Surplus use divides parties

By Hanna LoPatin

Daily Staff Reporter

With the national government announcing a $237 billion surplus yesterday - the largest in history - the debate continues between Democrats and Republicans as to how the money should be spent.

One of the biggest components in this debate is the question of taxes. The Republicans say give the money back to the people, while the Democrats feel the country would be better served by putting the money into programs, particularly social security.

Kerin Polla, a spokeswoman for the campaign of Senate hopeful Debbie Stabenow, said the Lansing Democrat wants to use the money to save social security.

The money needs to "stay there so that young people will have social security for them when they retire."

Polla also discussed the College Opportunity Tax Credit. Part of Vice President Al Gore's campaign, the plan allows students to get a 28 percent tax credit while they go to school. This plan is an expansion of the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit that provides a 20 percent break of up to $5,000 dollars.

Carl Berry, the Republican candidate for the 13th Congressional District in Michigan, said the huge amount of the surplus is indicative of the fact that the money needs to be used as tax cuts.

"If people are sending in too much money then they deserve some of it back," he said.

Republican presidential candidate Gov. George W. Bush allots $2.388 trillion of the social security surplus over 10 years to work toward eliminating the national debt and forming a plan to allow citizens to invest some taxes from payroll into a retirement savings account.

Gore also wants to place $2.388 trillion over 10 years into paying down the national debt.

But where the two men differ is in the amount given back in the form of tax breaks and tax cuts. Gore wants to spend $480 billion on tax breaks for education, health care and retirement savings, while Bush wants to spend $1.317 trillion on cutting all income tax rates, eliminating the inheritance tax and other tax breaks.

In many debates and public appear the amount given back in the form of tax breaks and tax cuts. Gore wants to spend $480 billion on tax breaks for education, health care, and retirement savings, while Bush wants to spend $1.317 trillion on cutting all income tax rates, eliminating the inheritance tax and other tax breaks.

In many debates and public appearances, the Vice President has accused the governor of making tax cuts that only benefit the wealthiest 1 percent of the population. Meanwhile, Bush has said that Gore does not trust people to handle their own money.

"Al Gore's plan leaves out 50 million taxpayers," Bush spokesman Bob Hopkins said. "Gov. Bush's tax plan provides tax relief to every taxpayer with the largest percentage going to those people at the lowest end of the economic scale."

Of Gore's plan Polla said, "The money will go directly to programs that actually help someone."

Berry said he supported Bush's plan, because he said it pays down the national debt, stabilizes social security and still gives back to the people.

What the plan is missing, Berry said, is serious reform of IRS tax forms. If people would have an easier time filing their taxes, he said. "That alone would will save huge amounts of money to go back into the economy."

Berry said he thought taxes were the biggest issue to pop up this week, but he didn't think that it would be the make or break issue for the elections.

"Taxes matter to me a great deal," he said. "But the environment might be a bigger issue for young people because they see their future."