C/G LATE UPDATE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 15, 1992 BUSH TELLS ALL: "I'm not sure I get [it]" -- George Bush In the most telling exchange of this election, George Bush looked into the face of trickle- down economics, and showed -- again -- that he just doesn't get it. He doesn't understand the pain his policies have caused, and he doesn't have a clue what to do for the future. In contrast, Bill Clinton showed that he "gets it" perfectly -- and that he cares about the things that Americans care about. He talked in detail about his plan to bring hope and change to America, and to rebuild the country and get the economy moving again. Besides showing he's out of touch with the American people, George Bush showed he's out of touch with the truth. Some highlights: DEFICIT + TAXES RHETORIC: "I don't believe you can grow the deficit down by raising taxes...Give us a balanced budget amendment." REALITY: George Bush has never submitted a balanced budget. George Bush had the second largest tax increase of all time -- a net increase of $106.7 billion over five years. [Wall Street Journal, 8/12/92] By the Republican method of counting tax increases, George Bush has raised taxes 178 times in only three and a half years -- an average of 51 times a year. [DSG, 9/16/92] Through 1991, Bush has requested $1.1 billion more than Congress has appropriated. Reagan-Bush requested $17.3 billion more than Congress appropriated. [U.S. House Committee on Appropriations] Under Bush, the deficit nearly doubled -- rising from $153 billion to $290 billion by the end of this year, and the national debt rose 41 percent to $4 trillion -- both record-breaking increases. The debt has quadrupled since Reagan-Bush took office. [U.S. Budget, 1992; CBO] The Clinton/Gore plan would cut the deficit in half over four years. The plan includes $104 billion in tax cuts for the middle-class and the working poor. In addition, those making more than $200,000 each year pay their fair share and closing tax loopholes on foreign corporations. [Putting People First] BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT RHETORIC: "Give us a balanced budget." REALITY: What courage. The balanced budget amendment that Bush supports (H.J. Resolution 290) would not go until effect until 1998. [Bureau of National Affairs, 5/15/92] Unlike George Bush, who has never submitted a balanced budget, Bill Clinton has submitted 12 balanced budgets in a row. CRIME AND FEDERAL AID TO POLICE RHETORIC: "We've got more money going out for local police than any previous administration." REALITY: Wrong. In real dollars, the United States spent more money for local law enforcement every year from 1973-1976. [Congressional Research Service, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 1990, U.S. Budget FY 1992, 1993] George Bush tried to cut aid to local law enforcement by more than $100 million, or about 20 percent. [New York Times, 3/14/91] This year, he tried to cut law enforcement aid to localities by $117 million, or 16.5 percent. [Senate Judiciary Committee] Under George Bush, violent crime has increased by 25.4 percent, to an all-time record. [FBI, Uniform Crime Index, 9/92] DRUGS RHETORIC: "The good news is, and I think it's true in Richmond, teenage use is down of cocaine, substantially, 60 percent in the last couple of years." REALITY: According to Richmond's city manager, drug arrests among teenagers are up, and violent crimes related to drug use are up. The 60 percent figure depends on a survey of high school seniors only, a self-reported measure of drug use that is often inaccurate. Even using survey figures, drug use was falling faster before Bush became President than since then. A better measure, the Drug Abuse Warning Network, says that cocaine use was up 29 percent and heroin use was up nearly 10 percent. [US Department of Health and Human Services] THE WAFFLE HOUSE RHETORIC: "You can't turn the White House into the waffle house..." REALITY: A Bush sampler of flip-flops: * After pledging "no new taxes," Bush signed the second largest tax hike in history -- the 1990 $106.7 billion tax hike. [Acceptance Speech, 8/18/88; Congressional Quarterly; Wall Street Journal, 8/12/92] * After criticizing the trickle-down theory as "voodoo economics" and "economic madness," Bush became a convert. He came to defend the program, saying "It's a very sensible program, which the best economists...in the country support." [Los Angeles Times, 4/11/80; Associated Press, 3/28/80; United Press International, 10/20/80] * After strenously criticizing then-opponent Ronald Reagan for supporting a balanced budget amendment, Bush has made it a standard part of his current economic proposal. [Washington Post, 1/27/79; Agenda for American Renewal] * After proposing and signing the 1989 federal pay raise, Bush recently proposed a 5% pay cut for federal employees earning more than $75,000 annually. [CQ 1990; Acceptance Speech, 8/20/92] * Although Bush once stated: "I happen to think it [Roe v. Wade] was right" he later reversed his position, maintaining that "I think the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was wrong and should be overturned." The Republican platform on which he is now running would outlaw abortion for any reason. [Rolling Stone, 3/20/80; Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1/23/89] TELL THE TRUTH RHETORIC: "My father