Comments on: Ex-eBay, HP chiefs laud McCain's economic plan

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and HP Chairman Carly Fiorina talk up the Republican presidential candidate, saying he's much better on the economy than his Democratic rival.

[benjwah]

With friends like Carly and Meg, John McCain isn't helping his economic credentials.

[valeriod]

Well said! I'm amazed that anybody would even listen to them.

Why in the world would you choose a person that almost killed one of the best hi-tech companies in the valley as you economic advisor?

[Magallanes]

"clean coal technology and nuclear power"

Or you could say, almost clean coal technology and DIRTY nuclear power. This is because nuclear power plant generate several and nasty subproduct.

The rest sound BS.

[j_a_s_p_e_r]

Aparently you did not watch Zerobama's speech. He mentioned use of nuclear power as well, though there is NO WAY I would believe he would do it

[liquidmetalband]

McCain is giving low taxes to THE RICH PEOPLE.

That is why you will see some company people applaud McCain.

Obama is about helping the PEOPLE (wow, imagine that) who earn less than $250k, so that is real economies. That helps the country as a whole, while McCain only helps his corporate buddies.

[spm82]

Wakeup call: THE POOR PEOPLE don't pay federal income taxes. As a matter of fact, roughly 38% of Americans do not pay federal income taxes.

[j_a_s_p_e_r]

top 10% pay 50% of the taxes. I hope to be in that bracket at some point in life, don't you. I pay very little taxes now and tax cuts will not benefit me a lot now, but if my boss got a tax cut maybe he can pay me more. Its Reagonomics. Cut tax rates -> generate more tax revenue.

[ddesy]

So the rich people like a rich person's plan? Hmm.... what a surprise.

[sanenazok]

Carly's speech was mediocre, Giuliani and Palin were both pretty good. Regarding the above, Obama promised $10 billion in additional spending on ONE PROGRAM alone. The other programs he wants don't even have a price tag, but single-payor socialized insurance isn't going to be cheap. Where do you think that's going to come from? Yep, more taxes for everyone, not just those making more than $250K. Sure he might tax the richer slightly more, but everyone's taxes are going to shoot through the roof, while increasing wasteful government spending.

[Jim Satterfield]

Fascinating. How about you go away, do some research and tell me where Obama has called for a single-payer "socialized" insurance system. Since he has done no such thing that should keep you busy for a while.

[buanot]

money doesn't come from nowhere. obama's plan to raise taxes on business will cause them to cut your salary, your benefits, and/or raise the prices of their products/services. YOU will pay them! Obama is hoping there are a lot of stupid people in America and he may be right.

[spm82]

What I don't understand is this: the government is the only institution that does not directly provide a product or service in exchange for your money. They simply expect you to shovel over more of your paycheck and guilt you into rationalizing it. Yet people seem to have no qualms about watching others pay more and more into a government machine that succeeds maybe 5% of the time with "new and improved" programs. This "as long as they're not raising MY taxes" mentality is ridiculous. Spending must decrease at the federal level.

[shanedr]

Not stupidity! There are businesses who value this country and there are businesses who ship jobs overseas. There are businesses who take care of their employees and customers and there are those who line their pockets. Guess who will be taxed the most with Obama. Guess who Obama will give tax breaks to. For eight years the Republicans have screwed the poor and middle class, guess who's going to get screwed in January.

[ddesy]

Government programs cost money, but supporting an unending war costs more. Just look at the surplus we had before George W got in, even with quite a few programs!

Obama isn't looking for stupid people, but McCain wants to make sure people stay ignorant of what is really going on.

[j_a_s_p_e_r]

Explain to me how adding the enormous cost (trillions!) for socialized health care will balance the budget?

[davematty]

It was literally a white people party. The camera crew from CNN, NBC was literally searching to focus on Asian, Black or South American (non-white )people

[bemenaker]

Wait Carly is an advisor to McCain, of course she agrees w/ his plan.

[nacho-libre]

After watching the RNC, I know where the term "Ugly American" comes from.

[SUNHEART]

...and getting uglier everyday. We don't "pit bull mentality" in the executive office.

[alt117]

Can Carly do for McCain what she did to HP?

[fdunn3]

I sure hope so.
:-)

[Jim Satterfield]

Actually she hopes to help him to do it to the country.

[Apolune]

Is this the same Fiorina who was booted from H-P after the company lost half its value under her stewardship? And the same Whitman who paid $2,600,000,000 of her shareholders' money for Skype?

Yeah, there's a couple of economic whizzes. Fiorina and Whitman are successful only at enriching themselves. They have zero understanding any financial issues that are not self-centered.

Which, of course, explains why they're Republicans.

[shadowself]

So McCain takes advice and would put someone into a high appointment who was *forced out* of their CEO position? Is this a case of the dumb leading the blind?

Seems as though he's throwing lots of female bodies at the public to make sure he gets 100% of the PUMA vote!

[jonathan0766]

Oh where to start. First of all, davematty's comment is blatantly racist, such ignorance shouldn't be allowed on CNet sites. If any other race were used in that reference, davematty would no doubt be banned from posting here as should be the case for spouting racist remarks like that.

