(CNN) — In the wake of the country’s financial meltdown, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain have been telling voters they’ll fix the economy while their opponent would only make it worse.
Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are getting more specific about how they’d deal with U.S. economic woes.
As the economy dominated voters’ concerns, McCain and Obama stepped up the political blame game and got more specific about how they would deal with the country’s financial problems.
The candidates’ focus on the economy comes during a week of roller coaster activity in the financial markets:
There was the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, a Bank of America buyout of Merrill Lynch and a government bailout of insurer AIG. Then, President Bush on Saturday asked Congress for the authority to spend up to $700 billion to purchase troubled mortgage assets and get things under control.
Here are a few of the candidates’ proposals, and what it would take to put them into action:
McCain said he wants to fire the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the chief federal watchdog for the investment industry.
"The president can do that, but obviously he’d have to find a better person for the job. And by the way, the current commissioner says he’s quitting when Bush leaves office anyways," said CNN’s Tom Foreman.
The Republican presidential candidate also wants to set up a Mortgage and Financial Institutions Trust, which he says would help companies avoid bankruptcy while protecting their customers. The money would also help consumers restructure loans so they can keep their homes.
"What’s missing on all of this? Well, the price tag," Foreman said.
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McCain also wants to create a top-level commission to figure out how to streamline and strengthen federal agencies charged with protecting the economy.
Watch how the economy is affecting the campaign trail »
"There’s been a lot of talk about the need for this, and it could work, but it would take time. Just because a committee figures out what ought to be done doesn’t mean it will happen," Foreman said.
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(AP)
Obama this week also also offered up a lot of proposals, including a commission similar to what McCain suggested.
The Democrat called for a Homeowner and Financial Support Act that would provide funds to prevent catastrophic failures in the financial industry and help keep people in their homes.
Foreman said this evokes the same question asked about McCain’s program: "What is this really going to cost? Who’s going to pay for it, and can we afford it?"
Obama also wants a $50 billion emergency economic stimulus plan. The money would go toward 1 million jobs for rebuilding infrastructure and schools, and helping local governments avoid budget cuts.
"This would obviously be targeted spendi
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