After watching the final debate and reading a letter to the editor in Wednesday’s State News in favor of Vice President Al Gore (“Bush will increase the national debt,” SN 10/18), I feel compelled to give some facts that I picked up on. Gore has said over and over how he is going to fight HMOs and insurance companies, and how he is in favor of a universal health care system.
During the debate he said the nation should move toward universal health coverage, but the government should not do all of it. Well then who’s going to do it? If the government doesn’t do all of it and the insurance companies need to be fought against, who’s going to do the rest? Is it just going to come together on its own and maintain itself on its own?
Gore also claims that his tax cuts do not leave anyone out. Well I’m here to say that they leave me out. If you listened to his response to a question on tax cuts during the final debate, you would have heard him say that if you invest your money this way, or if you put your money here, then you’ll get tax relief. What about the people like myself who don’t have the money to invest? I will not see any of the tax relief because I do not already have money to invest. Yes I’m in school now, but by the time Gore’s college tax cuts go into effect I won’t be.
When I’m done with school it’ll take awhile before I’m caught up on all my bills and can invest. I’m left out. Bush wants to give everyone who pays taxes relief. That I would benefit from. Now, there is that little matter of character. Gore said the pharmaceutical companies spend more on advertising than on research. It was pointed out on the Fox News Channel’s post-debate coverage that in 1998 pharmaceutical companies spent some four times as much on research as they did on advertising. Looks like Gore is back to lying again. Gore also asked Bush three direct questions during the final debate. This was a violation of rules that both candidates agreed on. Either Gore believes rules do not apply to him or he is ignorant to the rules to which he agreed upon. Either way these are not qualities I want in a president.
Bryant Miller
chemical engineering senior
