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How John McCain Should Talk About Economics

That John McCain places great importance on honor and fairness is plain to see in every speech and every campaign appearance. These values have made him a strong and steadfast leader on foreign policy, but on economics, his direction has been less certain. One result is that on domestic policy, the meat and potatoes of American politics, there has been noticeable tension between McCain and many conservative, free-market advocates, which some claim is a necessary byproduct of any appeal to independents.

But this need not be so. Indeed, armed with both the right message and the policies to back them up, McCain could approach economic issues in a way that shores up support with most fiscal conservatives while expanding his appeal to independent voters.

McCain has admitted to a lack of familiarity with the details of the issues at play, and we have some disagreements, but on the whole, I believe his instincts are good. Still, with voter concerns about the economy on the rise, they do, perhaps, need some sharpening. Throughout his campaign, he has often appeared to view economics as a separate or secondary pursuit, and seemed to offer a disparate collection of loosely sketched, small-bore policies rather than a unified economic framework. What he needs is greater clarity in his specific proposals and a big idea to connect them.

Fortunately, he has already laid the groundwork for a compelling message. The Senator should elevate the importance of economics in his campaign by relying on those same staunchly held values of honor and fairness that have animated him elsewhere.

In keeping with his reformist tenor, he ought to position his economic policies as broad-based attacks on both the wasteful government policies and the corporate interests that have taken over Washington--and he should promise to tackle these efforts with the independence and even-handedness for which he's famous. Call it "reform without compromise," a message that John McCain can sell better than anyone.

Sen. McCain has already proved his willingness to take bold free-market stances. His attacks on earmarks, despite ambivalence from party leadership, have shown him to be a leader in the fight against government waste. Who else would campaign against ethanol subsidies while in Iowa? Meanwhile, few have defended free trade as ardently as McCain, even as public support for open trade dwindles. Whatever criticisms some might have of the man, no one could say he lacks political courage.

But what he needs to do is take the seeds of his policies and expand on them.

A smart place to start is with taxes and the tax code. McCain has already made defense of the Bush tax cuts a key part of his campaign, and has argued for reducing the corporate tax rates. This is a solid beginning, but he should amplify his remarks about making the tax code "fairer and flatter" by attacking inequities in the current tax code--the provisions which allow some to take advantage and and calling for fundamental reform of a tax code that is collapsing under its own weight.

While lower taxes are important, so is reducing the time and expertise it takes to pay them. McCain should promise to fight off the vested interests--those involved in what I have long called the "tax complexity industry"--who benefit from our sinfully complicated federal tax code and the nearly 7 billion hours and $200 billion that America spends complying with it each and every year. One way to do this would be to adopt a plan similar to the one proposed by Reps. Paul Ryan and Jeb Hensarling that gives Americans a choice between the current system and a simple, straightforward flat tax.

As with taxes, McCain has a strong start on health care, having proposed ending tax-favoritism toward employer-provided insurance as well as ending the favor-factories that are state health insurance requirements. But he should resist the urge to defend the status quo and recognize the legitimate worries many Americans have about obtaining insurance. The current system has significant problems, but these, he should argue, are precisely the result of too much government intervention, not a call for more of it.

He should follow this by ending taxpayer-funded expansions of the health care system that cater more to the bottom line of health insurers than consumers.

McCain should also use his boisterous attacks on earmarks and government waste as a stepping stone to attacks on the greater threat posed by out-of-control entitlement spending. True, he must clarify his position on personal accounts (hopefully in the affirmative), but beyond that, he ought to go after those in Congress who've been raiding the Social Security "trust," essentially turning it into an all-purpose slush fund, for more than a decade. Obama and Clinton have ignored this outrage. They simply want to raise taxes to prolong the program's failures. The real goal here is to create actual retirement security, not prop up an ailing, poorly-designed government program.

On energy, it would please many (myself included) to see McCain temper--or even reconsider entirely--his support of a cap on carbon emissions. But even if it remains his position, he should lean even harder on his current rhetoric promoting the virtues of innovation and technology. And in keeping with his focus on energy security, he might consider dropping his opposition to energy exploration in ANWR--exploration that's opposed by a handful of liberal environmental groups but supported by the majority of Alaskan citizens.

Moreover, he should underline his support for nuclear energy, making sure to remind voters that its opponents tend to be narrow special interest groups and environmentalist bullies like Greenpeace.

The good news for McCain is that a new poll shows voters trust him on issues of national security by a substantial margin over both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and that neither Democratic candidate has a significant lead over McCain when it comes to the economy. By addressing economic concerns with the same vigor and the same commitment to honor principle as he's addressed defense, McCain has a real chance to define himself as the candidate of honor and independent-minded reform--both abroad and at home.

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Related Topics: clinton | economy | election 2008 | mccain | obama |

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