EBC Presidential Debate Live Blog

Audience has promised to remain silent according to Jim Lehrer. XD

Also, topics are going to stick to the economy...mostly.

President Obama and Governor Romney on stage.
 
And the first subject is jobs. President Obama goes first because he won a coin toss. And he talks about the wife first and now about how the economy is coming back.

That's right, I'm watching this thing.
 
Major differences about how to go about creating jobs.

President: Wished happy anniversary to Michelle Obama

Begun to come back from economy, auto industry roaring back, housing rose

Not where we've been but where we're going

Invest in education, change tax code, rebuild America with less money to Iraq, etc.

Top down vs. economic patriotism
 
Romney congratulates Obama on anniversary

Sob story about woman in Ohio who lost job in May

Energy independent

Open up more trade in Latin America and China

Make sure people have skills to succeed

Balance budget

Champion small business

Doesn't think big government is answer
 
Romney said he wanted to crack down on China when they mess up, not open up trade is what I believe he said.

Obama's response. Look at new energy

Taxes

Trade Deficit.

8 Trillion Dollars with Tax Cuts.
 
Obama response, seems unfazed

First improve education system, enormous progress from Democrats and Republicans, Race to the Top has improved, 100,000 more science and math teachers, 2 million community college slots

Corporate tax rate is too high for manufacturing

Close loopholes and give tax breaks to small business

Boost American energy production and oil and gas has been higher than in two years, all of this is possible

How to deal with taxes?

Romney calls for $5 trillion tax cut, $2 trillion military, $1 trillion Bush taxes
 
Romney response

Don't have tax cut, tax relief for middle class, $4,300 less in income, middle income families are being crushed

47 education training programs reporting to 8 different agencies

Wants to lower taxes and deductions

Energy is critical, increase in natural gas has happened on private land, public land permits has been cut by half

Like coal, like to burn clean coal

No tax cut that adds to the deficit
 
Obama response

He said he would cut taxes for middle class families by $3600

Do best when middle class is doing well

Emphasizes $5 trillion tax cut, but hasn't been able to explain how close deductions

All loopholes and deductions for higher income people can't add $7 trillion

Average middle class family pays $2,000 more

Analysis of economists
 
Romney interrupts!

No economist can say $5 trillion added if he will not increase deficit

Not reduce the taxes paid by high income families

Lower taxes on middle classes

Six other studies that say study Obama cited is wrong

Lower rates and lower deductions

Reason is that small business pays individual tax rate

About jobs

Obama challenge!

18 months he has been running on the $5 trillion tax cut

Big bold idea is "never mind"

If you are lowering rates, then it is not possible to close enough high loopholes to avoid raising deficit or burdening middle class families

Lowered taxes for businesses 18 times and 98% of families

Created a lot of millionaires in Clinton years

Encourage job growth and make investments in education

Definitions of small business are different

97% of small businesses would not see their taxes raised

Donald Trump is a small business, doesn't like to think as small anything
 
Romney respond

Last 3% of small businesses employ half of small business employees

Get taxed from 35% to 40%

That will cost 700,000 jobs

Obama respond

If you believe $5 trillion tax cut, $2 trillion in military spending, over ten years, if you think

Tried both approaches

Same pitch in 2001 and 2003, slowest job growth, from surplus to deficit, worst financial crisis

23 million new jobs under Clinton with Obama's approach

Romney says, "I get the last word!"

Not in favor of $5 trillion tax cut

Obama, "OK"

Bring down rates and reductions and credits at the same time

Put people back to work

23 million people out of work

47 million people on food stamps

Going to status quo not cutting it
 
WAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?

