'I want to talk to families about the issues they talk about around the kitchen table every day...

...health care, education and college, taxes and a secure retirement. It's families like these who understand what's at stake in this election. They know about big choices, because they make them on behalf of their families each day. On November 7th, we face one of the biggest choices America has faced in half a century -- a choice as fundamental as prosperity itself. Will we make the right choices and the right investments to keep our economy growing or will we bust the budget and shortchange the future for a massive tax cut for the few?" -- Al Gore

Gore's economic plan would expand prosperity for all families by paying down the national debt, cutting taxes for the middle class and investing in health care and education. George W. Bush would endanger the nation's hard-won prosperity with a massive $1.6 trillion tax cut that primarily benefits the wealthy.

With the election only two weeks away, Gore will be having serious discussions with voters about the issues they discuss at the kitchen table. He is planning a series of major speeches to discuss the big choices they face in this election on the role of government in expanding prosperity, education, the economy, energy and the environment, family tax cuts and health care.

Gore's economic plan would eliminate the national debt and its interest payments and offer middle-class tax cuts so all Americans can share in the nation's prosperity. Eliminating the debt will help keep interest rates lower, ensuring that small businesses have easier access to the loans they need to invest and grow. Gore would provide tax relief for small businesses so that they can continue to create jobs. Gore would devote two-thirds of the budget surplus to debt reduction and invest the other third in family tax cuts, education, health care, a clean environment and a secure retirement. Bush's massive tax cut leaves few resources for debt reductions or investments in other important priorities.

Small businesses represent more than 99 percent of all employers and employ 53 percent of all private workers. They make substantial contributions to job growth and provide most initial on-the-job training. Gore's plan to pay down the debt each year would help small businesses and promote growth by keeping interest rates low. Gore would also expand small business growth by:

• Providing tax relief for small businesses;

• Expanding access to capital, credit and technical assistance;

• Streamlining regulations that hinder small business growth;

• Promoting free and fair trade and opening markets for business expansion; and

• Harnessing technology and innovation by supporting research and development.

Gore has supported economic and business growth. He cast the tie-breaking vote for the 1993 economic plan, which cut taxes for small businesses and cut the deficit for the first time in a generation to help lower interest rates and free capital for economic expansion. As vice president, Gore worked with the Administration to support small and start-up businesses across the country. More than 5.9 million new businesses have been created under the current Administration. A record 898,000 new businesses opened their doors in 1998. Gore and the Administration have backed more small business loans than in the previous 25 years combined.