Town Hall Debate - Debt and Credit: How would you break t...

SEN. OBAMA: Well, I think it starts with Washington. We've got

to show that we've got good habits because if we're running up

trillion-dollar debts that we're passing on to the next generation,

then a lot of people are going to think, well, you know what, there's

easy money out there.

It means -- and I have to, again, repeat this -- it means not

just looking at the spending side, but also at the revenue side. I

mean, Senator McCain has -- has, you know, been talking tough about

earmarks, and that's good. But earmarks account for about $18 billion

of our budget. Now, when Senator McCain is proposing tax cuts that

would give the average Fortune 500 CEO an additional $700,000 in tax

cuts, that's not sharing a burden. And so part of the problem I think

for a -- a lot of people who are listening here tonight is they don't

feel as if they are sharing the burden with other folks.

I mean, you know, it's tough to ask a -- a teacher who's making

30 (thousand dollars) or $35,000 a year to tighten her belt when

people who are making much more than her are living pretty high on the

hog. And -- and that's why, I think, it's important for the president

to set a tone that says all of us are going to contribute, all of us

are going to make sacrifices.

And it means that, yes, we may have to cut some spending, although I

disagree with Senator McCain about an across-the-board freeze.

That's an example of an unfair burden-sharing. That's using a

hatchet to cut the federal budget. I want to use a scalpel, so that

people who need help are getting help. And those of us, like myself

and Senator McC