In Gore Speech, Bush Finally Warrants a Mention

Uttering his rival’s name for the first time in almost a month, Vice President Al Gore took on Republican George W. Bush’s proposal to privatize part of Social Security, saying Wednesday that it would shorten the life of the trust fund and cut benefits to seniors.

Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential candidate said that his “retirement savings plus” plan would boost the savings of working families and extend the solvency of the entitlement program.

“There’s a big choice in the election and a big decision to make, because Gov. Bush has proposed a plan that’s very different,” Gore said during a visit at a carpenters’ union center in Des Moines.

His comparison between the two plans was the first time he has publicly mentioned the Republican by name since May 26. But after weeks in which Gore has maintained a sunny tone, focusing on family issues and the working class, Gore still refrained from sharply attacking Bush, his criticism amounting to a mild warning.

Speaking to about 100 people in the union’s apprenticeship training center, the air was heavy with the smell of fresh paint and sawdust, Gore explained the details of his savings plan, pointing to large graphs explaining how much money families would save.

Later, Gore played talk show host, pulling people out of the audience to explain how the extra funds would ease their financial pressures.

Under his proposal, the government would provide a matching refundable tax credit, based on income, to working- and middle-class people who voluntarily save at least $500 a year.

“One of the big differences in this election is that my savings plan does not come at the expense of Social Security,” said Gore, who spent about five minutes gently jabbing at the Texas governor’s plan. Bush has proposed letting Americans invest part of their Social Security payroll taxes in private retirement accounts.

Under his plan, the vice president said, people would have a nest egg they could use to help buy a house or send their children to college.

“When they hit the rough spots, when they meet one of the challenges in life, they’re able to help their family over the hurdle,” he said. “That’s what this is intended to do: to give options to families that are not wealthy.”

The friendly audience, a large number of them carpenters, applauded loudly, rising to their feet.

“This is going to give people an opportunity for $500,” said Keith McKinney, 56, a corn and soybean farmer. “My goodness, most people can surely scrape up that $500 and turn that into another $1,500. You do that for a lot of years and it ends up being quite a pile of money.”

On Wednesday, Gore also announced a plan to help small businesses and family farmers cope with estate taxes.

The vice president said that by raising the maximum tax exemption for such businesses and farmers from $2.6 million to $5 million, his plan would eliminate estate taxes for more than 90% of family farms and 70% of small businesses.

Congressional Republicans support eliminating the estate tax, an option Gore said would inordinately benefit the wealthy.

“Instead of making it easier to pass on the family farm, they want to give away the store to those who already own the shopping center,” he said.

The Internal Revenue Service has estimated that about 2% of Americans pay estate taxes, the Gore campaign said.