Obama's Economic Policies Are Wrong for N.C.

As Obama Travels To North Carolina, How Will He Explain To Voters That He
Supports Raising Taxes On Middle-Income Taxpayers And Small Businesses, And
Hasn't Voted With Manufacturing Interests?
WASHINGTON, June 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Obama's High Tax Platform Would Hurt North Carolina's Economy

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/RNCLOGO )

Obama Has Proposed A Laundry List Of Tax Hikes, But North Carolina
Taxpayers Already Have A Large Enough Tax Burden:
Obama Has Called For Higher Income Taxes, Social Security Taxes,
Investment Taxes, And Corporate Taxes, As Well As "Massive New Domestic
Spending." "Obama's transformation, if you go by his campaign so far, would
mean higher income taxes, higher Social Security taxes, higher investment
taxes, higher corporate taxes, massive new domestic spending, and a healthcare
plan that perhaps could be the next step to a full-scale, single-payer system.
Is that what most Americans want, someone who will fulfill a Democratic policy
wish list?" (James Pethokoukis, "Barack Hussein Reagan? Ronald Wilson Obama?"
U.S. News & World Report's "Capital Commerce" Blog, www.usnews.com , 2/12/08)
North Carolina Taxpayers Had To Work Until April 17 Of This Year To Pay
Off Their Total Federal, State And Local Tax Burden For 2008. "Tax Freedom Day
is the day when Americans finally have earned enough money to pay off their
total tax bill for the year. In 2008, North Carolina taxpayers had to work
until April 17 to pay their total tax bill (ranked 27th highest nationally)."
(The Tax Foundation Website, www.taxfoundation.org , Accessed 6/6/08)
Obama Supports Nearly Doubling The Capital Gains Tax Rate, Which Would
Mean A Tax Hike For Many North Carolina Taxpayers:
Obama Plans To Raise The Tax To As High As 28 Percent. CNBC's Maria
Bartiromo: "Right now, as you know, the cap gains tax is at 15%. ... He
[Obama] has said, and he told me today, that he won't go above 28%. So we are
talking about the possibility of a doubling in the capital gains tax." (CNBC's
"Closing Bell," 3/27/08)
-- Obama Said Raising The Capital Gains Tax Wouldn't "Distort ... Economic
Decision Making." Obama: "I think that we can have a capital gains rate
that is higher than 15 percent. If it -- and if it, you know -- when I
talk to people like Warren Buffet or others and I ask them, you know,
what's -- how much of a difference is it going to be if it's 20 or 25
percent, they say, look, if it's within that range then it's not going
to distort, I think, economic decision making." (CNBC's "Closing Bell,"
3/27/08)

Obama's Capital Gains Tax Hike Would Hit The Middle Class." In 2005,
according to IRS data, 47% of all tax returns reporting capital gains were
from households with incomes below $50,000, and 79% came from households with
incomes below $100,000." (Editorial, "Obama Gains," The Wall Street Journal,
4/30/08)
In 2005, 681,647 North Carolinians Reported Capital Gains Income.
(Internal Revenue Service Website, "Individual Income And Tax Data, By State
And Size Of Adjusted Gross Income, Tax Year 2005," www.irs.gov , Accessed
4/23/08)
-- 281,361 North Carolinians With Adjusted Gross Incomes Of Less Than
$50,000 Reported Capital Gains. (Internal Revenue Service Website,
"Individual Income And Tax Data, By State And Size Of Adjusted Gross
Income, Tax Year 2005," www.irs.gov , Accessed 4/23/08)

