An occasional series on the issues driving the 2008 presidential campaign

John McCain says:

• Make the sweeping income tax cuts of 2001 permanent. The "Bush tax cuts" are scheduled to expire in 2011. Meanwhile, seek to phase out the alternative minimum tax over 10 years, and cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent.

• Balance the federal budget by 2013, the end of a first McCain term.

• Enact a summer "gas-tax holiday" by suspending the 18.4 cent federal gas tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

• End the congressional practice of "earmarks," which cost an estimated $17 billion a year.

• Slow the growth of Medicare and Social Security spending, and charge wealthy retirees higher premiums for the Medicare drug program.

• "HOME Loan" program would enable struggling homeowners to get out from under burdensome mortgages and refinance with a loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration, if they meet certain conditions.

QUOTE: "When you raise taxes in a bad economy, you eliminate jobs. I'm not going to let that happen."

Barack Obama says:

• Second round of economic stimulus that includes $30 billion in tax rebates to consumers.

• Eliminate the Bush tax cut for the wealthiest Americans; raise $100 billion annually by increasing taxes on those making more than $250,000, and use that new income to pay for health care and tax cuts for low- and middle-class workers.

• Create a tax credit of $500 per middle-class worker or $1,000 per working family. "The 'Making Work Pay' tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans," says the candidate's Web site.

• Cut all income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 a year.

• Renegotiate NAFTA with Canada and Mexico to build in standards on labor and environment.

• Raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation.

• Establish a $10 billion fund to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

QUOTE: "If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we'd see an effort to reduce our national debt."

The Journal-Constitution says:

• Both candidates are still short on details, but they are already promising more than they can deliver. In an economy like this one, we'd like to see more realism, more caution and more clarity from both.

• The projected deficit for 2009 is $407 billion. In spite of McCain's pledge to balance the budget, his proposals suggest that he would add to the deficit rather than eliminate it. Obama has not promised to balance the budget but to continue deficit spending.

• McCain pledged to abolish the alternative minimum tax, one of the most feared provisions of the tax code. But of late he appears to be backing away from that promise. He does still pledge to try to protect more middle-class taxpayers from the AMT, which is the right move.

• The summer gas-tax holiday is a low-voltage idea that actually would encourage greater gasoline consumption. The first round of stimulus has had some positive influence on the economy; Obama's proposed second round is at least better than a gas-tax holiday.

• One reason we are running such a large deficit is the insistence by the president and Congress that we afford deep tax cuts to the rich while letting spending run out of control. That's a financially lethal combination. McCain would perpetuate the tax cuts (which he once opposed); Obama would impose greater taxes on the wealthy and provide more tax relief to the middle and working classes. The Democrat's approach is better, but not if it incurs more deficit spending.

• McCain acknowledges that rising Medicare costs "threaten our fiscal future" and promises to slow the growth in the program's costs. His proposal to end drug subsidies is on the money.