senator Barack Obama recognizes a friend in the audience as he addresses a
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference
in Washington, June 28, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Both candidates turned to the No. 1 issue for voters as a
recent poll by Democracy Corps suggested that voters are very much up for grabs
on economic issues.
In a speech to reporters after mechanical trouble forced
his plane to make an unscheduled stop in St. Louis, Obama called for a 50
billion dollar stimulus package that would provide energy rebate checks for many
families, a fund to help families avoid foreclosure and increased assistance for
states hit especially hard by economic setbacks.
The Democratic senator favors tax cuts for middle-class
workers and tax increases for top earners. He calls for substantial government
subsidies for health care, college, retirement and alternative energies.
Obama said that McCain offers a third term of President
Bush's policies.
"John McCain's policies are essentially a repeat, a
regurgitation of what we've been hearing from the Republican Party over the last
two decades, maybe three," Obama said, "It's part of the reason that we're in
the situation that we find ourselves in right now."
Republican presidential candidate U.S.
Senator John McCain speaks to the National Association of Latino Elected
and Appointed Officials (NALEO) 25th Annual conference and political
convention in Washington, DC, June 28, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters,
File Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
Clarifying his economic credentials in a speech in
Denver, McCain pledged to balance the federal budget, impose fiscal discipline
on Washington and modernize how the government does business in order to save
billions of dollars.
He promised to veto "every single bill with wasteful
spending."
Income taxes are a key difference between the two
candidates.
The Democratic senator favors tax cuts for middle-class
workers and tax increases for top earners.
McCain pledges to cut taxes for all and raise them on
none. Government should shrink, not grow, he told his audience in Denver.
The candidates disagree in other areas connected to the
economy, including trade and health care reform. Both propose spurring job
growth through programs to increase U.S. use of solar, wind and other renewable
energy sources.
In a recent poll on candidates' economic plans, 50 percent
said their views more closely resembled McCain's goal of cutting taxes for the
middle class and for businesses, simplifying the tax code, maintaining free
trade and eliminating government waste.
Forty five percent said their views more closely resembled
Obama's goal of cutting taxes for 95 percent of American families, eliminating
special tax breaks for big corporations, renegotiating trade treaties, creating
jobs by investing in research and education and in new energy sources.