In 2005, The Average Capital Gains And Dividend Income Reported Per Tax
Return In North Carolina Was $3,967. On Average, It Accounted For 8.27 Percent
Of Adjusted Gross Income. ("Dividends And Capital Gains Income Compared To
Other Income, 2005," The Tax Foundation, taxfoundation.org , 7/16/07)
Obama's Plan To Raise Taxes During An Economic Downturn Would Only Further
Weaken Our Economy:
CNBC's Maria Bartiromo Asked Obama: "Why Raise Taxes At All In An Economic
Slowdown? Isn't That Going To Put A Further Strain On People?" (CNBC's
"Closing Bell," 3/27/08)
U.S. News & World Report's Michael Barone Said Obama's Fiscal Policy Is
Akin To Herbert Hoover's -- Raising Taxes And Backing Protectionist Trade
Policies During An Economic Slowdown. "On fiscal policy, both Barack Obama and
Hillary Clinton want higher taxes, at least on high earners. They want to let
at least some of the Bush tax cuts expire in 2010, as scheduled. On trade,
they oppose new free-trade agreements and want to renegotiate NAFTA with
Canada and Mexico. As it happens, another president embraced such policies in
a time of economic slowdown and financial market turbulence: Herbert Hoover
raised taxes on high earners sharply and, ignoring a letter signed by 1,000
economists, signed the Smoot-Hawley tariff in 1930. The results were not
pretty. Until now, his example has not commended itself to Democrats. One
wonders whether voters will agree that tax increases will stimulate the
economy." (Michael Barone, Op-Ed, "Uncle Sam Pays? Sure, Whatever," U.S. News
& World Report, 4/21/08)
Obama Is Wrong for North Carolina's Small Businesses

Small Businesses Are Vital To North Carolina's Economy:

"North Carolina Had An Estimated Total Of 766,500 Small Businesses."
(Small Business Administration Office Of Advocacy, "2007 Small Business
Profile: North Carolina," www.sba.gov , Accessed 4/23/08)
-- Over 98 Percent Of North Carolina's Employer Firms Are Small
Businesses. "Employer firms totaled 192,800 in 2006, up 3.3 percent
from the previous year. Of this total, an estimated 98.1 percent, or
189,100 were small." (Small Business Administration Office Of
Advocacy, "2007 Small Business Profile: North Carolina," www.sba.gov ,
Accessed 4/23/08)

Obama's Payroll Tax Hike Would Hurt North Carolina's Small Businesses:

Obama Supports Lifting The Earnings Cap On Payroll Taxes. Obama: "I think
that lifting the cap is probably going to be the best option."(Sen. Barack
Obama, Democrat Presidential Candidates Debate, Hanover, NH, 9/26/07)
Eliminating The Payroll Earnings Cap Would Burden Small Business Owners
Who Create Two Of Every Three New Jobs. "Lost in Obama's calculations is that
many of the people who would be affected by eliminating the earnings cap are
small-business owners who employ more than half the nonfarm private-sector
work force and create two of every three new jobs in this country."
(Editorial, "Caps Off For Obama," Investor's Business Daily, 9/25/07)
-- Michael Tanner Of The Cato Institute: "Small Businesses Would Be
Particularly Hard Hit. In Fact, About One-Third Of The Workers Affected
By Raising The Cap Would Be Small Business Owners." (Michael Tanner,
"Keep The Cap," The Cato Institute, www.cato.org , 6/8/05)

