Help! Need some assistance with an Obama / McCain email...

[RoadRage]

Hi Guys-

My step-mom just sent me an email that outlines several policies, tax positions & SS position differences between McCain & Obama... all making McCain look like a hero, and Obama look bad.

My step-mom is truely on the fence, which is why she sent it to me. She wants my opinion on the positions, because she's still not which way she is going to vote... and she has a feeling that all is not true with this email. It's not a smear about him being "Muslim", etc.. it's more about how horribly high taxes will be with him vs. McCain.

The problem is that the email is in spreadsheet form, so I can't copy & paste it here. Well.. i can, but it's all garbled and hard to read.

I need someone who has in depth knowledge on McCain & Obama's policies to read through this and help me identify the TRUTH, because I know this email is incorrect.

If you're interested in helping me, please PM me your email address and i'll forward it to you. If you can look it over and make any changes and send it back.. or if you can figure out a way to get it to post here so everyone can see it.. that would be even better.

Thanks!

[RoadRage]

1. This is what the email looks like when I try to paste it.. it's ugly...

Compare these points very carefully before you vote. If you own a home, you will be especially hit hard!!


2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS
ISSUE JOHN McCAIN BARAK OBAMA
Favors new drilling offshore US Yes No
Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it Yes No
Served in the US Armed Forces Yes No
Amount of time served in the US Senate 22 YEARS 173 DAYS
Will institute a socialized national health care plan No Yes
Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy No Yes
Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately No Yes
Supports gun ownership rights Yes No
Supports homosexual marriage No Yes
Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase No Yes
Voted against making English the official language No Yes
Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals No Yes
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN 0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.
OBAMA 28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)
DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN 15% (no change)
OBAMA 39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')
INCOME TAX
MCCAIN
(no changes) Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts) Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750
Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!
INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN - 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA Restore the inheritance tax
Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.
NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

[johnaries]

2. Yep, I've seen that one. Snopes.com says FALSE

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/taxes.asp

[JaneQPublic]

3. Try this

[yellowdogintexas]

4. this is an interesting graph isn't it. Shows how much better the folks earning

less than $66K really benefit from Obama's plan This is good.

Notice how much more tax reduction $$ go to that important 60% of taxpayers, and the group just above them.

However the increase that the over $600K crowd receives skews the averages. Average cut across the board for McCain is $1185 vs Obama $160.

It is immoral to me for people making that much money to get another tax cut. I wish I made enough
money to pay that much tax. I could really have a lot of fun donating to worthy causes if I did.

[VolcanoJen]

5. Perfect.

:thumbsup:

[Mz Pip]

6. Here's another link

I think this one is better than the snopes link.

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/would_obama_tax_my_profits_if_i.html

[rpannier]

7. Something to consider when the taxes issue comes up that is often lost in the conversation

The weak dollar policy of the Bush Admin that would be continued under mcbush is the same as raising someone's taxes.
When the dollar drops, prices on food, domestic products, hygiene items, clothes, services, etc goes up.

example:
The cost of food and gas has spiked. Part of the reason is demand, but another part is the weakness of the dollar. When the value of the dollar drops on the international market, the cost of everything imported becomes more expensive (which is probably 60% or more of what she buys -- made in China).

I hope this helps you a little.
I choose this as one of my examples because there is very little understanding about how money works. It hasn't been vetted on conservative talk radio because it's too complicated an issue to dumb down into 5 words or less.

But when the dollar drops it has the same effect (or worse) of raising someone's taxes because their purchasing power goes down.