Investor’s Business Daily, September 7, 2000

Conventional wisdom going into the political conventions held that there wasn’t a lot of ground dividing Vice President Gore’s New Democratism from Governor Bush’s Compassionate Convservatism. Now that the curtains on both shows have come down, Americans know this isn’t the case. Gore traded in New Democratism for populism in Los Angeles. Bush gave some form to his Compassionate Conservatism in Philadelphia.

That Americans need government to assist them in their daily lives was a theme that ran throughout the Democratic convention. In fact, government is not the problem, but the answer to the dreams of Americans, if Gore is to be believed. Said Gore, in a good statement of his governing philosophy, “[This election] is about millions of Americans whose names we may never know, but whose needs and dreams must always be our calling.”

Bush proposes to adjust public policy to rely more on the private sector and expand individual choice. He sees government as a facilitator, a provider of opportunity, not a provider of goods. “And we will extend the promise of prosperity to every forgotten corner of America” said Bush in a revealing riff. “To every man and woman, a chance to succeed; to every child, a chance to learn; and to every family, a chance to live in dignity and hope.”

Consider education. “As president, I will stand with you for a goal we all share,” Gore said early in his speech. “To give more power back to the parents to choose what your own children are exposed to, so you can pass on your family’s basic lessons of responsibility and decency.” Pretty strong stuff, considering the hall was filled with National Education Association members. But then he wasn’t talking about choice where it may in fact matter most for parents, in education. He made this clear when he decried vouchers for private schools. Gore wants to spend more federal money on K-12 education.

Bush too wants to spend more federal money on education. But Bush would give students stuck in schools that don’t measure up, a choice of taking the federal money and going elsewhere. “When a school district receives federal funds to teach poor children, we expect them to learn,” Bush told the Republican convention. “And if they don’t, parents should get the money to make a different choice.”

Or consider health care. Gore bashes managed care and pharmaceutical companies and calls for more government regulation. Said Gore, “It’s time to take the medical decisions away from the HMOs and insurance companies and give them back to the doctors and the nurses and the health care professionals.” Interestingly, Gore would give power back to health care professionals by empowering trial lawyers to sue and bureaucrats to regulate the managed care companies.

Bush sees the solution lying in expanded choice. He proposes expanding Medical Savings Accounts and tax credits. “We will give low-income Americans tax credits to buy the private health insurance they need and deserve,” said Bush.

Then there’s Social Security. Neither candidate will tinker with the benefits current seniors receive. But looking forward, Bush wants to create an investment-based option for younger workers. “For younger workers,” said Bush, “we will give you the option, your choice, to put part of your payroll taxes into sound, responsible investments.” Gore, who refuses to give young Americans the option of investing a portion of their current payroll taxes, dimisses this as “Social Security minus.” Gore would force Americans to dedicate more of their earnings to Social Security, if they want private investment.

Perhaps no issue better distinguishes the candidates’ approaches than that of the budget surplus. Bush wants to return a portion of it—$483 billion over the next five years-to the people who earned it, in the form of tax cuts. He would reduce everyone’s tax rates, by starting at the bottom, lopping the 15 percent bracket to10 percent. Gore calls this a risky scheme. He wants to spend most of the surplus on more government. “I'll fight for tax cuts for the right people, to the working families who have the toughest time paying taxes and saving for the future,” Gore declared at the Democratic National Convention, (DNC).

President Clinton told the DNC on its opening night that Americans must now choose and choose wisely. Fortunately, voters have many points on which to do so.

Sally Pipes is the President and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, a California-based think tank. She can be reached via email at spipes@pacificresearch.org.