Career politicians

VOTING YOUR PAYCHECK Careerists' choice: Do you think a Gore administration or a Bush administration is going to be better for you and others in your line of work? We'd like to know your opinion and share it with our readers.

Working for the vote

October 30, 2000
Web posted at: 9:58 a.m. EST (1458 GMT)

In this story: Social Security Encouraging new technology Minimum wage Job discrimination based on sexual orientation Family and Medical Leave Act Equal pay for equal work Protecting pension plans Tuition tax breaks Permanent striker replacements Worker training Protecting American jobs Deeper issues RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Larry Keller
CNN.com/career Senior Writer

(CNN) -- "We spend most of our lives working," says John Soule, professor of political science at San Diego State University. "It's the bread and butter of our existence. If that's threatened or diminished in some way, we care about that. We expect government to help us in those areas."

As United States Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush head into the final days of the presidential campaign, career-related issues will be among those of most importance to many voters.

Soule says the Democratic Party traditionally has been aligned with workers on issues of importance to them, which should benefit Gore.

"The traditional Republican philosophy," Soule says, "has always been to leave businesses alone to run themselves without government interference. I think there's a natural antipathy between Democrats and Republicans over work-related issues."

But on some issues, the distinctions are blurring, says Paul Beck, who chairs the political science department at Ohio State University.

Protecting American jobs is one such area, Beck says. Beck notes that President Bill Clinton cobbled together a coalition of Republicans and Democrats in getting the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) passed, angering many unionists -- a traditional base of support for Democrats. NAFTA removed most barriers to trade and investment among the United States, Canada and Mexico when it went into effect on January 1, 1994.

"Both of the parties have been split over this issue," Beck says. "The division hasn't been between the parties, it's been within the parties."

A similarly divisive issue is family and medical leave. Many members of both political parties generally support the concept, Beck says. "I think where the parties may differ is on precisely how they'd implement it."

Here are 11 career-related issues and the positions of the two major-party candidates on each. Using alphabetical order, we'll list the Bush position, then the Gore position under each heading.

Bush: Favors allowing individuals to invest a portion (2 percent) of their Social Security payroll taxes in the stock market. He says such personal retirement accounts can earn higher rates of return than the current rate of less than 2 percent and give people more money for retirement, allowing the system to survive without a huge tax hike. Bush doesn't rule out the possibility of raising the eligibility age for baby-boomer recipients as a trade-off for these private investment accounts. Bush supports the elimination of the Social Security earnings limit and supports putting payroll taxes into a "lock box" to prohibit borrowing against the Social Security trust fund.

BUSH ON SOCIAL SECURITY
	Texan Gov. George W. Bush spoke to the issue of Social Security in the third and final presidential debate on October 17 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Gore: Supports using $2.2 trillion of the Social Security surplus to shore up the program, and backs the creation of "Retirement Savings Plus Accounts." In these, the federal government would match individuals' contributions with tax credits, lower-income families getting the largest matches. Participants could withdraw their savings to pay for college education, to help purchase a new home or to pay for a catastrophic illness -- same as with a traditional IRA or 401(k). These accounts would be additional to Social Security's guaranteed benefit. Gore, like Bush, supports putting payroll taxes into a "lock box" to prohibit borrowing against the Social Security trust fund.

"There are real differences between the approaches, and the differences have real consequences," Beck says. "Gore, more than anything, is attaching himself to a protection of the Social Security system pretty much as it's been established.

"Where Gov. Bush is different in this regard: He's saying, 'We want to give workers an opportunity to pull away to some extent from the Social Security system and establish with funds that otherwise would be earmarked for Social Security, a more private type of retirement with more choice on their part over just how they'd invest these funds.'"

Little has been said about what type government controls and regulations would restrict investments under the Bush proposal, Beck says.

"My understanding from looking at the Bush plan is there are substantial controls," he says. "The government would not let them invest money in the so-called 'high-risk' ventures because there are people who -- if they failed -- would come back to the government looking for support."

Bush: Would extend the Internet tax moratorium for up to five years. Favors making the Internet a duty- and tariff-free zone worldwide, and says he'll work to eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade in information technology. Would enact a permanent extension of the research-and-development tax credit and increase the military research and development budget by $20 billion and double the research budget of the National Institutes of Health. Bush also supports raising the caps on visas for temporary, high-skilled international workers.

U.S. Vice President Al Gore tours a General Motors plant during a September campaign visit to Flint, Michigan

Gore: Has set a goal of creating 10 million new high-tech jobs over the next decade. Favors making permanent the research-and-development tax credit, and making it easier for small companies to take advantage of it. Says he would boost investment in science and technology, and increase private-sector investment in broadband networks. Has set a deadline of 2003 for placing almost all federal government services online.

Bush: Supports raising the minimum wage, but would leave the final decision to individual states.

Gore: Supports raising the minimum wage by $1 over two years and regular reviews of the wage increase.

"Minimum wage issues have been a historic source of difference between the parties," Beck says. In part because of their support from labor unions, he says, Democrats have been more likely to favor minimum-wage hikes.

Bush: Opposes federal laws to protect people from discrimination because of their sexual orientations. Bush says he favors vigorously upholding and enforcing existing anti-discrimination laws and promoting a message of inclusion over discrimination.

