| Debate: Do the Math | |
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Dateline 10/5/00
On October 3, Vice President Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush threw some pretty big numbers at each other in their first of three nationally televised debates. The numbers mostly referred to tax cuts and who they would really help. [See: Bush - Gore Debate: Money]
Whenever big politics and big money come together in the heat of open debate, some "fuzzy math" often results.
GORE: "He (Bush) spends more money for tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent in all of his new spending proposals for health care, prescription drugs, education and national defense, all combined."
This result requires that Gore factor in Bush's plan to roll-back the estate tax, which does mainly help the wealthy taxpayers. In addition the "wealthiest 1 percent" already pay about 30 percent of the total annual individual federal income tax collected. Gov. Bush has always said his tax plan would benefit the group that pays the most taxes, creates the most new jobs and stimulates the economy, plus the middle class.
BUSH: "Well, here's what I've said: I've said, Jim (Lehrer), I've said that eight years ago they campaigned on prescription drugs for seniors, and four years ago they campaigned on getting prescription drugs for seniors, and now they're campaigning on getting prescription drugs for seniors. It seems like they can't get it done."
The Clinton administration has had Medicare prescription drug assistance proposals in one form or another before Congress for some time now. Congress, however has failed to pass any of them, and Congress, is controlled by Republicans.
GORE: If I could respond to that? Jim, under my plan, I will put Medicare in an iron-clad lockbox and prevent the money from being used for anything other than Medicare.
When Bush and Gore -- and most other politicians -- talk about this "lockbox" for Medicare or Social Security, they don't really mean an off-limits trust fund that would sit in a bank earning interest and not touched unless needed. Instead surplus revenue generated by Medicare or Social Security would be used to reduce the federal debt, thus producing savings on interest payments. The "lockbox" would require that those savings be pumped back into Medicare or Social Security only.
BUSH: It's fuzzy math. It's to scare them, trying to scare people
in the voting booth Under my tax plan, that he continues to criticize, I set a
third. You know, the federal government should take more of that--no more than
a third of anybody's check. But I also dropped the bottom rate from 15 percent
to 10 percent, because, by far, the vast majority of the help goes to the
people at the bottom end of the economic ladder. If you're a family of
four in Massachusetts making $50,000, you get a 50 percent cut in the federal
income taxes you pay. It's from $4,000 to about $2,000. Now,
the difference in our plans is, I want that $2,000 to go to you.
Bush often says that nobody should pay "more than a third" of
their paycheck into federal income tax, as if many people do. In fact,
government figures show that almost nobody does. According to Treasury
Department figures, four-member families with median incomes of $54,900
currently pay less than 10 percent of their paycheck in income tax.
One-third of all eligible taxpayers pay no income tax at all, according to
the Treasury, but 80 percent of all income tax is paid by the wealthiest
one-fifth of the population.
You can bet your "lockbox" account that both candidates, their handlers, advisors, and spin doctors will be working hard on some new, non-fuzzy math before the next debate.
