Question

Excerpt from Bill Clinton’s Remarks in the October 11, 1992, Presidential Debate

Governor Clinton: My plan, notwithstanding my opponent's ad, my plan triggers in at gross incomes, family incomes of $200,000 and above. And then we want to give modest middle-class tax relief to restore some fairness, especially to middle-class people with families with incomes of under $60,000.

In addition to that, the money that I raise from upper income people and from asking foreign corporations just to pay the same income on their income earned in America that American corporations do will be used to give incentives back to upper income people. I want to give people permanent incentives on investment tax credit like President Kennedy and the Congress inaugurated in the early sixties to get industry moving again; a research and development tax credit; a low-income housing tax credit; a long-term capital gains proposal for new business and business expansions.

We've got to have no more trickle-down. We don't need across-the-board tax cuts for the wealthy for nothing; we need to say, here's your tax incentive if you create American jobs the old-fashioned way.



Use the excerpt to answer the question.

Based on Bill Clinton’s remarks during the 1992 presidential candidates’ debate and your knowledge of the election, how did Clinton’s economic proposal compare to the ideas of George H. W. Bush and Ross Perot?

Answer 1

While Bill Clinton’s remarks during the 1992 presidential candidates’ debate supported focusing on triggering gross incomes and providing tax relief and incentives to middle-class families under $60,000. He also makes claims that he wishes to take the money raised from “upper income people” and foreign corporations and use it to give permanent incentives on investment tax credit. Clinton unfortunately seems bent on repeating Bush's past mistakes with his plan. For example, if higher taxes and federal spending were the way to ensure economic growth, the economy would already be booming. However, George H. W. Bush’s plan carried the ideals of no new taxes, a capital gains tax cut, and empowering taxpayers to earmark ten percent of their tax payments for deficit reduction. Bush was also a strong negotiator for the North American Free Trade Area which helped to open markets and jobs for Americans. While Bush’s economic plan may have given the economy a better chance of growing than the major proposals of Clinton and Perot, his lack of following through proved worrying. In the past, Bush put forward proposals regarding tax relief for families but later dropped these plans during his presidency. Perot however did not advocate policies that would return economic decisions and instead focused on actions to eliminate the federal budget deficit. He promoted spending cuts and tax hikes. While many of Perot's spending cuts seem economically and politically feasible, they aren’t very realistic. His proposed tax hikes would plunge the economy into an even deeper recession.

Answer 2

Based on the excerpt from Bill Clinton's remarks during the 1992 presidential candidates' debate, Clinton's economic proposal appears to focus on providing tax relief and incentives for middle-class families with incomes under $60,000, as well as upper-income individuals who create American jobs. He mentions using money raised from upper-income people and foreign corporations to give incentives back to upper-income people through investment tax credits, research and development tax credits, low-income housing tax credits, and long-term capital gains proposals for new business and business expansions. Clinton also emphasizes the need to move away from trickle-down economics and instead provide targeted incentives for job creation.

In comparison, George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot's ideas regarding economic proposals are not explicitly mentioned in the given excerpt. Therefore, further information would be needed to directly compare Clinton's economic proposal with those of Bush and Perot during the 1992 presidential election. It's important to note that the excerpt provided represents only a small portion of Clinton's remarks and does not provide a comprehensive overview of his entire economic proposal or a direct comparison with the ideas of his opponents.

Step-by-step explanation: