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HOME MORTGAGE RELIEF, RETIREMENT PLANS, TAXES
BARACK OBAMA: Create a 90-day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners living in their homes making good-faith efforts to pay mortgages. Suspend 401(k) and IRA tax rules that force seniors to sell equities. Allow withdrawals of 15 percent up to $10,000 without normal 10 percent tax penalty in 2008 and 2009. Businesses get a $3,000 refundable tax credit for each full-time worker hired.
JOHN MCCAIN: Use $300 billion to take bad mortgages off banks' books and negotiate better mortgage rates for homeowners. Suspend tax rules that force seniors to sell equities when they reach age 701/2. Allow those older than 60 to withdraw up to $50,000 per year for 2008 and 2009 to be taxed at only 10 percent. Increase the tax write-off for stock losses to $15,000 from $3,000 for tax years 2008 and 2009. Reduce the maximum tax rate on long-term capital gains to 7.5 percent in 2009 and 2010.
Health Care/Entitlements
INSURANCE, DRUG PROGRAM, SOCIAL SECURITY
OBAMA: Mandatory coverage for children; no mandate for adults. Aim for universal coverage by requiring employers to share costs of insuring workers and by offering coverage similar to that of federal employees. Eliminate subsidies to private-insurance Medicare Advantage program. Close "doughnut hole" in Medicare drug program so beneficiaries aren't responsible for paying $3,216 in costs. Expand Medicaid. Those making more than $250,000 would pay 2 to 4 percent more in taxes. Opposes supplemental private savings accounts.
MCCAIN: No mandate for universal coverage for adults or children. Recommends a $2,500 refundable tax credit for individuals or $5,000 for families to allow people to buy their own insurance. In gaining the tax credit, job-based health benefits would become taxable income. Opposes Medicare prescription drug plan; favors making Medicare Part D drug benefits available to needy only. No new Social Security taxes. Has supported supplemental private savings accounts. Veterans could use benefits to help pay for care.
War on Terror
IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, MILITARY SPENDING
OBAMA: Withdraw most troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. Keep the focus small to target extremists allied with al-Qaida. Send 20,000 troops to Afghanistan to fight al-Qaida and the Taliban, with some of those troops coming from Iraq. Convened an advisory group of more than 70 experts to develop strategy to fight terror. Go after Osama bin Laden. Military spending would remain steady.
MCCAIN: Considers Iraq "central front" and has no firm timetable for withdrawal. Pledges to send more troops to Afghanistan. Would create a new U.S. information agency and an intelligence agency. Calls for more training of allies that are fighting terrorism within their borders. Review defense contracts and cut waste. Opposes emergency supplemental bills.
Energy Policy
CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY, NUCLEAR POWER, RENEWABLE ENERGY, OIL DRILLING
OBAMA: Provide incentives for new carbon capture and storage technology for coal. Must secure nuclear fuel and waste before more plants can be built. Offer a 10-year, $150 billion fund for biofuel, wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable energy projects. Limited expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling. Opposes drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Calls for reduction of greenhouse gases by 80 percent from 1990 levels using a cap-and-trade system that could increase energy costs.
MCCAIN: Would spend $2 billion a year for 10 years to develop a carbon capture and storage system for coal. Wants 45 nuclear plants built by 2030, with an eventual goal of 100. Give incentives to stimulate private enterprise for renewable energy. Supports drilling new oil wells on land and offshore but opposes drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Calls for reduction of greenhouse gases by 66 percent from 1990 levels using a cap-and-trade system that could increase energy costs.
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