McCain's "New" Economic Plan...WTF?

What would you think if the person who raped you later hit on you in a bar? I know, I know...that's a harsh analogy. But it aptly describes some of the drivel John McCain is trying to recycle and shovel down our throats. A cut in the capital gains tax? Please...That's a retread and a non-starter. Regular people are hurting. Regular people don't usually pay capital gains taxes, but the rich sometimes do. And as Barack Obama so elegantly put it, nobody really has capital gains right now. Giving yet another tax break to the wealthiest Americans, the very people who got us into this mess, is not appropriate. Reaganomics caused our current economic woes. It's time to stop practicing them in government.

Along the same theme, I heard a fairly refreshing interview with Ralph Nader today. I'm not supporting him this year, but it was great to hear some of his ideas. Among the ones that caught my ear:

Adopting a securities speculation tax
Nader's claims of this tax generating $500 billion may be a bit high, but it's a worthy proposal on just the merits. If the miscreants on Wall Street are profiting on our misery, let's at least make them pay for part of their bailout.

Fair Trade
It's time to stop offshoring jobs and production just because it's cheaper. America's prosperity begins with production at home.

Fair Taxation
The rich have skipped out on paying their fair share for a generation or more. It's time we brought back fair taxation. That, for me, means a heavily progressive income tax...and it means taxing real work at lower rates than simply moving money around. Our system does exactly the opposite right now.

Hey Barack...you'd do well to read some of these. It's time for a fundamental change in how we do economic policy, and you're going to win the presidency. Fixing this is your job, and you'd better listen to the brightest minds in our society.