Tax cuts

High food and fuel prices. Housing and credit problems. Job losses. Worries about a recession. No wonder the economy is a top issue for American voters.

Senator John McCain says tax cuts are needed for growth. The Republican presidential candidate set out his economic plan in a speech this week in Pennsylvania. He would push Congress to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent. And he would aim to lower the top rate of income tax for businesses, from thirty-five percent to twenty-five percent.

In all, Senator McCain proposes about two hundred billion dollars in new tax cuts for businesses and individuals. To help pay for them, he would cut earmarks, those special interest projects added to spending bills.He would also hold federal spending at most agencies to current levels and cut wasteful programs. But many experts say it is unlikely these cuts would equal the cost of the tax cuts.

The campaigns of Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton dismissed the McCain plan as a continuation of George Bush's policies. Both Democrats say they are against tax cuts for the wealthy. They propose moderate tax cuts for the middle class.