It appears that secret Swiss bank accounts are no longer so secret.

TaxVox, commenting on the idea that Obama’s tax policies would be redistributive, while McCain’s wouldn’t be:

… [If] McCain favors a flat tax, he should tell us and explain why he thinks it is a good idea to redistribute income by raising taxes on the middle class and giving the money to the wealthy.

The argument would be something along typical supply-side lines, with a nod toward the efficiency of a very simple tax code (something everyone would love, but that is possible even with non-flat taxes).  Most voters probably agree at this point that giving the wealthy free reign to work their magic, then sitting back and waiting for the profits to trickle down to the rest of us, is not very effective.

From Joe Klein:

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Director of the Congressional Budget Office and current chief McCain economic advisor, is an honest man–which means he’s something of a liability on the Straight Talk Express. A few months ago, he admitted to my colleague, Michael Scherer, that Barack Obama’s economic plan would reduce taxes for most people. And now, in a forthcoming book by Fortune columnist Matt Miller, he makes it clear that the next President is going to have to raise taxes. “If you do nothing on the spending side, you’re going to have to raise taxes whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat or a Martian,” he tells Miller…and then he immediately makes it clear that the “spending side” part of the argument is nothing more than a political fig-leaf.

More here.  Holtz-Eakin used to be Director of the CBO, so he’s used to brushing aside Party lines and telling it like it is.  He would be great to have in any administration–maybe he’ll work for Obama when all is said and done?