Romney:

Not just economic but moral

Can't pass $1 trillion/year debt

Raise taxes, cut spending, or grow the economy

Lower spending and encourage growth

Eliminate programs: is program so critical that its worth

I use Obamacare with all respect

Stop subsidy to PBS, like Big Bird, like Jim Lehrer, but not subsidizing it

Make government more efficient through attrition

Trillion dollar deficit per year more than all Presidents combined

Obama Response

More than a trillion dollar deficit when Obama came in

Two wars, tax cuts, a lot of programs, and economic crisis

Take emergency measures to say economy

Make sure cut out things that were not helping

Aircrafts Air Force at ordered, 18 education programs not working, Medicare and Medicaid saved $15 billion, cut $1 trillion out of discretionary,

$2.50 in cuts for $1.00 of revenue

The Simpson Bowles Commission suggested some spending cuts and increased revenue

Romney said not $1 of revenue for $10 of cuts

Kids with disabilities

Putting Bowles before Congress -O

Said trillions in cuts but still trillions in deficits -R

Not just Donald Trump you're taxing, but also small business, you tax them and we kill jobs

Governor Romney has ruled out revenue -O

Revenue Romney gets is by more people working in economy, Spain spends 42% of economy on government, we do the same

Obama: Gotta be balanced, not just individual taxes but corporate taxes

Oil industry gets $4 billion in corporate welfare, ExxonMobil doesn't need a bunch of money on top of all that money it gets, no corporate jet loopholes

Romney hasn't identified loopholes

You can take a deduction for moving jobs overseas

Help young people make sure they can get to college

Teacher Obama met in Las Vegas has 42 kids in class, she has them sit on floor and have 10 year old textbooks

Make some decisions, if we ask for no revenue, get rid of a bunch of stuff, tax cuts resulting in severe hardship

Shifting Medicaid and Medicare to states would cause 30% cuts

Family who has an autistic kid would lose out
 
Romney

Provided $90 billion in tax cuts to green energy, 50 years worth of oil tax cuts

Deduction for taking things overseas doesn't exist, you need to get a new accountant!

Take Medicaid dollars + inflation + 1% give it to states and care for their own poor

States are the laboratories of democracy

Relies on people and states not federal government
 
Obama

Social Security is structurally sound, needs to be tweaked

Values between Social Security and Medicare

Grandmother helped to raise Obama, died three days before he was elected President

Vice President of a local bank, living alone by choice, could be independent because of Social Security

Name of entitlements implies sense of dependency, but people worked all their lives

Gonna have to bring down costs for long term deficits

$716 billion saved on Medicare by not overpaying providers, lowered prescription drug costs by $600 for seniors

Lower healthcare costs

Romney response

Seniors depend on these programs, people get concerned when it gets changed

No changes to Social Security and Medicare for current retirees for Romney

On Medicare for current retirees, he's cutting $716 billion by cutting rates across board, 15% of doctors won't be taking in new patients and Medicare Advantage will be lost

$1 for every $15 you've cut on the drug program

Medicare and Social Security will be there for foreseeable future
 
Obama

Retirees in the future will get a voucher to go out on private marketplace and buy own health insurance

Voucher would not keep up with insurance

Cost average seniors $6000

Maintain traditional Medicare alongside it

Insurance companies recruit younger voucher seniors

Traditional Medicare system will collapse

Grandmother at mercy of insurance companies

Will lengthen Medicare

If you repeal Obamacare (fond of that term) $600 more in co pays to keep seniors healthy, primary beneficiary is insurance companies

Romney

Support no change for current retirees

Keep Medicare for future retirees by choosing government plan or private plan

Get rid of insurance company, not have government telling you what to do

For higher income people lower benefits

Came from Clinton's chief of staff

Put competition into the Medicare world

Obama response

Medicare has lower administrative cost than private, private needs to make a profit

When you move to a voucher system, putting seniors at risk

AARP said Romney's plan would weaken Medicare substantially, support Obamacare
 
Romney

You have to have regulation to prevent people from opening banks in their garages

Regulation can be excessive and out of date

Dodd Frank was passed and is harmful to economy

Designates a number of banks as too big to fail

Keep transparency and leverage limits

Let's not, let him respond!
 
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