Mitt Romney in The Boston Globe
On Health Care:
On choosing providers: "I like being able to fire people"
Mitt Romney today touted his early "entry level" job trying to work his way up. But it was a comment he made in the final minutes--"I like being able to fire people"--that is sure to provide further ammunition for his opponents to cast him as a wealthy,
out-of-touch executive. Romney made the comment while touting a health care approach that would allow people to purchase their own insurance, which Romney said would give the companies an incentive to keep their customers happy and healthy.
"It
also means that if you don't like what they do, you can fire them," Romney said. "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. If someone doesn't give me the good service I need, I want to say, you know, I'm going to go get someone else
to provide that service to me."
Romney commented that he feared several times getting a "pink slip," though he and his campaign did not describe when the multimillionaire venture and equity investor ever worried about being dismissed from a job.
Source: Boston Globe, Matt Viser
On Welfare & Poverty:
Faith-based programs to provide social services
Governor Mitt Romney has created a special office to help faith-based groups in Massachusetts land more federal money, and he appointed his wife, Ann, to lead it. Romney endorsed faith-based programs yesterday as a means to provide social services and
said he wanted to step up the state's efforts to help religious groups and charities attract federal help.Critics of the faith-based effort warn that Romney's move bolsters President Bush's attempt to get more federal dollars to religious
organizations carrying out social services, a policy they say is eroding the traditional division between church and state. ''The Bush administration is trying to break down the church-state wall and give public money to the churches without the
legal safeguards that ought to be in place," said one critic.
Faith-based organizations apply directly for the federal grants, but Romney said the state can assist groups in the application process.
Source: By Frank Phillips, Boston Globe, "Faith-Based"
Jun 29, 2005
On Abortion:
Endorsed legalization of RU-486
- Favored basic Roe v. Wade abortion rights, though would not endorse a specific version of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would codify those court-established rights as federal law
-
Said he would leave the matter of Medicaid funding for abortion to individual states
- Endorsed legalization of RU-486, the abortion-inducing drug.
Source: Boston Globe, review of 1994 campaign issues
Mar 21, 2002
On Crime:
Favored mandatory sentencing and three strikes
- Supported death penalty
- Wanted to abolish parole, limit probation, and end furloughs and release programs for violent or repeat offenders
-
Favored mandatory sentencing and three strikes and you’re out
- Supported restrictions on plea bargaining
- His crime prevention efforts also focused on instilling family values.
Source: Boston Globe, review of 1994 campaign issues
Mar 21, 2002
On Education:
Supported abolishing the federal Department of Education
- Supported abolishing the federal Department of Education
- Favored keeping control of educational reform at the lowest level, closest to parents, teachers, and the community
-
Pledged to vote to establish a means-tested school voucher program to allow students to attend the public or private school of their choice.
Source: Boston Globe, review of 1994 campaign issues
Mar 21, 2002
On Education:
Supported means-tested vouchers for public & private schools
- Pledged to vote to establish a means-tested school voucher program to allow students to attend the public or private school of their choice.
- Supported abolishing the federal Department of Education
-
Favored keeping control of educational reform at the lowest level, closest to parents, teachers, and the community
Source: Boston Globe, review of 1994 campaign issues
Mar 21, 2002
On Government Reform:
Balanced budget amendment and line-item veto
- Opposed tax increases and new payroll taxes
- Supported balanced budget amendment and line-item veto
-
Suggested savings could be made through cutbacks in the federal work force, reforms in the Medicaid system, and cuts in farm subsidies.
Source: Boston Globe, review of 1994 campaign issues
Mar 21, 2002
On Health Care:
Subsidies for health coverage for low-income individuals
Opposed requiring employers to contribute to cost of health care plans for their employees, preferring subsidies for health coverage for low-income individuals and providing tax
incentives to individuals, including the unemployed and the self-employed, for the purchase of health insurance
Source: Boston Globe, review of 1994 campaign issues
Mar 21, 2002
On Health Care:
Voluntary purchasing pools
- Favored creating voluntary purchasing pools through which small businesses and individuals could buy insurance
-
Pledged to cut health care costs through market-based reforms such as providing information on the price and quality of health care services to consumers.
Source: Boston Globe, review of 1994 campaign issues
Mar 21, 2002
On Jobs:
Tax incentives for employee training
- Stressed his business expertise in crafting policy
- Pledged to create jobs by cutting the federal deficit, streamlining government training programs, and reducing regulations
-
Supported tax incentives to encourage employers to provide employee training, and submitting federal legislation to a job impact study
- Supported tax incentives to encourage businesses to create jobs.
Source: Boston Globe, review of 1994 campaign issues
Mar 21, 2002
Page last updated: Oct 11, 2020