John McCain on Economy

Taxes

McCain has emphasized deficit reduction over tax cutting. The contrast with George Bush's preference for tax cuts was prominent during the 2000 presidential campaign, and after Bush became president McCain opposed his tax cut proposals. McCain has been a strong supporter of Private Social Security accounts and is against “socialized” health care.

McCain has been one of the Senate's most outspoken critics of pork barrel spending.

Directly from the candidate:

Congress spends money like a drunken sailor:

We lost the election in 2006 because we lost our way. We began to value principle over power, and spending got out of control. Spending lurched completely out of control. Ronald Reagan used to say, we spend money like a drunken sailor. I never knew a sailor, drunk or sober, with the imagination of the Congress. I received an e-mail recently from a guy who said, "As a former drunken sailor, I resent being compared to members of Congress." (2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007)

On how he differs from Bush on “pork-barrel” spending:

I would have vetoed spending bill after spending bill after pork-barrel project after pork-barrel project, in the tradition of President Reagan. The first pork-barrel bill that crosses my desk, I'm going to veto it and make the authors of those pork-barrel items famous all over America. We're going to stop it. (2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007)