George W. Bush
by Michael A Kazanjian
assistant a&e editor
With less than a week to go one of the closest races in presidential history is winding down. As of this moment Republican candidate Gov. George W. Bush has pulled into the lead in both the popular vote and the Electoral College projections. Yet still many people are confused by what Bush stands for. Some of the biggest misconceptions have to do with two major issues: Taxes and abortion. When it comes down to taxes Gore is trying to emphasize that Bush only cares about getting money back to the wealthiest one percent of America. Not true. While Bush does want to give money back to the top 1 percent, he also wants to increase the amount that they pay out initially. By raising the amount of dollars that the wealthy pay out during a given year it provides less of a tax burden on the middle class. The major effect that this will have on the middle class is that they won’t receive as high of a return but the amount that they pay out will be cut. For those in the top bracket of economic wealth -not the top 1 percent- their taxes would be cut from 39.6 percent to 33 percent and the bottom bracket from 15 percent to 10 percent. Bush also wants to increase the tax credit for each child in a family from $500 to $1000.
The other heavy weighted issue is the subject of abortion. Contrary to popular belief, Bush does not want to put a ban on abortions, he simply wants to reduce the amount of abortions that take place in America. Bush does believe, however, that the FDA’s decision to approve the use of the abortion drug RU-486 was wrong. His biggest fear is that the drug will allow abortions to happen much more commonly than they do at this point. The Gore campaign is skewing this information by saying that Bush wants to do away with abortions all together and the Democrats are pushing the fact that Gore said earlier in the year that “a woman’s right to vote is sacred.”
Other issues like the death penalty and education are also huge factors but it’s the previous two that has the country up in arms. So while the candidates are fighting over similar issues, the public isn’t willing at this point to pick out the obvious differences. And without letting Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan debate, it may be harder to make a distinction among the two. Election day is coming soon, check the facts.
Al Gore
by Matthew Coughlin
assistant news editor
Gore. Bush. Nader. Buchanan.
Vote Gore.
Everyone wants to make tax cuts.
Gore plans on middle class tax cuts that would enable a larger portion of Americans to enjoy the current economic boom.
Bush wants to spend nearly half of his tax cut plan on the wealthy few whose income exceeds $300,000 per year.
You may remember Ronald Reagan, and his successor, George Bush. They followed an economic plan known as trickle-down economics. The theory behind trickle-down economics is that if the rich get richer, then the poor will become less poor. By giving the rich tax breaks, they will have more money to spend on building up our nation. This depends upon the people at the top of the economic ladder investing their money into our economy and creating jobs and business.
However, the past shows us that this does not happen.
What happens is the rich have more money, less goes into the economy, and after a few years we have another deficit.
Under Gore’s plan the money is spread out over a larger percentage of the population.
Bush says that Gore’s number are wrong and that his plan gives money to all.
Don’t believe the hype.
While Nader may be an excellent choice for president, the truth is that he will not win. Like Nader, Gore supports the environment. Bush does not. Bush is big business. He comes from a wealthy oil fat family. The kind of family that will benefit from his tax plan.
Vote for Gore, to keep the Bush out of the White House.
Vote for Gore, to reduce your taxes.
Ralph Nader
By Ren
