During the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama promised to give people with low incomes a new incentive to save for retirement. He proposed a tax credit of up to $500 for couples and $250 for singles. But three years later, the idea has gone nowhere.
President Obama included the expansion of the saver"s credit in his 2011 budget request (which was not passed), but the credit hasn"t made an appearance on his agenda since. It"s not mentioned in his proposed 2013 budget. To double-check our conclusion, we talked with G. Barry Wilkinson, a tax attorney and CPA in St. Petersburg, Fla., who said he hasn"t seen a new credit, either.
The Obama campaign did not provide evidence that this promise has been fulfilled, but pointed to the "fairness principles" the president has established in his approach to tax reform, and his advocacy for automatic enrollment in IRA plans.
But for this Obameter promise, the principles don't erase the fact that there's been no action. We rate this a Promise Broken.