I’m hesitant to disagree with someone dubbed the Truth Patrol, but truth, as they say, can be elusive.
The people who check political campaign claims at that other morning newspaper — the one with the mini-pages — have recently been misleading the reader. I raise the point not to confront the truth-seeking journalists, but to offer an important reminder for the political season:
Approximately 78.9 percent of all “promises” made by presidential candidates cannot be guaranteed — even if the speaker sincerely wishes them to become law.
At issue was Candidate Barack Obama’s pledge to “cut taxes for 95 percent of working families.” The truth-checkers deduced that this promise was “rock solid,” apparently because it could be substantiated from a numbers standpoint.
But the promise itself is not “rock solid.” Far from it.
No president — Obama, McCain or Bush — can cut taxes. Or raise them, either. Only Congress has the power to do that. There are 525 other elected officials in Washington who have to approve taxing and spending and most other substantial governmental changes.
If Obama is elected, he might present Congress with such a program, and it might be enacted into law. But there is also a likely chance that the House and Senate would reject it for any number of reasons. I have a hunch that hiking taxes on the top 1 per cent of incomes, as Obama proposes, might result in a significant cutback in congressional campaign contributions.
If you recall, four years ago, the Bush platform had a plank that promised to “reform” Social Security. The president had a plan to do that, and even prodded Congress to take action. But Congress refused to touch it. From a political standpoint, it was too controversial.
Presidents and hope-to-be chief executives can promise, posture, propose and push, but that doesn’t ensure they can produce.
Which is often a good thing.
Because if you add up all of the government programs a candidate “promises” to carry out during his or her reign, the total cost probably would exceed the gross national product.
If you think the national debt is too high now, what would it be if all the promises came true?
There are many things a president can decree through presidential order, but he can’t, by himself, change the Tax Code, foreign trade agreements or treaties.
No candidate can truthfully promise that everyone shall have a good job, a good education, a happy childhood and a warm puppy.
A candidate may promise “two chickens in every pot and a car in every garage,” as Herbert Hoover did in 1928. But the first question should be: Who is paying for them?
The best advice is to remember the words of Jonathan Swift: “Promises and pie crust are made to be broken.”
Dick Hilker (dhilker529@q.com) of Loveland is a retired suburban Denver newspaper editor and columnist.
