FactCheck.org: The Budget According to McCain: Part I
Quote:
McCain's attempt to conflate earmark reform with budget cuts is a bit of logical sleight-of-hand (a formal logical fallacy that philosophers call an undistributed middle). McCain's argument is that:- The McCain economic plan will cut $100 billion of the discretionary budget.
- Past and present earmarks account for $100 billion of the discretionary budget.
- Therefore, the McCain economic plan will cut past and present earmarks.
The argument is seductive. But consider another argument that has exactly the same logical structure:
- Clouds are white and fluffy.
- Sheep are white and fluffy.
- Therefore, clouds are sheep.
Sheep and clouds have some properties in common, but that doesn't mean that they are the same thing. Similarly, earmark cuts and budget cuts may add up to the same totals, but that doesn't mean that the budget cuts will be the result of earmark cuts.
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Now, there is some fine analysis.
FactCheck.org: The Budget According to McCain: Part II
Quote:
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In McCain's world, everyone gets a pony: tax cuts for the middle class, higher revenue to continue all the popular government programs and the elimination of all those earmarks that no one (except their very specific beneficiaries) really likes anyway. Unfortunately, in the world of fiscal reality, it's not so easy to dole out such generous gifts.
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I guess McCain really wasn't kidding when he said he didn't understand economics.
(I'm sure factcheck.org will nail some of Obama's claims later)