(CNN) - Barack Obama said Friday that a windfall profits tax should be imposed on the oil industry to subsidize a $1,000 "emergency" rebate for consumers struggling with surging gas prices.
The rebates had already been announced as part of his tax relief proposal, but the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said the release of a disappointing jobs report Friday called for the immediate adoption of the plan, which he said would provide a rebate that would “be enough to offset the increased cost of gas for a working family over the next four months."
Listen: Obama's economic advisors describe the plan on a campaign conference call
Obama and John McCain reacted to the latest unemployment numbers released Friday, which show the nation lost 51,000 jobs in June, by attacking each other’s proposed economic fixes.
“Today’s jobs report is an urgent reminder that we cannot afford four more years of the failed Bush economic policies, and that is what Senator McCain is offering,” said Obama in a statement, characterizing the plan as a give-away to corporations and oil companies.
The presumptive Republican nominee plugged his own jobs plan, and said Obama’s proposal represented a return to failed economic policies. "Unlike Senator Obama, I do not believe that raising taxes is the answer to our economic problems,” McCain said in a statement. “There is no surer way to force jobs overseas than to raise taxes on businesses. The American people cannot afford economic policies that will take us backward."
From CNN Politics
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McCain is such a liar! I can't believe that McCain will try to convince the American people to continue with George Bush economic policies and the greedy and stupid Americans are buying it again. Haven't we learnt anything from the last 8 years?
Unbelievable!
Wow.
Just when you think the GOP Senate obstructionists can't sink any lower, they do. Brandon Friedman at VetVoice posed the question: "Will Senate Republicans Vote Against the Troops?"
We have our answer. Yes, the Senate Republicans did vote against the troops.
Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans have basically been filibustering every bill til the oil companies get what they want. But, surely, they wouldn't put the oil companies over America's defense needs when we're in the middle of two wars??? Wrong. They did. Seriously, they they filibustered a bill, S. 3001, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, which, among other things, provided pay raises for troops, health care and protection from IEDs. The bill needed 60 votes. Thirty-eight Republicans voted NO against moving forward. Harry Reid (who voted no for procedural reasons) had this to say (via email):
"As has been their hallmark this Congress, Bush-McCain Republicans have once again run away from an important debate, failing to back up their words with action. Despite their strong rhetoric on supporting our troops, they have refused to give them a well-deserved pay raise, denied our troops mine-resistant vehicles to keep them safe and said no to ensuring our servicemen and -women get the health care they need.
"It is this kind of misplaced priorities that is making America less secure. Our military readiness is down, Afghanistan is slipping further into violence, Pakistan remains in crisis, and Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri are still on the loose nearly seven years after 9/11. The Iraq war is not only costly, but President Bush and John McCain have provided no plan for responsibly ending the war and returning to the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban.
The Republicans are despicable. But, it pays. Siding with the oil companies worked financially for John McCain:
Campaign contributions from oil industry executives to Sen. John McCain rose dramatically in the last half of June, after the senator from Arizona made a high-profile split with environmentalists and reversed his opposition to the federal ban on offshore drilling.
Oil and gas industry executives and employees donated $1.1 million to McCain last month - three-quarters of which came after his June 16 speech calling for an end to the ban - compared with $116,000 in March, $283,000 in April and $208,000 in May.
Now, the GOPers are putting their oil interests over America's soldiers. Sick.
Obama went to the middle east and gas prices dropped!
"A Chicken in Every Pot!"
"Santa Claus is Coming to Town."
What next? A free trip to Disney Land for every American child!"
A taxpayer voting for Obama is the same as a chicken voting for Col. Sanders....
Ignorance is bliss . . . and Obama is a happy man!
every election neocons say the same thing...dems are socialist they're going to raise your taxes. Look at history how many Republicans actually said they wouldn't raise taxes UNTIL they got in office.
Sounds like a gimmick or scheme to me.
next year the 1,000 will come from McDonald's profits and then the year after a big tax on Google's profits.
let's turn america into a socalist dump
what a dumb idea
I will not support obama. He is not trustworthy. Such a liar. I was a democrat and now an independent. I need to wait until Obama loses and Hillary runs in 2012 before I vote democrat and donate another dollar to the party again. For the time being, Mccain 2008!!
sounds like the gas tax holday to me. Something he cliamed was a gimmick during the primaries.
Over half the Oil companies stock is owned by Americans from all makes of life.. Most of the stock is held in Mutual funds that most Americans have in the way of 401k plans... Does Barrack Obama not realize this... Is he so "stupid" to realize that he is goosestepping his to Communism?
This is why the founding fathers never intended every person to get a vote. They were afraid too many people would vote for giving themselves too many benefits and destroying the republic. It is another re-distribution of wealth. Instead of giving out more rebates with all this 'free' money, why doesn't he just have those people inflate their tires and get a tune up. This is ignorant people!
The reality of it is your everday average person could sure use $1000 in their pockets for expenses. Under Senator Obama's tax plan if you make under $200,000 your taxes will not increase and most will actually see more money in their paychecks.
Tax all those rich California types so he can give their money to us "poor folks" start with Nanci Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Barbra Streisand and Sean Penn... Leave my 401k. oil stock alone.. I already paid taxes on it when I bought it.....
Whatever happened to those celebrities McClueless? Please put another add out to give me an update.
The Republican spin everytime...Protect greed by calling fairness Socialism.
Actually the price of gas started to drop when we sent a diplomat to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue.
hes going to make oil companies give us money? Yeah then we'll pay for it at the pump, unless Obama puts a cap on gas prices. Which is against what this country was founded on. But vote away morons!
same old liberal tax and spend policies…..nothing new here…….
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The Bush administration has almost doubled the national debt.
Quit living in the past. Neo-cons are not conservatives.
True conservatives should form a new party.
Sen. Obama's joking, right?
** Nader/Gonzalez 2008 **
I will vote for Obama, but I think that he must revise his position on off-shore drilling. The "solution" to our energy crisis is to reduce demand and increase supply. The likeliest way to accomplish the latter is to drill in currently restricted areas. Since this debate began, decades ago, the petroleum industry has coped successfully with highly challenging environments, including the North Sea and the Amazon Basin. A majority of the American public is showing better sense on this issue than the senator. It's time for Obama to pursue change for real on this issue.
This is socialism, plain and simple and will only serve to futher destroy our economy and way of life. I can't believe the Obamabots can not open their eyes to reality. He really doesn't have 'support', I would describe it as more of a following, almost to a point of religious proportion.
And everyone wants to know "Why" American companies are moving overseas in droves...........
This will wake up to those people who vote for Bush for the last Eight years. The sad part is a lot of decent people who did not vote for Bush are getting hurt in the process. Majority of the American people are idiots that is why we get leaders like Bush over and over again. I am hoping this year will be different hopefuly people have lerned a lesson from the failed Bush admistration.