www.algore.com Al Gore's Economic Plan Al Gore's Economic Record

Prosperity For All: Paying Down Our Debt
Although responsible fiscal policies and the hard work of the American people have helped produce record surpluses,

we are still paying off a tremendous public debt. Just like any family with debt -- a home mortgage or a car loan for example -- the federal government pays interest on the debt it owes. I think one of our top priorities should be to pay down our national debt.

This year, we actually paid $224 billion of taxpayer money just to relieve interest on our national debt. This makes interest payments, in effect, the government's third largest spending program.

My economic plan, founded on the idea of fiscal discipline, is intended use the surplus to continue our prosperity and expand it so that all families benefit. I would devote $2 to paying down our debt for every $1 I would use for tax cuts or investments. I will completely eliminate the debt by 2012, freeing up billions each year that would have been spent on interest payments.

My opponent does the opposite. He devotes $2 of tax cuts and spending to every $1 he would use to pay down the debt. He drains the majority of the surplus, $1.6 trillion, on a massive tax cut, almost half of which is targeted to benefit the wealthiest one percent of Americans. This tax cut, combined with his spending proposals and another trillion dollars for the transition costs of Social Security privatization, would bust the budget and send us back to the days of deficits, debt and economic decline.

I, too, want to cut taxes, but in a responsible way that is targeted to help middle-class families afford child-care, pay for college and save for retirement. I also want to invest a portion of the surplus to expand health care, improve education and clean up the nation's air and water.

So, my opponent and I are both using the surplus in accordance with our priorities. He wants to give a tax break to the wealthiest one percent. In fact, he would spend more of the budget surplus on that tax cut than he would devote in new spending on education, health care and national defense combined. I want to pay down our debt, cut taxes for the middle-class, and invest in education, health care, a clean environment and a secure retirement.