North Carolina's Self-Employed Would Be Especially Hard Hit By Obama's
Payroll Tax Hike. "The self-employed would be subject to a double whammy,
since they pay both the employee and employer portion of the payroll tax."
(Editorial, "Caps Off For Obama," Investor's Business Daily, 9/25/07)
Obama's Income Tax Hike Would Hurt North Carolina's Small Businesses:
Obama Would Roll Back The Tax Cuts On Americans Earning Over $250,000.
Obama: "[I] would roll back the Bush tax cuts for those making over $250,000."
(Sen. Barack Obama, CNN Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Manchester,
NH, 6/3/07)
At Least 55 Percent Of Small Businesses File Their Taxes As Individuals.
"Small businesses and individual entrepreneurs are the driving force of rapid
innovation and economic growth in this country. At least 55% of them file
their taxes as individuals." (Editorial, "Caps Off For Obama," Investor's
Business Daily, 9/25/07)
The Joint Economic Committee Found "A Strong Link" Between Marginal Tax
Rates And Small Business Hiring And Investment Behavior. "Recent research
finds a strong link between marginal tax rates and small business hiring and
investment behavior." (Joint Economic Committee, "Economic Benefits Of
Personal Income Tax Rate Reductions," www.house.gov , 4/01)
Obama's Health Care Plan Includes A Mandate That Amounts To A Tax On
Employers, Which Would Depress Worker Wages And Force Employers To Eliminate
Jobs:
Obama's Health Care Plan Calls On Employers That Don't Provide Insurance
To Forfeit A Percentage Of Their Payroll. Obama For America: "Employers that
do not offer meaningful coverage or make a meaningful contribution to the cost
of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute
a percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan." (Obama For
America Website, www.barackobama.com , Accessed 1/8/08)
-- "Mandates That Require Employers To Provide Health Benefits Or Pay A
Percentage Of Their Payrolls As A Tax -- A Proposal Backed By Sens.
Hillary Clinton And Barack Obama -- Would Result In Lower Wages For
Some Employees."(Guy Boulton, "Better Benefits Or Higher Wages?" The
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/5/08)

Harvard Economist Amitabh Chandra Said The Employer Mandate Could "Force
Employers To Eliminate Jobs, Raise Prices Or Move Jobs To Foreign Countries."
"'The populist view is this will only come out of profits,' said [Amitabh]
Chandra, the Harvard economist. But, ultimately, the money will come out of
wages. 'And, worse, for some people, it can't come out of wages,' he said.
Some low-wage jobs simply can't support the cost of health insurance, now
estimated at more than $12,000 a year for family coverage. For this reason,
Chandra said, a mandate would force employers to eliminate jobs, raise prices
or move jobs to foreign countries." (Guy Boulton, "Better Benefits Or Higher
Wages?" The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/5/08)
Small Businesses Would Be Hardest Hit. "The biggest impact would be on
small businesses, which are less likely to offer health benefits, and
industries that employ more low-wage workers."(Guy Boulton, "Better Benefits
Or Higher Wages?" The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/5/08)
Obama Is at Odds With Manufacturing Interests
Obama Joined The Senate Manufacturing Caucus, But Rarely Votes With
Manufacturing Interests:
Obama Joined The Manufacturing Caucus In The Senate. "Senators ...
announced formation of a Senate Manufacturing Caucus to advance and study the
issues and interests of manufacturers. ... [F]ounding members of the Caucus
were the following Senators: ... Barack Obama (D-IL)..." (National Association
Of Manufacturers, "Senate Announces Manufacturing Caucus," "ShopFloor" Blog,
www.blog.nam.org , 6/15/05)
-- As Of June 8, 2008, Obama Has Received A 0 Percent Rating From The
National Association Of Manufacturers For His Voting Record In The
110th Congress. (National Association Of Manufacturers Website,
www.bipac.net , Accessed 6/8/08)

-- Obama Received A 16 Percent Rating From The National Association Of
Manufacturers For His Voting Record In The 109th Congress. (National
Association Of Manufacturers Website, www.bipac.net , Accessed 1/10/08)

NOTE: In 2006, Manufacturing Contributed Over $74 Billion To North
Carolina's Economy (GDP). (U.S. Bureau Of Economic Analysis, www.bea.gov ,
Accessed 6/6/08)
-- In North Carolina, Over 571,000 Workers Were Employed In Manufacturing
In 2004. (Small Business Administration Office Of Advocacy, "2007 Small
Business Profile: North Carolina," www.sba.gov , Accessed 4/23/08)

Paid for by the Republican National Committee.
310 First Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003 --
(202) 863-8500 -- www.gop.com

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

SOURCE Republican National Committee

Republican National Committee, +1-202-863-8614