Each year the National Taxpayers' Union (NTU) analyzes congressional members' votes and ranks them based on these votes (related to anything affecting taxes, budgets, etc.) In 2007, the top 20 members in both House and Senate were Republicans. Anyone above 70% is deemed a "Taxpayers Friend" while anyone scoring below 23% is a "Big Spender."
McCain: 88%
Obama: 16%
Biden: 11%
Hillary: 17%
From the Press Release of the NTU: "The Taxpayers Score measures the strength of support for reducing spending and regulation and opposing higher taxes. In general, and higher score is better because it means a Member of Congress voted to lessen or limit the burden to taxpayers"
Another thing to consider - Obama swears he will only raise taxes on those making $250,000+ per year. What he actually means is couples make that much (so that individually, someone may only be make $125,000/year. Furthermore, 80% of the top income tax bracket is in fact small businesses, which employ about 75% of the U.S. workforce. Where do you think they will get the money to pay for the huge tax increase Obama is proposing? By cutting workers and lowering salaries or by passing it on to customers in the form of higher prices. This practice restricts on savings, investments and expansion! Thus, Wal-mart may end up paying a smaller percentage in taxes than a small business. Does that sound fair? No, but then again, neither do higher taxes.
An Argument Against Government Spending
Some Democrats argue that by increasing federal spending, we can stimulate our economy. However, history has shown us that that is rarely the case. Higher spending leads to a decrease in business investment and reduction in growth opportunities (according to a study done by researhers are Harvard, Columbia, and Boston College). When federal spending grows, the stock market falls (case in point - what's going on right now!) A study by Lowell for the Joint Economic Congress found that the rise of stock market averages from 1994-1999 reflected a decrease in federal spending (as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product - GDP). Thanks, mostly, to Republicans limiting pork barrel spending (Lowell E. Gallaway and Richard K. Vedder, Government Size and Economic Growth (Washington D.C. Study prepared for the Joint Economic Congress, December 1998). Thus, to increase economic growth, one should create an environment in which the private sector can best flourish (since it is more productive than the public sector). This means lower taxes, fewer regulations, and a truly free trade economy.
***UPDATE
Obama, while criticizing our nation's current spending, is promising to spend tens of billions more dollars on a U.N. program that gives cash to poor countries. Cuz throwing more money at problems usually works.
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