Barack Obama in CNN Late Edition 2008, with Wolf Blitzer

On Budget & Economy: A different economic approach vs. McCain’s 4 more years

A: If they have a 401(k), then they are going to see those taxes deferred, and they’re going to pay ordinary income when they finally cash out. So, that’s a phony argument. You know, as I travel around the country, what I’m absolutely convinced of is that people recognize that if only 1% of the population is doing well, when we’ve got wage and incomes for the average worker actually going down during a period of economic expansion, much less economic recession, that something’s being mismanaged. And they want a different approach. And that’s what we’re going to be offering them. John McCain is essentially offering four more years of the same policies that got us into this rut that we’re in now.

On Tax Reform: I’m running against failed policy of profligate GOP spending

A: Absolutely. Because think about what I am going to be running against: the failed policies of the Bush administration, which John McCain wants to continue. I don’t think there is anybody in this country who thinks that, right now, we have got a government that’s managed our domestic policies well. And, so, we can talk about the slogans of tax and spend or fiscal conservatism, but the fact of the matter is, we have had an administration that’s been profligate, that has raised our national debt to a record level. We have seen a lack of shared prosperity. So, you’ve got CEOs making more in a day than ordinary workers are making in a year, and it’s the CEO that’s getting the tax break, instead of the workers.

Q: He’s going to say you’re going to raise their taxes. What are you going to say?

A: I will raise CEO taxes. There is no doubt about it.

On Tax Reform: I will raise CEO taxes, no doubt about it

A: I will raise CEO taxes. There is no doubt about it.

Q: What about the average American?

A: If you are a CEO in this country, you will probably pay more taxes. They won’t be prohibitively high. You’re going to be paying roughly what you paid in the ‘90s, when CEOs were doing just fine.

Q: So, you want to just eliminate the Bush tax cuts?

A: I want to eliminate the Bush tax cuts. And what I have said is, I will institute a middle-class tax cut. So, if you’re making $75,000, if you’re making $50,000 a year, you will see an extra $1,000 a year offsetting on your payroll tax.

Q: Define middle class.

A: Well, look, I think that the definitions are always a little bit rough, but if you’re making $100,000 a year or less, then you’re pretty solidly middle class, and you deserve relief right now, as opposed to paying higher taxes. But people who are making over $200,000 or $250,000 have benefited the most from economic growth.