To the Editor:
President George W. Bush said at the third debate “I want to remind people listening tonight that a plan is not a litany of complaints.”
That is particularly true when the complaints are not true. Just a few examples:
John Kerry’s misrepresentation about the possibility of a draft under President Bush should be of concern to students. In addition to the fact that the latest draft legislation was sponsored by Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel, and the fact that the current selective service registration policy for males was instituted by Democratic President Jimmy Carter, Kerry proposed in the third debate to add two active duty divisions and to double the number of Special Forces. Kerry did not explain where his increases would come from. President Bush has made no such proposals. He and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have in fact stated there are no plans to reinstitute the draft. Additionally, the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness issued a report in January 2003 describing the advantages of volunteer versus conscripted forces.
Kerry claimed in the third debate that Pell grants had been cut. According to Department of Education figures referenced by http://www.factcheck.org, 1.3 million more students have received grants in the most recent academic year than the last year before Bush and there has been a 60 percent increase (from just under $8 billion to almost $12.7 billion) in funding over that period. The President’s plan also includes $33 million in expanded Pell grants for low income students who have taken rigorous programs in high school.
Kerry stated in the third debate that “Children across our country don’t have health care.” On the surface, for some children, that’s true. What Kerry neglected to mention is that according the U.S. Census, the percentage of children without health care is the lowest since it has been recorded, down significantly from the peak in 1998.
Kerry’s claim in the second debate that 1.6 million jobs have been lost is inaccurate in several ways. First, he is only counting private sector jobs. If all jobs are counted 585,000 thousand have been lost, according to factcheck.org. Additionally, if you look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, there are actually more people working now than at the start of President Bush’s term. In January of 2001 total employment was 136 million, while it is currently at 139.5 million. It’s true that the labor pool has risen faster, but if you are a new person coming into the labor pool who had no job, it’s difficult to say that you are out of work because you lost your job.
Under President Bush, inflation and mortgage rates are low, productivity has grown at the fastest three year rate in over fifty years, home ownership is at a record high level, and unemployment is below the average rate for any of the last three decades. Part of the recovery in employment (almost two million more jobs in the last 13 months) is due to tax cuts proposed by President Bush. So in addition to letting people keep more of what they earn, this policy of tax cuts has stimulated the economy and led to job growth.
In terms of homeland security, this quote is from the executive summary of the 9/11 Commission Report – “Because of offensive actions against al Qaeda since 9/11, and defensive actions to improve homeland security, we believe we are safer today. But we are not safe.” Because of action taken by President Bush, the U.S. is safer.
Graduate Senator Wally Morris urged students to vote in a piece in last week’s Poly. I second that, but also add you should work to become an informed voter. It’s pretty easy to investigate claims made by either side to see the truthfulness contained. I have found Kerry’s complaints to be lacking in either substance or accuracy, his Senate record to be sorely lacking (see this link: http://www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/politics/kerry_bills.cfm which details how many of his sponsored pieces were either ceremonial in nature or not passed), and upon investigation his repeated “I have a plan for…” statements are found to be misguided in many instances and unlikely to succeed as described in most others.
I’m voting to re-elect President Bush and urge others to do the same.
Jim Burnes
DSES Grad