Fact: the majority of the Forbes 400 votes Democrat. Fact: the majority of millionaires in the US vote Democrat. Fact: the blue dominated areas of the country have the highest per capita incomes and the highest levels of poverty. The Republican Party is clearly not the party of the rich. Fact: the top one million Americans pay the same in taxes as the bottom 140 million Americans; clearly the rich more than pay their fair share. Indeed, they're paying everyone else's fair share as well.

Fact: Meg Whitman took eBay from a market valuation of less than a billion to a market valuation of $40 billion during her term, generating 15,000 high paying new jobs and a massive shareholder return, while taking an irrelevant salary and taking no major golden parachute packages (her compensation was in eBay stock, her wealth being derived from producing returns for shareholders).

[Zifferent]

Jonathan, what's up? First davematty's comment may have been racist, but it doesn't make the observation that BOTH parties are looking to connect with minorities of all kinds, and I'd have to say that they are succeeding to a certain extent. So no beef there.

I have no idea about the Forbes 400. Meh, you're on your own.

But Meg Whitman has almost destroyed eBay. Ebay was in the right place at the right time and every single decision by eBay since it started to become popular has pissed off the rank-and-file eBayer to no end. I believe that with the right leadership eBay could have been much bigger without all the meddling in the affairs of users.

[shanedr]

If I was one of those less then $5 million a year middle class I'd like McCain's plan also. But as I'm one of the actual middle class I'll take Obama's plan.

Who cares what the rich think. They don't care what I think.

[mchinsky]

Thank you so much for finally printing an article in cnet news relating to politics that isn't off the left wing whacko deep end. I understand that cnet is a San Francisco based, organization employing mostly Nancy Pelosi loving folks, but the fact that you (and I don't know you personally in terms of political persuasion) could write a professional objective article without bashing the republicans like you coworkers constantly do (give me a break, I'm now committing global destruction if a I buy a new gaming pc with a honking graphics card...)

Thanks Jonathan you are dead on in the world of the mostly left leaning blogosphere (especially tech oriented). If the Republicans are so rich, why have the dems raised twice as much money and did Obama break his promise to take matching campaign funds...Thats a real reformer...

Typical Chicago big politics big government Carter the II with a "clean fresh look" (To paraphrase Joe Biden on Obama)

[Jim Satterfield]

Oddly enough, now that the McCain campaign has added a far right wing religious fanatic to the campaign the money seems to just be flowing in. It's amazing what you can find when you keep up with the news.

[catbutt5]

Ah yes, the Republicans... the party who wants to mind your business for you instead of minding it's own.
Now ask someone who makes less than a million dollars a year what they think about the Republican plan.

[j_a_s_p_e_r]

I myself believe the party has lost its way. I guess I have a more libertarian view of reduction of government in our lives. McCain promises to post reviews of all departments online for scrutiny by the public, I like that. Government should fear its citizens not citizens fear government.

I pay very little federal tax, mostly because my state and city tax me to death. Federal tax cuts will do VERY little for me, but if they cut taxes for the small software company where I am a developer then they can pay me more (plus we have profit sharing). If my company gets taxed more, how will that help me?

When people say they should tax companies more, don't they realize its the employees that pay the highest cost (its not like the CEO's gonna take a pay cut, you tax him more and he'll just demand more pay). In the end ALL taxes are paid indirectly by consumers

[masonx]

From WikiPedia - The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators, Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald W. Riegle (D-MI), were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB).

After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings. Senators John Glenn and >>> John McCain >>>> for having exercised "poor judgment". <<<<<

Mc Cain record since Viet Nam has been a profile in greed and corruption more than one of courage. I'm waiting for the press to dissect Palin's record on her "Bridge to NoWhere." and where the funding for the bridge went - since she changed her mind on building the bridge. We'll see if the press is up to their job. Mc Cain's handlers (Rove) have already drawn their battle lines with the press in an attempt to keep a lid on their candidates checkered past - and anything that doesn't match the script they are writing. Let the censorship begin.

[masonx]

Were there no successful people that the Republicans could find to tout their "Return to the dark ages" candidates? Carly Fiorina was fired by HP for failing to perform. Great referral Karl.

From CNN Money - "Shares of HP (Research) jumped 6.9 percent in heavy trading on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday on the news. But at one point, the stock was up as much as 10.5 percent.

"The stock is up a bit on the fact that nobody liked Carly's leadership all that much," said Robert Cihra, an analyst with Fulcrum Global Partners. "The Street had lost all faith in her and the market's hope is that anyone will be better."

Fiorina, the only female CEO at a company in the Dow Jones industrial average, had been with HP since 1999. But the company's controversial deal to buy Compaq in the spring of 2002 -- after a bruising proxy fight led by one of the Hewlett family heirs -- has not produced the shareholder returns or profits she had promised."

Another canned executive that was canned because the didn't deliver on their promises. Does Rove think his base can't read or what? Perhaps he's right.

[Foggy]

What kind of drug is this writer on, because I'd like to get some. You're listening to what Carly has to say after what she did to HP. Aren't you aware that she helped the living Mummy write his economic plan and did you do your homework and notice that Carly was on his short list along with Palin for VP? Com'n man think!!!!.