was an honor, duty and country man, and he said, `Tell the truth.' And I've tried to do that in public life, all through it." REALITY: As President, George Bush has failed to tell the whole truth. The Washington Post today called George Bush "the ultimate chameleon in hall of his years in national politics -- perhaps the greatest dodger of them all -- and not on trifling issues, either." (10/15/92) Some examples: * Iran-Contra: During the Iowa caucuses in 1988, Bush said, "I sensed that we were sending arms. And I sensed that we were trying to get hostages out. But not arms for hostages." (Associated Press, 1-8-88). But on the Today Show (10-13-92), Katie Couric asked Bush, "You knew about the arms for hostages?" and Bush replied, "Yes, and I've said so all along." Why won't Bush release his testimony to the Tower Commission and Iran-contra Investigators and come clean? * Iraqgate: George Bush has not come clean with the American people about his strong support for Saddam Hussein before the Persian Gulf War. Bush says the U.S. "did not enhance Saddam Hussein's nuclear, biological or chemical weapons capability." The truth is that Bush sent billions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer-subsidized loan guarantees to Saddam to build up his military machine. (General Accounting Office Report, "Iraq's Participation in U.S. Agricultural Export Programs," November 1990; Washington Post, July 22, 1992; Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1992 and February 13, 1992). And now we learn his Administration has engaged in a cover-up of the scandal involving the loans to Iraq through the Atlanta branch of BNL. The U.S. District Judge, Marvin Shoob, in the BNL case said, "Certainly either the CIA or the Justice Department or both have misled me." (Los Angeles Times, 10/13/92). EXPORTS RHETORIC: "We've had tough economic times -- but been saved by exports." REALITY: Just yesterday, the U.S.-Japan trade deficit reached an all-time record -- $4.84 billion for the month of September. According to Joseph Gorman, chairman of TRW and the U.S-Japan Business Council, the U.S.-Japan trade deficit signifies that "We are losing our competitiveness at a fairly rapid rate, far more than most people believe." [New York Times, 10/15/92] The Council on Competitiveness, a private organization, has concluded: "Growing exports, however, have not been able to shield the U.S. economy from a second annual straight decline in living standards, the ultimate measure of U.S. performance." [Council on Competitiveness, Competitiveness Index, 1992] Under Reagan and Bush, 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] In the second quarter of this year, the trade deficit soared by 42 percent to $24.4 billion. At this rate, the trade deficit will be more than $70 billion in 1992. [Associated Press, 8/28/92] SOCIAL SECURITY RHETORIC: "I don't want to tax or touch Social Security." 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, 9/11/88] DOWNSIZE THE GOVERNMENT RHETORIC: "I've proposed a 10 percent cut...downsize the government." REALITY: Under George Bush, federal employment has increased. The government now employs more people than it did when he took office. Since FY 1989, the Executive branch has grown by 6 percent. [U.S. Budgets, FY 1991 and FY 1993] The conservative Cato Institute called Bush "the largest spender to sit in the White House in the past 30 years" -- noting Bush "increased the domestic budget more in 4 years than Carter and Reagan combined did in 12 years." [Cato Institute, 6/19/92] ENTERPRISE ZONES RHETORIC: "Our enterprise zones that we hear a lot of lip service about in Congress would bring jobs into the inner city." REALITY: In May, 1992, Bush vetoed the Tax Fairness and Economic Growth Acceleration Act, including its enterprise zone provisions, because it raised taxes on the richest 1 percent of Americans. Bush dropped enterprise zones, which are designed to spur investment in poor inner city areas from his economic recovery package to make room for a repeal of the luxury tax on yachts. [Los Angeles Times, 5/13/92; Business Week, 5/25/92] Is Bush going to veto the enterprise zone legislation now on his desk? Bill Clinton wants to create 75-125 comprehensive enterprise zones that go beyond the Republican proposals by requiring businesses that take advantage of enterprise zones to make the hiring of local residents a top priority. HIGHWAY BILL RHETORIC: "We passed the most furthest [sic] looking transportation bill in the history of this country since Eisenhower started the interstate highways -- $150 billion for improving the infrastructure. That happened when I was president." REALITY: The bill was passed, but George Bush has refused to allocate the funds that Congress has appropriated for it. Bush's FY 1993 budget underfunds the 1991 highway bill by $15 billion over the next five years. [Review and Analysis of President Bush's 1993 Budget, Senate Budget Committee, 1/31/92] COLLEGE EDUCATION RHETORIC: "Federal funding for education is up substantially -- Pell grants are up." REALITY: In his FY92 budget, Bush proposed cutting Pell grants for 400,000 students from families with incomes over $20,000. Later, Bush proposed cutting Pell Grants for students from families making over $10,000 per year. [Chicago Tribune, 2/21/91; New York Times, 5/27/91; U.S. House Budget Committee, 2/92] -- 30 --