Jack & Jill Politics

The Obama campaign would be wise to seize upon Alan Greenspan’s recent words slamming McCain. There’s no more revered economic expert than Greenspan and our nation is indeed suffering without him at the Fed.

Alan Greenspan says the country can’t afford tax cuts of the magnitude proposed by Republican presidential contender John McCain — at least not without a corresponding reduction in government spending.

“Unless we cut spending, no,” the former Federal Reserve chairman said Friday when asked about McCain’s proposed tax cuts, pegged in some estimates at $3.3 trillion.

“I’m not in favor of financing tax cuts with borrowed money,” Greenspan said during an interview with Bloomberg Television. “I always have tied tax cuts to spending.”

McCain has said that he would offset his proposed cuts — including reducing the corporate tax rate and eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax that has plagued middle-class families — by ending congressional pork-barrel spending, unnecessary government programs and overhauling entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

So McCain plans to help corporations over ordinary tax payers and to “overhaul” aka cut Medicare and Social Security?!? The senior citizens who depend on Medicare and Social Security can’t afford any cutbacks. In fact, given the rate that prices have risen due to fuel prices, those receiving Social checks need more not less $ in their wallets.

On Sunday’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Greenspan had more to say. Not only is this the worst economy he’s ever seen, it ain’t over. We can all see that with Lehman and Merrill Lynch.

“Oh, by far,” Greenspan said, when asked if the situation was the worst he had seen in his career. “There’s no question that this is in the process of outstripping anything I’ve seen and it still is not resolved and still has a way to go and, indeed, it will continue to be a corrosive force until the price of homes in the United States stabilizes. That will induce a series of events around the globe which will stabilize the system.”

I can’t remember a time when “stabilize” sounded so scary. We need change and wisdom to steer our country through rocky waters. Greenspan is being rather subtle but I would encourage him to be clearer in recommending that those who care about America’s economy think about electing Obama in Nov.