George W. Bush in The Economist


On Abortion: No tax money for abortion, but no Pro-Life Amendment either

Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" special Sep 30, 2000

On Civil Rights: Guaranteed TX college racial preference for top 10% of class

Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" special Sep 30, 2000

On Education: Allow "charter states" as well as charter schools

Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" Sep 30, 2000

On Environment: Replace mandate/regulate/litigate with decentralized efforts

Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" special Sep 30, 2000

On Foreign Policy: Less intervention abroad and unilateral nuclear cuts at home

Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" Sep 30, 2000

On Free Trade: Don't link trade to environment and labor

Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" Sep 30, 2000

On Government Reform: Ban some soft money; fewer restrictions on individuals

Bush has no interest in changing campaign finance rules. He has raised a record amount of money, more than $100M (though only a small part of that is "soft" money, $83M of it coming from individual donations). He also accepted $500,000 in the 1999 Texas legislative session from polluters he had exempted from mandatory cleanup rules. But he, like Gore, has responded to McCain's challenge by devising a reform plan. It would:
  • Ban soft money from unions and corporations, but not from individuals
  • Raise the limit on individual donations from $1,000 to $3,400 in each election
  • Introduce "paycheck protection", by which union members would have to give approval for their dues to be spent on political activities
  • Introduce weekly Internet disclosure of all contributions
  • Reformers say the soft-money ban is undermined by the exemption for individuals. They detect (not surprisingly) an anti-union bias. And they know his heart is not in it.
    Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" special Sep 30, 2000

    On Gun Control: Restrict lawsuits against gun makers

    Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" special Sep 30, 2000

    On Health Care: Cover 3 million uninsured at a 10-year cost of $135 billion

    Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" Sep 30, 2000

    On Principles & Values: Bush's centrism: free trade; private IRAs; no new taxes

    Bush is, broadly speaking, a centrist. Some important distinctions are that Bush believes in keeping government in check; Bush is an unabashed free trader; and Bush has pledged not to raise taxes. Bush may be willing to privatize Social Security by introducing individual retirement accounts but he may well succumb instead to an across-the-board tax cut.
    Source: The Economist, p. 13 Jul 3, 1999

    On Social Security: Prohibit govt investment in the stock market, private OK

    Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" Sep 30, 2000

    On Tax Reform: More child & charity deductions in $1.3T tax cut

    Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000 Special Briefing" Sep 30, 2000

    On Technology: Matches Gore on R&D aid, more visas, no Internet tax

    ul>The new wired world brings out few differences between the candidates. Both have done plenty of pandering to the high-tech industry. Both candidates:
  • favor minimal regulation of Internet content, and tax credits for research and development
  • upport pro-business rules for high-tech exports
  • support a bill that would double the number of skilled worker visas.
  • Bush does not share Gore's push for porn filtering nor for an electronic bill of rights.
    Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" special Sep 30, 2000

    On Welfare & Poverty: Devolve welfare to both state and private charities

    Source: The Economist, "Issues 2000" special Sep 30, 2000

    The above quotations are from Columns and news articles in The Economist magazine.
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    Page last updated: Sep 29, 2024