The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis ^[1] has just released a study ^[2] of Barack Obama and John McCain’s tax plans. Using tax models and tax information from other sources as inputs into Global Insight’s U.S. Macroeconomic Model, the study estimates the side-by-side economic effects of the two plans.

The study concludes: “Each presidential candidate achieves his stated goal,with Senator McCain generating the most new jobs, growth, and additional income for individuals. Sen­ator Obama’s plan drives up the tax rate for individ­uals with annual incomes above $250,000 and redistributes money to workers with lower incomes.”

Don’t believe us? Just ask Barack Obama. The New York Post ^[3] reports:

The fracas over Obama’s tax plan broke out Sunday outside Toledo when Joe Wurzelbacher approached the candidate.

Wurzelbacher said he planned to become the owner of a small plumbing business that will take in more than the $250,000 amount at which Obama plans to begin raising tax rates.

“Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?” the blue-collar worker asked.
…
“It’s not that I want to punish your success,” Obama told him. “I want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they’ve got a chance for success, too.

Then, Obama explained his trickle-up theory of economics.

“My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody. I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”