FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 11, 1992 RHETORIC VS. REALITY THE FIRST DEBATE THE BUSH ECONOMIC RECORD RHETORIC: George Bush said, "My economic program is the kind of change we want." REALITY: His economic program is more of the same. He's proposed the same trickle-down economics of the past -- a 1 percent tax break and a capital gains tax break which will give millionaires $108,000 and people making $20-30,000 only $111. [Citizens for Tax Justice, based on Department of Treasury figures.] "MOST RESPECTED ECONOMY IN THE WORLD" RHETORIC: George Bush said, "We're the most respected economy in the world. We've been caught up in a global slowdown." REALITY: After George Bush visited Japan last year, Prime Minister Miyazawa said he felt dojo -- "sympathy" or "compassion" -- for the United States of America. [Washington Post, 1/29/92] Under the Republicans, U.S. productivity has grown at roughly 1 percent, compared to 2.8 percent for Japan. [State of Working America, p. 422] Since 1980, the United States has been transformed from the world's largest creditor to the world's largest debtor. [Economic Report of the President, Table B-100; Survey of Current Business, June 1992, p. 49] The Commerce Department says the United States is losing to Japan in developing 10 out of 12 critical technologies and gaining in none. [Commerce Department, Emerging Technologies, Spring 1990] THE MISERY INDEX RHETORIC: George Bush said "...the misery index went right through the roof." REALITY: Under George Bush, the misery index has increased from 9.4 to 10.4 percent in September. In the same time period, Arkansas' index declined by almost one-fifth. [United Press International, 10/9/92, Bureau of Labor Statistics] DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST THE U.S. RHETORIC: "I think it's wrong to demonstrate against your own country. I just find it impossible to understand how an American can demonstrate against his own country" REALITY: President Bush didn't always feel this way. During the Vietnam War he supported people's right to demonstrate against the U.S. [Houston Chronicle, 10/15/69] In his 1991 State of the Union, Bush said, "Democracy brings the undeniable value of thoughtful dissent, and we've heard some dissenting voices here at home...But the fact that all voices have the right to speak out is one of the reasons we've been united in purpose and principle for 200 years." [New York Times, 1/30/91] CLINTON TAX PACKAGE RHETORIC: George Bush said: "Taxing people over $200,000 will not raise $150 billion." REALITY: This charge is based on the false assumption that the only increase in revenue comes from raising the individual income tax rate. In fact, the Clinton plan raises billions from other sources, including $58 billion from closing corporate tax loopholes. [Putting People First, pp.31- 33] When this charge was made in a Bush advertisement, the Wall Street Journal said, "The problem is that Mr. Clinton has proposed to cut taxes for the sort of workers featured in the ad." [WSJ, 10/2/92] The Los Angeles Times has said that the Bush campaign has offered a "questionable analyses of Clinton's tax proposals that come dangerously close to misrepresentation, as well as hypothetical assumptions.." [LA Times, 10/2/92] TAX AND SPEND RHETORIC: George Bush said: "I agree with what he's [Perot] talking about in trying to get this spending down....I disagree with the tax and spend philosophy..." REALITY: On taxes. George "Read My Lips" Bush gave us the second biggest tax increase in American history. He has consistently raised taxes on the middle class. The conservative Cato Institute called Bush "the largest spender to sit in the White House in the past 30 years" and noted that Bush "increased the domestic budget more in four years than Carter and Reagan combined did in 12 years." [Cato Institute, 6/19/92] Bush actually requested more spending than Congress has appropriated. Through 1991, Bush requested 1.1 billion more than Congress appropriated, and Reagan-Bush requested $17.3 billion more than Congress appropriated. [House Committee on Appropriations] JOB TRAINING RHETORIC: George Bush said: "Look at the job retraining programs that we're proposing." REALITY: Okay. George Bush took 1,346 days to propose a job training program that was largely a compilation of the government's 60 existing programs. [Atlanta Journal Constitution, 1/18/92] And he's given no specifics on how he proposes to pay for his new plan. Bush proposed eliminating Trade Adjustment Assistance in his last three budgets. TAA helps retrain workers displaced from their jobs by foreign competition. In his 1993 budget, Bush proposed cutting the Job Corps by 5 percent below the FY 1992 appropriations level and freezing assistance to dislocated workers. [U.S. House Budget Committee, 2/90] JOBS RHETORIC: George Bush said, "The Agenda for American Renewal...it makes sense...it's sensible...it creates jobs." REALITY: George Bush has created no new private sector jobs during his Administration. [Bureau of Labor Statistics] "If the program announced today is any good," Mr. Bush said, "Why did it take the Carter Administration three and a half years to come up with it?" [New York Times, 8/30/80] CHINA RHETORIC: George Bush said, "We are the ones that worked out the prison labor deal... I am the one that said let's keep the MFN because you see China moving toward a free market economy." REALITY: George Bush pressured China on prison labor