Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

$
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton
stated on April 1, 2008 in Philadelphia.:

McCain’s “plan for the economy is to extend George Bush’s tax cuts for billionaires and give a $100-billion additional corporate tax cut.”

Half-True
By John Frank
April 2, 2008

That’s not the whole plan

Speaking to union workers in Philadelphia, Sen. Hillary Clinton began “a blistering attack on the presumptive Republican nominee” concerning economic issues, according to the

New York Times.

“His plan for the economy is to extend George Bush’s tax cuts for billionaires and give a $100-billion additional corporate tax cut,” Clinton said.

Blistering or not, Clinton’s attack fairly recites some of McCain’s economic proposals. It’s worth noting, however that extending existing tax cuts and lowering the corporate income tax rate is not the entirety of McCain’s plan for the economy. Among other things, McCain also proposes eliminating the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to make sure wealthy people paid a share of taxes but has become a problem in recent years for upper middle class families, too.

Still, McCain’s support for extending President Bush’s tax cuts is well known. We checked it out not

one

,

two

,

three

,

four

, but

five

times because former candidate Mitt Romney and various political groups have harped on the fact that McCain originally opposed the Bush tax cuts before supporting them.

McCain’s camp could argue with the word “billionaires” because the Congressional Budget Office found the Bush tax cuts most benefited the top 1 percent of earners who had an average salary of $1.25-million. It goes without saying that billionaires are in the top 1 percent, too, but clearly most people in that tax bracket wouldn’t fit that definition.

But it’s also clear they aren’t hurting, financially, either.

Clinton doesn’t embellish at all when it comes to describing McCain’s additional $100-billion corporate tax cut. She clearly is referring to his proposal to slice the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, as McCain has outlined on his campaign Web site. McCain’s chief economic aide, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former head of the Congressional Budget Office, told the

Wall Street Journal

it would cost $100-billion a year.

McCain’s campaign estimates the entirety of its tax cuts would total $400-billion a year.

Clinton didn’t mention that part, which causes us concern. Her statement suggests that McCain has only two ideas for helping the economy, and that’s not true. Yes, she accurately describes those two elements of McCain’s economic proposal, but she’s wrong to suggest that’s all McCain has in mind. For that, we give her a Half True.

Our Sources

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by John Frank
Barack Obama
stated on April 10, 2008 an interview with theadvocate.com
"I'm the product of a mixed marriage that would have been illegal in 12 states when I was born."
Mostly True
John McCain
stated on January 6, 2008 a debate in Manchester, N.H.
"I have never asked for nor received a single earmark or pork barrel project for my state."
False
Mitt Romney
stated on January 14, 2008 a TV interview on CBS.
"(My dad) used to campaign against the gas-guzzling dinosaurs."
True
Hillary Clinton
stated on January 5, 2008 a debate in Manchester, N.H.
"Sen. Obama's chair in New Hampshire is a lobbyist. He lobbies for the drug companies."
True

History supports McCain’s stance on waterboarding

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on January 7, 2026 a press briefing

stated on January 14, 2026 a statement

Social Media
stated on February 14, 2026 social media posts



stated on January 20, 2026 an op-ed


Donald Trump
stated on February 3, 2026 remarks in the Oval Office


Social Media
stated on February 8, 2026 social media posts





Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on stated on November 17, 2025 in remarks at George Washington University:

Donald Trump
stated on February 2, 2026 an interview with Dan Bongino