A Question for Tonight's Debate

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The final presidential debate takes place Wednesday night at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. The prior two debates have lacked memorable moments and have left voters in the dark on one very important issue: fiscal restraint.

CBS's Bob Schieffer will moderate the event, which will focus on domestic issues. His job tonight should be to nail down the candidates on how they plan to pay for their respective proposals and what specific initiatives they would cut to ensure a better fiscal future for America.

Both candidates offered new revisions to their economic proposals this week. Clearly, the economy continues to weaken and measures must be taken. With the credit markets frozen, government action has to work to fix the crisis. The alternative would be a serious depression.

Thus, it's understandable that neither of the candidates budget for these short-term proposals intended to stimulate the economy. The massive rescue package for banks and an expected reduction in tax receipts would add to the deficit and the national debt.

The Tax Policy Center has studied the candidates' plans. They found that the both Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.) would rack up major deficits. The Center writes:

"Although both candidates have at times stressed fiscal responsibility, their specific non-health tax proposals would reduce tax revenues by an estimated $4.2 trillion (McCain) and $2.9 trillion (Obama) over the next 10 years."

Obama has pledged to institute pay-as-you-go spending if he were to win the presidency. He would then pay for all of his spending proposals with additional revenues. He has proposed about $800 billion in new spending, which would be paid for by allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire and pulling our troops out of Iraq.