Gore: Supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to end employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. The federal government, during the Clinton-Gore administration, has already adopted a non-discrimination policy regarding sexual orientation but it applies only to federal employees, not to the population at large.

QUICK VOTE
	Which of these career-related issues do you consider most important? Choose only one. Social Security New technology Minimum wage Family and medical leave Equal pay for equal work Pension plan protection Tuition tax breaks Permanent striker replacements Worker training Protecting American jobs Sexual orientation job discrimination protection View Results

Bush: Prefers "comp time" legislation that would give employees the option of taking extra time off in lieu of over overtime pay. Under current federal law, this would be prohibited.

Gore: Favors expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act to businesses with more than 25 employees, and giving 24 hours of additional time off for emergencies or school needs. Gore has encouraged states to use unemployment insurance, temporary disability insurance and other means to overcome obstacles that prevent families from taking advantage of family and medical leave.

Bush: Opposes the concept of "comparable worth" if it entails the government deciding how much one occupation should be paid vs. another. Bush says the free market is a more efficient way of establishing workers' wages, and that vigorous enforcement of discrimination laws is the best way to protect the rights of women.

Gore: Says he has urged Congress to pass legislation that will allow women to hold employers accountable for pay violations. The Clinton-Gore administration earmarked $27 million in fiscal year 2001 for the Equal Pay Initiative -- $12 million more than the previous year's allotment -- to provide training and assistance to employers on how to comply with equal pay requirements, and promote other equal pay measures.

Bush: Supports enforcing disclosure laws and levying a penalty for failure to comply. Bush says laws can do more to ensure that all workers have full information regarding their options for investment, how those funds will be invested from now to retirement, and the benefits they can expect in retirement. He says the U.S. Treasury should be involved in helping clarify the effects of conversions from traditional defined benefit plans to hybrid formula plans.

Gore: Advocates simplifying the pension process so that small businesses can more easily make tax-advantaged savings programs available to their employees. Toward that end, Gore says he will work to enact a 50-percent tax credit for three years of qualified expenses incurred in establishing a new employee plan. Like Bush, he says he's for penalizing companies that don't fully disclose changes they make to their pension plans.

Bush: Would increase the maximum Pell grant tuition assistance from $3,300 to $5,100 for first-year college students. Would award $1,000 in additional Pell grants to students who pass advance-placement exams or take college courses in math and science while in high school. Most students in traditionally black and Hispanic-enrollment colleges are eligible for Pell grants, meaning many of them would now be eligible for extra assistance, Bush says. Favors expanding Education Savings Accounts to allow contributions of up to $5,000 annually per child with tax-free withdrawals.

Gore: Proposes making $10,000 of tuition and fees for post-secondary education and training tax-deductible. Gore says the plan would give individuals up to $2,800 annually in tax relief per family regardless of their tax bracket.

Bush: Says the current law provides a reasonable balance between a union's legitimate right to strike and an employer's right to conduct its business and continue its operations.

Gore: Supports legislation to ban companies from hiring replacements for striking workers if it can be drafted in a way that's constitutional. Gore says this is one of his top priorities.

Bush: Proposes allowing individuals to place up to $5,000 a year -- 10 times the current amount -- in tax-free education savings accounts. These accounts can be used toward any level of education, including worker retraining, college or graduate work. Favors localized approaches to workforce development rather than mandates or policies from Washington.

GORE ON TAX CREDITS
	U.S. Vice President Al Gore spoke about his tax-credit plans for working Americans in the October 17 debate in St. Louis. Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Gore: Favors a tax credit up to $6,000 per employee for employers who provide technology skills to workers. Proposes offering matching grants to states to help develop workers skills. Gore says he also would create new 401(j) accounts so that an employer could contribute up to $2,500 to help a worker save tax-free for lifelong learning, both for the worker and for his or her spouse. Gore proposes providing competitive grants to communities that develop a plan to partner with local workforce boards, industry and labor groups to develop meaningful learning opportunities for workers to develop job-related skills.

"Even though the parties are far apart rhetorically on this issue, they turn out not to be that far apart when it comes to the practicalities," Beck says. "The Democrats will probably fund it more extensively, and they may make different choices as to where the money goes.

"The Republicans would be much less inclined to provide individuals with training or re-training benefits, but much more inclined to provide business with tax incentives for research and development and new technologies."

Texan Gov. George W. Bush greets workers at Thermagon, Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio, in a campaign stop in September

Bush: Embraces free and fair trade. Supports expanding NAFTA to create an entire hemisphere of free trade. Also favors a new round of global trade negotiations, and supporting the admission of China and Taiwan into the World Trade Organization.

Gore: Like Bush, supports free and fair trade. Gore says the Clinton-Gore administration has concluded nearly 300 new trade agreements. The administration also enacted a policy that offers U.S. support for African countries that are committed to open markets and sound economic policies.

"A lot of these issues are thin veneers for class differences," Beck says.

As an example, he mentions minimum wage. Raising it, he says, affects the middle class and wealthy very little, except to raise the cost of goods slightly. And equal pay for equal work has more to do with what's paid for certain classes of jobs than differentials within those classes, he says.

"I think it's not fashionable to talk in class terms any more, although Gore's done a bit of that when he talks about targeting the wealthy," Beck says. "It will be interesting to see how that plays, because we've fooled ourselves into thinking ours is a classless society. And, of course, it isn't."

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