Gore Says Bush Tax Plan Sidesteps Social Needs

With his running mate at his side, Vice President Al Gore took another political scalpel to the issue of health care Wednesday and chastised his opponent’s proposed use of the federal budget surplus for tax cuts rather than for meeting the nation’s social needs.

On a day set aside to highlight the problems of Medicare, Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee, and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman instead spent more than an hour at a downtown campus meandering through myriad health care issues with local residents, from Medicare’s shortfall in treating one woman for a stroke to the need for diabetes research.

Recording it all was a film crew seeking material for Gore campaign commercials. The audience of about 200 people presented a sympathetic backdrop in a Portland State University meeting room that was turned into a talk show-like stage set.

The theme woven throughout the program: that Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican presidential nominee, would send the excess money in the federal budget back to the wealthiest taxpayers while Gore would devote the surplus to shoring up programs for health and other issues.

“The other side has placed its top priority on taking virtually all of this projected surplus and giving it in the form of a giant tax cut mainly to the wealthy,” Gore said. “For every $10 that the wealthiest 1% would receive, middle class families would get one dime, lower income families would get one penny.

“And their theory is, that’s going to be good for the country,” he continued. “And they say it’s your money. Well, it is your money. But it’s your Medicare. It’s your Social Security. It’s your environment. It’s your school system. It’s your country. And we need to make choices to build up your country.”

That was about as much punch as Gore brought to the day. He was largely out of public view, save for the town hall-style meeting.

The Gore campaign has set the week aside for a day-by-day dissection of the differences between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on health care--from insurance coverage to the needs of children, the problems of the elderly paying for prescription drugs, the choices required in meeting the baby boom generation’s demands on Medicare and, today, the rights of patients in dealing with health maintenance organizations.

Once expected to run out of money in 1999, the Medicare Trust Fund is now considered to be solvent until 2025 as a result of changes made in the last seven years. It is operating with a projected surplus of $400 billion. The vice president reiterated his often-stated pledge to save that money for future Medicare costs by putting it in a “lockbox” with a sign saying “politicians: hands off.”

The number of Medicare beneficiaries is likely to double--to 80 million--over the next 30 years, he said.

“That means we, in this election, have to take responsibility for adjusting Medicare, strengthening Medicare, putting new resources into Medicare in order to prepare for these challenges,” the vice president said.

Bush has not spelled out a detailed plan for shoring up Medicare. But he has looked to a restructuring proposal advanced by a bipartisan commission that would raise the eligibility age to 67 from 65. It would increase premium payments by as much as 47% for traditional fee-for-service coverage, a course Gore says would encourage its beneficiaries to reluctantly turn to HMOs for their medical care.

Looking ahead to the demands that his generation will put on Medicare, Gore called for putting additional money into teaching hospitals, rural hospitals, nursing homes, home health care agencies and rehabilitative programs.

“We have to make these choices,” he said. “Until the baby boom generation retires, the surplus in Medicare is going to seem to grow. But it needs to be protected.”

He continued:

“Let’s remove the temptation to raid the cookie jar, and keep it for when it’s going to be needed. We will make sure Medicare is financially secure and sound for another 30 years. Our opponents do not.”