From: aschaffe@holodeck.csd.sgi.com (Allan Schaffer)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.politics.perot,alt.politics.elections
Subject: Re: If you don't want Perot:  Bend over to the Republocrats.
Date: 1 Oct 1992 01:30:38 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: holodeck.csd.sgi.com

gl1@cec2.wustl.edu (Greg Lyon) said..
>falknemj@cnsvax.uwec.edu writes:
>>		FOR ALL THOSE WHO WANT PEROT TO SHUT UP...
>>
>> You may not like him, but when you get right down to it, he may be the only
>>true choice for change you have.  With a Dem. total win in November imminent,
>>just remember what Clinton is asking for, because he'll get it with no 
>>problem. 
>
>   I will admit that many of Perot's economic ideas make sense and are
>needed to solve the problems that we have with the deficits and debt.
>
>   The problem I have with Ross Perot is not with his ideas, it is with him
>the man.  This country cannot afford to have as a President :
>
>	- a person who dropped out of the Presidential race because he
>		didn't think he could win.
>	- a person who has an ego the size of the state he is from.
>	- a person who as a business man got rich from government contracts,
>		individualized tax breaks and the like.
>	- a person who cannot identify with people unlike himself 
>		(eg. his "you people" comments in July).
>
>   I'm sure there are more points which could be added to this list, and I
>invite others to contribute.

I think that much more significant than any of Perot's "character" issues,
is the simple problem of his lack of a political constituency.  I support
Perot's proposals, but let's face it -- they would never make it through 
congress.  

Congresscritters would be voted right out of office if they:

  - added a (cumulative) 10-cent per year gas tax for 5 years
  - eliminated farm subsidies
  - limited deductions on interest from mortgages
  - taxed employees as income for the value of their health care
  - increased medicare user's share-of-the-bill from 25% to 35% of cost
  - made retirees pay taxes on Social Security benefits
  - reduced cost-of-living increases by one-third for retired
    federal government workers (including military)

..etc.  And they know it, and the PAC's for each one of those
"interests" know it, so they'll never do it.

All of the above are proposed by Perot in his book, "United We Stand."
NOTE that I'm not criticizing the proposals themselves.  I agree with
several of them.  My point is that they'd never make it through a 
cover-my-ass congress, and we'd be left with fingerpointing for the 
next four years.

It's critical that many things in this country change during the next
four years.  In My Opinion, only Bill Clinton has the congressional 
backing necessary to actually get some changes pushed through.

Allan
ps.. In the time it takes you to read this sentence, the federal deficit 
     will have increased by approximately forty thousand dollars.
-- 
Allan Schaffer                                       Notice 
aschaffe@holodeck.csd.sgi.com       Due to budgetary constraints the light at 
aschaffe@netcom.com                 the end of the tunnel is being turned off.
For a free copy of Bill Clinton's economic recovery plan, call 1-800-272-9763.