MILWAUKEE - Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., visited Milwaukee Wednesday and said drastic cuts in corporate taxes are needed to revive the national economy.
Bucyrus International, Inc., a mining equipment manufacturer, hosted the event in which McCain participated in a panel with business leaders to discuss the economic plan he released Tuesday.
Panel topics included lowering taxes and promoting free trade to compete in a global market.
According to McCain's website, he would cut corporate taxes from 25 percent to 35 percent if elected president.
During the discussion, McCain talked about the need for state governments to create business friendly climates."" He said different states support businesses at different levels, but there should be a more level playing field for companies.
""[It] leads to an unevenness in the economic challenges that we face, which frankly should never be there if governments are more responsive to the free enterprise system,"" McCain said.
McCain's plan also includes a ""summer gas tax holiday,"" which would entail suspending the federal gas and diesel taxes from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
He also said he wishes to secure the U.S. borders, but added there is a need for comprehensive immigration reform since the United States still wants to attract highly skilled foreign workers.
McCain said he would support federal funding for research, but said it should be done responsibly. He said a panel of qualified scientists should have the task of determining how research money is distributed to different projects.
He did not mention specifically what types of controversial research would be off-limits for funding.
The panel also discussed the need to reform health care and create more jobs.
UW-Madison professor of law and political science Joel Rogers said the weakness in McCain's plan is his unwillingness to repeal current tax cuts.
However, the panel members and moderator Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, showed support for the proposals.
""He's '¦ someone who understands that in the 21st century we have to compete as a 21st-century nation,"" Fiorina said.
The event was not open to the public but was attended by an audience of businesspeople and industrial workers.
