DECISION ‘92: SPECIAL VOTER’S GUIDE TO THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION : THEIR PROMISES: Excerpts from the candidate’s basic stump speeches, a look at what they vow to do for the nation : PEROT:

Unless we take action now, our nation may confront a situation similar to the Great Depression--and maybe even worse. Our economic growth has been sluggish for nearly two decades. The unemployment numbers remain depressing, while the Federal Reserve worries about inflation.

The institutions we depend on to preserve our financial security are shaky. If they fail, millions of people will be devastated. . . .

Our economy is perched on the edge of a cliff. Either we work together to climb back to safety, or we must brace ourselves for potential disaster. . . .

In June, 117,000 more Americans were thrown out of work. . . . In July, eight companies announced they were shedding 23,000 jobs. Those were just the announced layoffs.

The federal debt is now $4 trillion. . . . Our political leaders will add over $330 billion to that debt in 1992 alone. . . .

Today all the income taxes collected from the states west of the Mississippi go to pay the interest on that debt. . . .

Interest doesn’t buy a thing. It doesn’t spur new business to give people jobs. It doesn’t help people out of poverty. It doesn’t maintain our highways. It doesn’t protect our forests and national parks. It doesn’t put more police on the streets. It doesn’t restore our inner cities. It doesn’t defend us. It will never build a classroom or fund research to fight disease. . . .

Suppose the American people demanded radical action tomorrow to eliminate just this year’s addition to the debt. . . . Here are some radical but unrealistic choices to show just how big the deficit is:

- Shut down the Defense Department. Abolish the entire Army, Navy and Air Force. That wouldn’t be enough to erase $330 billion of new debt.

- Shut down all the public schools nationwide. That would get us $330 billion.

- Seize the profits of all the Fortune 500 companies. That doesn’t get us even half of what we need.

- Confiscate the wealth of the Forbes 400, the richest people in the nation. That wouldn’t do it either.

- Now for the worst option: Raise everyone’s taxes. How much would we have to raise income taxes on every person in the United States just to eliminate this year’s deficit? We’d have to almost double them! . . .

REFORMING POLITICS

Before we can hope to eliminate our deficit, we have to overhaul the political system that created it. . . .

It’s not just a matter of bringing in new people. . . . Take any good, decent citizen and put him in a limousine, hold the red lights for him, give him a private jet for personal use, supply him with free tickets to anyplace he wants to go, and he’ll lose touch with reality in a hurry. . . .

- Restrict campaign contributions to $1,000--period. No more “soft money” contributions of up to $100,000 from corporate interests, labor unions and rich people. . . .

- Curb political action committees. In 1974 PACs contributed nearly $13 million to congressional candidates. . . . In 1990, PACs contributed over $150 million, an elevenfold jump. Who are we trying to kid here? We know what they’re out to buy. . . .

- Change the way we hold elections. First, shorten the campaign season. Five months is long enough for anyone to make a case. Hold elections on both Saturday and Sunday so working people can go to the polls. Release no information until all polls are closed. Since the airwaves belong to the public, require equal free time for candidates for federal office. . . .

- Eliminate the Electoral College. . . .

CLEAN UP THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

- Move immediately to sell off the 111 civilian aircraft maintained for discretionary use by federal government executives. . . .

- Eliminate the 89th wing of the Air Force. It exists solely to transport top officials around the country. . . . The vice president doesn’t need an Air Force jet to go play golf. . . .

- Have the Cabinet members spend most of their time outside Washington answering tough questions and solving real problems. What good can the secretary of education do behind a desk while our schools

are falling apart? . . .

Drastically cut the White House and executive branch staffs.

CONGRESS Slash the current $2.8-billion budget that supports Congress, its agencies, gymnasiums, staffs, barber shops, free mail and all the other perks that have been built up over the years. Cut congressional staffs by 30% and other perks by 40%. . . .

Reform the retirement system. Up to 93 members of Congress are eligible for lifetime pension benefits exceeding $2 million apiece. . . .

Turn in excess campaign funds to the Treasury. . . .

PAYING OUR WAY For a decade the U.S. economy has been pulled and tugged from two different directions. Republicans in the White House pushed for lower taxes on the rich in the hope that their increased incomes would trickle down to the rest of the nation. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress pushed for tax and spend policies that would take more money out of all our pockets and put it into big government programs. The result is that nothing trickled down, we all got taxed and government spending skyrocketed. . . .

As a nation, we have to make some hard choices that involve setting our priorities. . . .

Require the federal departments to submit budgets that cut 15% from their discretionary budgets. . . .

Enact the line-item veto. . . .

Enact a real deficit reduction law. . . . Cut the defense budget to meet its mission. Nothing is more important than the security of our country. In the post-Cold War world, however, our well-being depends less on military security than on economic security. . . .

We can save at least an additional $40 billion during the five years over the cuts proposed by President Bush.

Under current law, the federal government allows homeowners to deduct from their income taxes interest on mortgages up to $1 million. . . . The average mortgage in the United States is $104,000. I propose that we limit deductions on interest to mortgages of $250,000 and that we eliminate the special deduction for vacation homes.

Another subsidy for the rich is the exemption from taxes on expensive employer-paid health insurance. These plans support the rich and encourage excessive health costs. They should be taxed as additional income. . . .

In addition, we should raise the marginal tax rate on the wealthy from 31% to 33%. In 1993, this change would affect individuals who make over $55,550 and joint filers who make over a total of $89,250. . . .

ENTITLEMENTS Our biggest problem is entitlement programs. These include Social Security, government retirement, Medicare and Medicaid. They now consume 50% of the federal budget. . . .

First, those who can afford it should pay more to support the program. Better-off Americans stop paying Medicare taxes on income over $130,000 a year. We should lift that cap. . . .

All retirees who can afford it should pay taxes on their Social Security benefits. . . . Now those elderly who make over $25,000 per year as individuals or $32,000 filing jointly pay taxes on 50% of their benefits. Taxing an additional 35% of the benefits . . . will affect only 18% of retirees but will raise $30 billion over five years.

In addition, retirees from federal government service, military and civilian, would have their cost of living increases reduced by one-third over the next five years. . . .

The biggest savings we can achieve in our entitlement programs is through a reform of our entire health care system . . . for a savings of over $141 billion over five years. . . .

RAISE TAXES We need to increase tobacco taxes. . . .

Also I will propose a 10-cent increase in the gasoline tax for each of the next five years. . . .

Get our allies to share the burden. For 45 years we have defended Japan and Germany. . . . Asia and Europe should pay $100 billion toward their own defense. . . .

Can we repair the damage to our economy, permanently cut the size of government, protect the programs so necessary to our people and rid our children of this massive load of debt?

Yes.

By taking (the measures outlined in the book) . . . we can save $754 billion over five years. In the fifth year we will have a budget surplus of $10 billion. . . .

Individually, you have no voice. Together, we can change the world. . . .