AASP - National Advertising Campaign -- Wall Street Journal

Youth Debate

sponsored by
Salon.com

November 6, 2000

AASP member Deroy Murdock Questions Gore & Bush
on Why They Have Neglected Single People

A story published today by Salon.com, entitled "One last debate" reports how Salon's young readers made Bush and Gore answer questions that Jim Lehrer neglected to ask in the formal presidential debates.

The story asks: "Did the presidential debates leave you with more questions? " Apparently it did for many Salon readers, who submitted questions to both Al Gore and George W. Bush for Salon's 2000 Presidential Youth Debate.

Salon's readers wanted answers to questions you wouldn't imagine Jim Lehrer ever asking: questions about each candidate's alleged problems with substance abuse; about gay marriage and civil rights; proof that the death penalty works; and the candidates' own less-than impressive records on key issues.

The story says that the candidates answered them. Sort of. It says, "Al Gore, perhaps as expected, was the windier of the two, and responded lengthily to each question -- you decide whether he actually answered every question. George W. Bush, on the other hand, simply chose not to respond to two questions, and ignored parts of others. With a few exceptions, he kept his responses brief and to the point."

The youth debate is the brainchild of New York writer Anthony Tedesco, who has wrangled answers out of the top two candidates for a second straight election (Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan, it should be pointed out, both declined Salon's invitation).

The questions come from Salon readers who are under 30 (we took their word for it) who answered our call for questions. One friend of Tedesco's, political pundit Deroy Murdock (a member of AASP), got the ball rolling with a question of his own.

Here is what Deroy asked, and the candidate responses, uncut:

Deroy Murdock, debate co-moderator:

Amid all the talk about "working families" and "leaving no child behind," both of you have said virtually nothing to the 46.6 million single American adults. Please explain why you have treated this massive voting bloc with such neglect, and how your tax cut proposals will benefit the millions of hardworking single adults who lack mortgages or children to place in day care or college.

George W. Bush:

Deroy, unlike my opponent's targeted tax plan which leaves out 50 million Americans, my tax plan helps all working Americans, including single adults. I think that every American deserves a tax cut. First I will simplify the tax code and replace our current system of five tax rates (15, 28, 31, 36 and 39.6 percent), with four lower ones (10, 15, 25 and 33 percent).

I will also raise the income needed before a tax is required. Six million families earning less than $31,000 per year that currently pay taxes will no longer pay any taxes under my plan, and with my tax cuts everyone who pays taxes will pay less, and will be able to keep more of their hard-earned money. To see an estimate of how much money you would save in federal taxes, please refer to the tax calculator on my Web site.

In addition, one of my priorities is to make sure the Social Security system is safe, secure and solvent. I have proposed a plan to reform Social Security for future generations. But at the root of that plan is the guarantee that those seniors who are currently receiving Social Security, or are close to retiring, will continue to receive their Social Security checks. For them, my reforms simply assure that they will continue to receive the money that they are depending on from month to month.

However, without reform, Social Security will go bankrupt in 2037. This means that there is no guaranteed benefit for future retirees. In order to save Social Security for the next generation, I will lead a bipartisan effort to reform it by giving individuals the option of voluntarily investing a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes in personal retirement accounts. These accounts will earn higher rates of return and generate wealth that can be owned and passed on from parents to their children. I believe younger workers should have the option of setting up their own savings account for their own retirement. But I oppose any government investment in private stocks or bonds.

Al Gore:

That's a great question, Deroy. My plans do focus on the family, but be assured that my plans for tax relief are available to all middle-class taxpayers. In fact, my Retirement Savings Plus accounts allow any middle-class taxpayer to save for retirement tax-free and receive government incentives that could help build a retirement nest-egg of up to $200,000. Even though my plan is smaller to fit within a balanced budget, it can actually benefit middle-class taxpayers more than Governor Bush's massive cut.

A single taxpayer with no children can benefit from almost all of my plans. Anyone in the workforce who wishes to go back to school to learn new skills can benefit from my proposed 401(k) accounts and my plans to make up to $10,000 a year of tuition tax-deductible. If you are caring for an elderly parent, my plan provides a $3,000 long-term care tax credit.

My tax plan is focused on the middle class and is designed to reflect those values. Governor Bush's plan targets the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. Almost half of Bush's tax cuts are targeted to benefit the few Americans who make more than $300,000 a year. He gives them an average of $46,000 a year at the expense of the majority of middle-class families who, on average, would get 62 cents a day. That's certainly not the kind of change I'm fighting for.