WHERE THE CANDIDATES STAND ON Creating Jobs

Background: When he accepted the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, George Bush vowed to create 30 million jobs over the next eight years. But the recession stunted job growth, especially in better-paying positions. The number of civilian jobs in the United States has dropped from 117,342,000 in 1989 to 116,877,000 in 1991. The debate over job creation centers on whether tax incentives are enough, or whether greater government initiative is required.

President Bush supports establishing enterprise zones, which would have less stringent environmental regulations and lower taxes to attract industry to depressed areas. He also has pressed for a reduction in the capital gains tax to encourage more start-up businesses, and lately has attacked government regulation as a drag on the private sector.

Patrick J. Buchanan says he supports enterprise zones but believes that if the idea of cutting taxes and regulation to spur investment is valid in the inner city, it should be applied to the entire nation. Buchanan would eliminate the capital gains tax for people making less than $50,000, and would cut the rate of taxes in half (to 14%) for people making more than $50,000. He would place a two-year ban on new federal regulations.

Bill Clinton advocates reducing capital gains taxes for start-up businesses sold by their original owners after at least five years; restoring the Investment Tax Credit; eliminating tax incentives to move jobs overseas; creating inner-city enterprise zones and a national network of community development banks; establishing a civilian equivalent of the defense agency that funds research into advanced technologies; and developing a strategy for converting defense contractors to civilian pursuits. Clinton also has called for accelerated government spending on infrastructure, including examining the use of a public-private corporation to fund some projects.

Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. supports creation of 10-year tax-free enterprise zones in areas with high unemployment. Brown would establish a National Conservation Corps, modeled after the one he set up in California, that would hire unemployed youth to work on environmental and conservation projects such as retrofitting buildings to make them more energy efficient. He advocates using public pension funds to invest in projects promoting growth and development in depressed areas. He would encourage employers to hire welfare recipients by allowing the employers to use the recipient’s payment to defray payroll costs. He favors plans to encourage employee ownership of companies as a way to keep industries from leaving communities.