From: fierro@uts.amdahl.com (Doug Fierro)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.elections
Subject: Perot on the issues
Keywords: Ross Perot, Contact, Media
Date: 16 Apr 92 00:12:44 GMT
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

In article <1992Apr14.192045.609@samba.oit.unc.edu> William.Brown@bbs.oit.unc.edu (William Brown) writes:
>As the information on this possiable Independant canidate is extremely scarce,
>I would like to propose that all public access media (electronic, paper, video          
>etc.) have their refeneces posted under this subject heading.
>
  No problem; here is my first revision of Perot's stance on the issues:

************************
(this is a summary of where Perot stands on some general and pertinent
issues councerning our country.  Sources have been indicated where 
possible.  Text from people other than myself are pre-pended with a
unique charater, i.e. '%'.

THE ECONOMY

%First off, his two big goals are getting the economy back on the right
%trace (producing high quality products, reducing the deficit) and 
%straightening out the budget mess in Washington. (Larry King 2/20).

GUN CONTROL

%He supports the rights of law biding people to own guns and will try to
%keep guns out of the hands of criminals. 
             (National Press Club Conference 3/18/92)

ILLEGAL DRUGS

    Solicited by the governor of Texas in 1979 to help curb illegal drug use 
in that state.  Proposed five bills that were later signed into law which
made Texas the least desirable state for illegal drug operations.

	(from the Perot Petiton Committee; (located at: Perot ftp site: 
         cco.caltech.edu; /pub/bjmccall/Perot/Perot.bio)


AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

  no word yet.


ABORTION

   He has said that he supports legal choice:

      "I think this is the woman's decision."

          (National Press Club Conference 3/18/92)


AIDS AND GAY RIGHTS:

  "It's an individual decision.  I will be making a very strong appeal to
   everyone to be responsible so that we try through personal responsibility
   to dramatically reduce the spread of AIDS and we will be working night and
   day to find a cure.  The damage in this country is serious but the damage
   around the world is incredible, particularly in some of the poor countries"

                    4/11/92 San Jose Mecury News article

DEFENSE

%He has said that we can no longer afford to pay $100 Billion to defend
%Europe and Asia (Japan).  He would ask Europe & Japan to pick up
%the bill.  (National Press Club Conference 3/18/92)

Perot, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, has always been a strong supporter of
service people.  He served four years on a destroyer and aircraft carrier,
and he received the Medal for Distinguished Public Service for his efforts
in exposing treatment of U.S. POWs in Southeast Asia, the highest civilian 
award presented by the Department of Defense.

GOVERNMENT SPENDING

%He will balance the budget.  As a businessman he is used to having to
%balance the books.  I think he understands the numbers.  Perot
%realizes that with a $400B yearly deficit and 68% of the national debt
%due within the next 5 years, that there has to be big spending cuts
%(means testing for social security).  (National Press Club Conference 3/18/92)

 Perot is for cleaning up Washington's bad spending habits: "We waste $180
billion a year- fraud and mismanagement.  That's inexcusable."
			(Larry King Live 2/20/92)

TAXES

   Favors starting over with a new tax program:

  "I would start with a blank sheet of paper and create a new tax code.
   This one has so many patches put on it by special interests, you'll never
   straighten this code out.  People who come to Washington today, my first
   advice to you is wear your safety shoes and wear a helmet because the
   lobbyists running up and down the halls trying to get one more patch on the
   inner-tube of their special interests might just kill you."

                    4/11/92 San Jose Mecury News article

WELFARE

   Wants to reform the welfare system we currently have; expose fraud:

  "The worst of all welfare systems is one that passes welfare on from one
   generation to another...We certainly want to help people who need help.
   We cannot have waste and abuse in the welfare system.  It's too expensive.
   It's not right for people to just steal the money and there's a little
   bit of that.  But we certainly do have to help people who need help."

                    4/11/92 San Jose Mecury News article


CAPITAL GAINS

Favors a reduction in the capital gains tax (Larry King: 2/20)


%Perot was (and still is) a big critic of "junk" bonds and 
%the excessive debt of the '80's.  The country has to build
%better products, not shuffle paper assets.

IMMIGRATION

  no word


EDUCATION

%Perot has been a strong supporter of education.  He was active in the
%Texas education reforms.  He often says that is cheaper to send a 
%person to Harvard than to keep them in jail for a year.  The point
%is that people balk at paying money up front to educate kids (and
%keep them out of trouble) but don't think twice about paying to keep 
%them in jail.  Perot would rather spend the money up front to avoid
%the greater problems and expense of fixing things after their broken.

