McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and A Balanced Budget

John McCain says he "will not leave office without balancing the federal budget" and at times has said he would even balance the budget by the end of his first term. [johnmccain.com, accessed 4/15/08; AP, 2/15/08]

But the truth is, McCain's economic proposals would balloon the deficit, not shrink it. McCain has actually proposed trillions of dollars in new spending--including financing a 100-year, $12-billion-per-month troop presence in Iraq and making President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent. But still no word on how he plans to pay for it. [New York Times, 4/15/08; DNC Research Document, Released 4/15/08; Senate Budget Committee Fact Sheet, 1/24/08]

But the numbers just don't add up. So, Senator McCain, where's the straight talk?

McCain Says He Wants to Balance the Budget Before He Leaves Office. McCain's campaign website says that "John McCain Has The Leadership And Courage To Make The Right Spending Choices. Reduced spending means making choices. John McCain will not leave office without balancing the federal budget. He will not do it with smoke and mirrors. When he leaves office, he wants to leave a budget that stays balanced after he is gone, and can weather the occasional downturn and unexpected contingency. John McCain will provide the courageous leadership necessary to control spending…" [johnmccain.com, accessed 4/15/08]

McCain Claims His Goal Is A Balanced Budget. The Associated Press reported that "Campaigning in LaCrosse, Wis., McCain said he would propose a balanced budget in his first term if he is elected president - but not necessarily in his first year. 'I've got to give you some straight talk: I doubt, given the deficits we're running, that I can propose a balanced budget in the first year…But that's my goal. It has to do out goal, because we're mortgaging these young people's future.'" [AP, 2/15/08]

McCain Doesn't Explain How He Will Pay For His Plans. According to the New York Times, "Mr. McCain said that the savings from eliminating earmarks, reviewing federal programs and other budget reforms would be 'on the order of $100 billion annually,' and that he would apply those savings to lowering business taxes. But it was unclear how Mr. McCain plans to pay for the other tax cuts that he outlined while the nation incurs large expenses fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." [New York Times, 4/15/08]

McCain's Plans Would Add Trillions In New Spending. A DNC Analysis of McCain's new spending proposals show they would total between $7.2 trillion and $8.7 trillion, while the savings he's proposed would total $183 billion, leaving a short-fall of $7 trillion to $8.5 trillion over ten years. [DNC Research Document, Released 4/15/08]

Cost of "Four More Years" Placed At $6.3 TRILLION. A CBO report called "January Budget and Economic Outlook" showed continued deterioration in the budget outlook with the projected 2008 deficit growing to $219 billion. But as bad as the budget situation has become under the current Republican Administration, continuation of the Republican policies by any of the Republicans on stage tonight will only make things worse. The majority staff of the Senate Budget Committee estimates that funding Republican priorities like making the Bush tax cuts permanent and funding ongoing - and perhaps permanent - operations in Iraq will add $6.3 trillion to the CBO's already dismal ten-year predictions. [http://budget.senate.gov/democratic/documents/2008/cbojanupdatefactsheet2008]

After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.