and access to its markets only at the urging of the US Congress. After the slaughter in Tiananmen Square, President Bush sent secret emissaries to toast the Beijing leadership. Yet China's government still denies its people their human rights, and still transfers nuclear technology to radical regimes. And we still have a trade deficit with China of $15 billion, second only to Japan. [WP, 5/16/92; WP 2/22/91, Financial Times 9/2/92] JAMES BAKER RHETORIC: George Bush said, "...I'm going to say to Jim Baker when this campaign is over, `You do in domestic affairs what you've done in foreign affairs." REALITY: Asked by Larry King what role James Baker would play in a second Bush Administration, George Bush said: "I mean, I would think he'd want to go back there [to the State Department], and I'd want him there." SMALL BUSINESS RHETORIC: George Bush said, "We've got the plan announced for what we can do for small business." REALITY: Let's hope it's something different than the record. Under George Bush, the number of new business incorporations has declined at a 3.3 percent annual rate, the first decline since 1945 [Congressional Joint Economic Committee] Under George Bush, the number of personal bankruptcies filed exceeds net new jobs created by a 2.4-1 margin. [Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts] STOCK MARKET RHETORIC: George Bush said, "There was a moment there, fear that he [Clinton] might win, and the markets went down like that [whoooosh]." REALITY: The day after Bush addressed the Republican National Convention, the Dow Jones Industrial average sank 50.79 points, to a four-month low of 3,254.10. It was the second biggest drop for the average in 1992. [Associated Press, 8/22/92] FAMILY VALUES RHETORIC: George Bush said, "We need to strengthen family. [sic] " REALITY: George Bush has twice vetoed the Family and Medical Leave Act, which would allow parents to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for sick relatives or newborns. In January of this year, Bush proposed a tax exemption of $500 per child but he reneged on his proposal one month later. A top aide said that "was a proposal for [the] New Hampshire [primary]; this is the real proposal." [The Washington Post, 2/12/92] DEADBEAT DADS RHETORIC: George Bush said, "Those [single parent] mothers need help and one way to do it is to get these deadbeat fathers to pay their obligations to these mothers." REALITY: In his Midsession Review, George Bush named selected options that would cut $2 billion in child support enforcement funds. [Midsession Budget Review] Ironically, the Republicans have yet to return the $400,00 contribution from Michael Kojima -- who sat with Bush at a May Republican fundraiser -- although he owed $100,000 in child support. [LA Times, 5/8/92; United Press International, 10/10/92] DRUGS RHETORIC: George Bush said, "I do believe there's some fairly good news [on drugs] out there." REALITY: Three years after George Bush declared "this scourge will stop" and after $30 billion expended, more than 3 million Americans use cocaine or heroin or both every week. That's a record high. [Senate Judiciary Committee, 1/92] Under George Bush, there are fewer agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency than there are members of U.S. Army military bands. [John Lawn, DEA Director, 3/22/90] CIVIL RIGHTS RHETORIC: George Bush said, "I've tried to use the White House as the bully pulpit, speaking out against discrimination. We passed two very forward looking civil rights bills." REALITY: Bush vetoed the Civil Rights Acts of 1990, only the second time a President has vetoed a civil rights act this century. [Washington Post, 10/23/90] Bush also opposed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. [Dallas Morning News, 9/12/63] AIDS RHETORIC: George Bush said, "We have increased funding for AIDS; we've doubled it." REALITY: Although Bush claims to have allocated $4.3 billion to AIDS research in 1992, he includes Medicare/Medicaid funds being spent for AIDS treatment in this figure. In fact, only $2 billion will be spent on AIDS research -- less than half of Bush's claim. [Bush 8/19/92; Wall Street Journal, April 22, 1992] During this 90-minute debate, it is estimated that 300 people worldwide will be infected with the AIDS virus. [San Francisco Chronicle, 7/21/92] SOCIAL SECURITY RHETORIC: George Bush said, "I'm the President who stood up and said don't mess with Social Security and I'm not going to and we haven't and we are not going to go after the Social Security recipient." REALITY: On May 10, 1985, then Vice President Bush cut short a trip in order to cast the tie- breaking vote on the Senate floor to eliminate the 1986 cost-of-living adjustment for all Social Security beneficiaries. [New York Times, 9/11/85] In a 1980 debate, George Bush said that Social Security "has become largely a welfare program or a side benefit to it." [Associated Press, 2/23/80] MEDICAL MALPRACTICE RHETORIC: George Bush said, "He failed to take on something else: the malpractice suit people." REALITY: Apparently, Mr. Bush hasn't read the Clinton health care plan. "Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms should be made available in every state, which can effectively and humanely address and resolve these legal challenges." [January, 1992] Arkansas has the lowest medical malpractice rates in the nation. [Wall Street Journal, 9/8/92] Tort suits actually dropped 10 percent in Arkansas between 1987 and 1990. -30-