Gore warns Bush would wreck economy; Bush says Democrats appeal to voters' 'fear'

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Vice President Al Gore warned Thursday that "prosperity itself is on the ballot" in November's election, arguing that his Republican rival would lower the boom on the economic good times of the past few years.

Texas Gov. George W. Bush tried to counter Gore's criticism by making the rounds of financially oriented cable television programs -- including CNN's "Street Sweep," where he argued that his economic proposals would extend the current boom. Both men ended the day in New York on the comedy circuit, taping television appearances before heading to the traditional Al Smith political dinner.

In an address to business leaders at Columbia University on Thursday, Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee, argued voters should keep Democrats in the White House rather than handing over the reins of government to the GOP. While the individual points Gore made were not new, the overarching theme serves as a way for him to assume a share of credit for the economic good times of the past few years -- while hammering home his argument against Bush in the final days of the campaign.

"This is about more than numbers on a spreadsheet," Gore said. "All Americans created this prosperity, and I want to make sure it enriches all Americans.

"I want to make two simple points today: The economic policies my opponent has put forward are not just unfair, they're unsound -- and they would hurt our economy."

Gore touted his plan to match savings with tax credits for low-income families, promised to protect Social Security and Medicare and pledged to pay off the national debt by 2012 -- which he said would be like "eliminating the third-largest federal program." He called the November vote "a choice of priorities, a choice of values, a choice as fundamental as prosperity itself."

"Governor Bush's plan gambles with our prosperity by bringing back deficits, draining Social Security, delaying debt reduction and fueling higher interest rates," he said.

Gore said Bush's combination of tax cuts and partial privatization of Social Security would undermine the fiscal discipline that has kept interest rates low and helped fuel the economy. And, he argued that his program of about $500 billion in tax breaks for things like college tuition would spread the benefits of the current boom to more middle-class families than the $1.6 trillion in tax breaks the vice president said were skewed overwhelmingly toward the wealthiest Americans.

"We now have a greater chance than at any time in our lifetimes to create the America of our ideals," Gore said. "If we don't make the right choices today, that chance could slip right through our hands."

Gov. George W. Bush's economic proposals, says Vice President Al Gore, "are not just unfair, they are unsound and would hurt the American economy."

"We can't afford to go back to an economy that makes it harder to raise a family or run a business," he added. "I say today it is worth fighting for. Prosperity itself is on the ballot. Nineteen days from now you, are called upon to choose."

Gore's campaign has launched $5 million worth of ads this week to reinforce that theme in 18 key states, particularly Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Gore is also trying to shore up support on his home turf -- spending $140,000 this week in Tennessee.

Bush: Tax cuts will fuel economy

His critiques of Bush's Social Security proposals are echoed in $2 million worth of Democratic television commercials that argue Bush's plan would undermine Social Security -- an attack Bush sharply criticized in his appearances Thursday.

Gov. George W. Bush touts his proposal to allow younger workers to invest some of their Social Security taxes for themselves, during a visit to Fraser, Michigan

Bush told CNN's business program "Street Sweep" that the surpluses built up for Social Security are more than enough to offset his plans for individual taxpayers' accounts.

"The $1 trillion it takes to fund the personal savings accounts comes out of the $2.4 trillion surplus," he said. "It stays in Social Security. It doesn't leave Social Security, it becomes a part of the younger workers' retirement plans."

And he said his tax cut plans were more likely to extend the current boom, contrary to Gore's criticism.

"By providing tax cuts, it will serve as an insurance policy against the economy slowing down," Bush said. "The public should be really worried about someone who is going to overspend if you overcommit the government to new programs, costly bureaucracies."

"That is what is likely to slow down the economy. What is likely to encourage economic growth is to provide tax relief," Bush said.

MESSAGE BOARD Presidential race 2000

Earlier, Bush reached out to younger voters in Michigan and accused Gore of stoking the fears of seniors with an attack on the Republican presidential nominee's Social Security reform proposals in Michigan -- one of the campaign's major Midwestern battlegrounds. Bush said Gore "leads the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but the only thing he has to offer is fear itself."

Democratic Party officials attacked Bush in a commercial released Wednesday. Democratic Party Chairman Joe Andrew vowed to make Bush pay for touching the "third rail" of American politics with his plan to partially privatize Social Security.

"He grabbed that rail," Andrew said. "He just hadn't realized that we had switched on the electricity yet."

In an appearance Thursday at the high-tech company Visioneering Inc., in Fraser, Michigan, Bush responded: "It's irresponsible for the chairman of the Democratic Party to stoke the fears of seniors while ignoring the hopes of younger workers."

"A true leader does not try to pit grandparents against grandchildren," he said. "A true leader will fix this problem so both the greatest generation and the rising generation can depend on the promise of Social Security."

Bush has proposed allowing younger workers the chance to divert a portion of Social Security payroll taxes into conservative private investments, allowing their money to grow at a faster rate. Gore says Bush can not do that while paying current benefits without wiping out Social Security's reserves.

The Bush campaign says it is Gore who would bankrupt the program with a status quo approach that would do nothing to ensure it will survive the retirement of the baby boom generation. Bush cited Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Nebraska Democrat, in support of his Social Security plan and told his Michigan audience: "Ownership in America should not be an exclusive club."

"With this Social Security reform, over time, the working class will join the investor class. Millions of Americans will have not only wages, but accumulated wealth," Bush said.

Praising the high-technology innovations Bush said have driven the so-called New Economy, he promised to "apply the methods of entrepreneurship to the work of compassion." Bush touted a package of incentives that would "encourage the idealism of young men and women."

"Americans are generous to those in need, and government should make that giving even easier," he said. He proposed giving every taxpayer -- not just those who itemize deductions -- a chance to deduct charitable contributions, and offered to raise the limit on tax breaks for corporate contributions.

"Corporations, too, should have every incentive to give, so we will raise their cap on charitable deductions," Bush said. "We will encourage young people to teach in poor and neglected communities, providing loan forgiveness when they serve disadvantaged children."

After campaigning in Michigan, Bush headed for New York to tape the interview for CNN's "Street Sweep," as well for a quick tour of the comedy circuit.

He planned to tape appearances for the Late Show with David Letterman and for "Saturday Night Live," which has satirized the Bush-Gore debates. And both candidates, along with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rick Lazio, New York's Democrat and Republican candidates for Senate, will attend the annual Al Smith political dinner in Manhattan on Thursday night.

CNN's Jonathan Karl and Matt Smith contributed to this report