   Appointed head of a commission in 1983 to reform Texas' educational system


TRANSPORTATION

  no word yet.


FOREIGN POLICY

%He would quit proping up dictators and then going to was to knock them
%down (Noriega, Sadam Hussain).  He is an outspoken critic of the Iraq
%War because (he claims) the US (Amb. April Gladsby) told Sadam that 
%he could take the Northern Kuwait oil fields and then had to go to
%war when Sadam took all of Kuwait.  (Larry King 2/20/92)

%He strongly criticizes the Emir of Kuwait for waiting until US servicemen put
%new gold faucets in his bathroom before returning to Kuwait.  Perot
%criticizes Bush's codling of Syrias Assad (who is enagaged in international
%terrorism and has taken over much of Lebannon).

   "We're better at winning wars than winning peace.  Look at Panama.
    We didn't win the peace.  We left the people devastated down there.  Look
    at Iraq.  We didn't win the peace down there.  They still have nuclear,
    chemical and bacteriological weapons.  (Saddam) Hussein is still in power.
    All we did is create a new bad boy in the Middle East, (President Hafez)
    Assad of Syria."
                    4/11/92 San Jose Mecury News article


  Perot supports helping out Russia and other coutries in real need:

   "I would love to have a country that could always reach out and help other 
    countries.  It is a whole lot cheaper to help Russia right now than it is 
    to have a new cold war pop up in 18 months because we didn't." 
						 (Larry King 2/20/92)

 Perot has had successful experience in dealing with foreign countries:

    In 1969, the US government asked Perot to determine what action might be 
    taken to improve the brutal treatment our POW's were receiving in 
    Southeast Asia. He worked on this project for the next four years placing 
    himself and his family at considerable personal risk, until the prisoners 
    were released in 1973 at the  end of the war. In recognition of his 
    efforts, Perot received the Medal for Distinguished Public Service, 
    the highest civilian award presented by the Department of Defense.

    When two EDS employees were taken hostage by the Iranian government in 
    1979, Perot directed a successful rescue mission composed of EDS employees 
    and led by  Colonel Arthur "Bull" Simons. Perot personally went into Iran, 
    and inside the prison where his associates were held. Noted author, Ken 
    Follett, wrote a best-selling novel, On Wings of Eagles, about the rescue. 
    An NBC Television miniseries was later made about this event.

				(from the Perot Petiton Committee)
		

AMERICAN INDIANS

%In his NPR speech, Perot said that Indians were able to come across
%the Bering Straights and thrive all the way down to the tip of Chile,
%but once they were put on reservations, there culture suffered.
%The point was that putting restrictions on people will eventually 
%break them (alcohalism, etc) and it is not easy to put the pieces 
%back together again. (National Press Club Conference 3/18/92)

TRADE

  Supports free trade, as long as it's fair:

   "Philosophically I'm for fair trade.  We don't have free fair trade.  The
    White House is all excited about the new trade agreement with Mexico.  This
    agreement will move the highest paid blue-collar jobs in the U.S. to Mexico.
    This is going to create serious damage to our tax base during this critical
    period.  We have got to manufacture here and not there to keep our tax base
    intact.

 	 (National Press Club Conference 3/18/92)


  Perot favors a law  "that if you were elected or appointed or worked in
Washington you cannot be a lobbyist for a foreign government, foreign
individual, for 10 years."  (Larry King 2/20/92).


  Perot is also is in favor of tougher trade negotiations and fair rules:

    "Now, these negotiations are so well-run on their side
     and so poorly run on our side that you could make a tragic comedy out of 
     it and run it on television.  And the sad thing is whole industries 
     have disappeared because of that.  You've got to get folks in that know 
     how to negotiate.  We have people in this country that know how to 
     negotiate, but it seems like they get people who blew up balloons in the 
     last election. let them do it for a while, until they have enough 
     contacts with the other side.  Then they become a foreign lobbyist at 
     30,000 bucks a month.  I'm not too smart, but I can figure out why that 
     doesn't work.  You read the book _Agents of Influence_ in terms of the 
     patterns of people coming off these negotiating teams and going to work 
     for the other side.  What if our generals and admirals went to work for 
     the enemy at the end of their careers?  Unthinkable, right?  Why in the 
     world would we let people do that in the civilian sector?  We shouldn't."

			(National Press Club Conference 3/18/92)
-- 
                                                     Doug Fierro
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