Ever since the 1992 Clinton campaign derided the intelligence of anyone who dismissed the economy as an issue, no would-be President has dared ignore U.S. voters' concerns about their pocketbooks and wallets, and they're certainly paying lots of attention to the issue this year. With employment still down over the past three years despite the economic recovery of the last several quarters, Democrats see economic issues as vulnerable points for President Bush. Of course, if the economy continues to recover, it may turn into a strong point for Bush by the time the November elections roll round.
To some extent, all candidates' views on the economy are informed by ideology as much as actual economic conditions. Every Republican presidential nominee for the past 24 years has espoused supply-side politics, which typically revolve around promises of tax cuts and free trade. Democratic nominees veer a bit more, but this time Kerry and Edwards basically embrace the same ideas that Bill Clinton originally promised: targeted tax cuts for the lower- and middle-class while keeping rates higher for the wealthiest taxpayers, and better enforcement of trade agreements.
In considering the positions charted below, it's worth noting that both Clinton and his predecessor broke their centerpiece economic promises: Clinton never did get around to that middle class tax cut, and the current President's father couldn't stick to his infamous pledge to tax-hating lip readers.
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George W. Bush
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John Edwards
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John Kerry
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| Investing |
Cut dividend taxes. Give workers who have participated in 401(k) plans for three years the ability to choose where to invest retirement savings. Voluntarily invest a portion of Social Security taxes in personal retirement accounts. Make sure workers can sell company stock and diversify into other investment options, minimizing their risk. |
Require expensing of options. Let shareholders nominate board members more easily. Require pension plans to disclose their proxy votes. Limit IPO distributions to company insiders and their families. Exempt $1,000 in capital gains and $500 in dividends annually from taxes. Lower the long-term capital gains tax rate for families deemed middle class. Set the top rate on capital gains at 25 percent for people earning more than $300,000. |
Use racketeering laws to prosecute Wall Street insiders who engage in late-trading and market-timing abuses with mutual funds. "Strong" funding and support for the SEC. |
| Taxes and fiscal policy |
Rather than letting them expire, make tax cuts passed in recent years permanent, including income tax cuts, child tax credits, elimination of death taxes and small business tax incentives. |
Offer tax credits for first-time homes and savings. Repeal portions of the recent tax cuts, including those for people earning $200,000 or more. Retain the inheritence tax on very large estates. Crackdown on corporate tax abuses and loopholes. |
Keep certain elements of the recent tax cuts, including the child tax credits, the reduction of the marriage penalty on income taxes and the expansion of the 10 percent bracket. Repeal tax cuts for those earning $200,000 or more. |
| Offshoring |
Provide funds for job retraining and other forms of education for unemployed workers. Rely on America's relatively open capital markets to continue to attract foreign investment. Back away from Greg Mankiw's benign view of offshoring. |
Require corporations to publicly disclose any movement of U.S. jobs overseas and make note of wages and working conditions in the new area. Establish an Office for Corporate Responsibility to encourage companies to keep jobs in the United States. Cut taxes by 10 percent for U.S. manufacturers who create U.S. jobs. Eliminate tax incentives that reward offshoring.
| Refund payroll taxes for two years for any new employees hired at a manufacturing company. Remove tax incentives for moving jobs offshore. Double funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership for small and mid-size manufacturers. |
| Trade |
Has continued to publicly promote the concept free trade while continuing certain protectionist policies, such as farm subsidies, while dropping others, such as steel tariffs, in the face of opposition from the World Trade Organization. |
Negotiate trade agreements that are "fair and enforceable" with labor and environmental standards. Better enforce existing trade agreements. |
Use existing laws and enforcement bodies such as the WTO more aggressively against nations that violate trade agreements, manipulate currency and have relatively closed markets. Order a 120-day review of all trade agreements. New trade pacts must include high benchmarks for labor and the environment. |
| Health costs |
Lift restrictions so more people can set up tax-free medical savings accounts. Support proposals to let small businesses pool for health insurance. Health care tax credits for low- and middle-income families. Allow tax deductions for long-term health care premiums. |
Offer health insurance tax credits for low- and middle-income families. Create a program to let small businesses pool for health insurance. Let people at least 55 years old buy into Medicare. Promote government research into drug efficacy, push for changes in patent laws to crack down on new drug patents that offer only minor improvements over older designs. |
Count retiree coverage toward cost-sharing for Medicare prescription drug benefits. Create a "premium rebate" pool to give employees up to $1,000 a year for health care. Require pharmacy benefit managers to clearly delineate their pharmaceutical claims. |
| Tort reform |
Ensure unlimited compensation for "economic" losses, but limit non-economic damage awards to $250,000. Restrict conditions for punitive damages in lawsuits, and limit awards to "reasonable" amounts. Allow for payments over time, and require cases to be brought in a timely fashion, rather than years after an event. Reduce the amount that doctors must pay if a plaintiff has received other payments from an insurer to compensate for their losses. Provide that defendants pay judgments in proportion to their fault. |
Require testimony from an expert doctor to bring a medical malpractice case. Bar lawyers who file three frivolous medical malpractice cases from bringing another lawsuit for 10 years. Provide resources and incentives for medical boards to adopt "three strikes and you're out" penalties against those doctors responsible for most malpractice cases. Offer direct aid to doctors in areas faced with high insurance premiums. |
Prohibit medical malpractice cases from being brought unless a qualified specialist determines a reasonable claim exists. Requires states to make available non-binding mediation. Oppose punitive damages in medical liability cases except upon proof of intentional misconduct, gross negligence or reckless indifference to life. Reform insurance practices that raise malpractice premiums unnecessarily. |
