Americans for Tax Reform

On Taxes – In Their Own Words
Second Democratic Debate
June 3, 2007
Saint Anselm College
CNN

BLITZER: Senator Edwards, question for you, sir. I was struck by your conversation that you had a moment ago about dishonesty in politics, and wanting to make things clear. This is a health care question for you, and really focusing on price tags here. Governor Richardson, for example, says that you can fund health care meaningfully without raising taxes. Senator Clinton has said that she's not prepared to say she will raises taxes to reform health care. Your plan does raise some taxes to fund your universal health care program. So I am wondering: From your perspective, are they being honest about the true costs of universal health care in America?

EDWARDS: Let me say, first, I think it's a very healthy thing that we have Democrats coming out with health care plans. This country's health care system is completely dysfunctional. I am proud of the fact that I was the first person to come out with a specific, truly universal health care plan.
Senator Obama came out with a plan just a few days ago, which I don't believe is completely universal, but he deserves to be credited because he laid out what the cost is, and exactly how he was going to pay for it. I do believe that -- and by the way, you didn't say this, but my plan costs $90 billion to $120 billion a year. I'd pay for it by getting rid of Bush's tax cuts for people who make over $200,000 a year. And I believe you cannot cover everybody in America, create a more efficient health care system, cover the cracks, you know, getting rid of things like pre-existing conditions and making sure that mental health is treated the same as physical health, I don't think you can do all those things for nothing. That's not the truth. And I think people have been so sick of listening to politicians who come and say, "We're going to give you universal health care. We're going to change the way we use energy in America. We're going to strengthen the middle class, have middle class tax cuts, and, in the process, we're going to eliminate the federal deficit."

BLITZER: Senator Clinton, you can do that without raising taxes?

CLINTON: Well, Wolf, here's the challenge. I have put forth approximately $120 billion in savings from health care changes that can come; everything from electronic medical records to better management of chronic care. That is about in the ballpark of what all of us believe it will cost to cover everyone. The challenge that I'm wrestling with is: How do we realize the savings? Now, I don't think there's any Democrat that is not going to let the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans expire. We're all going to do that. So that money will be available. How, then, do we set forth the priorities that we want to address, including energy efficiency, dealing with global climate change and so much else?

BLITZER: Senator Dodd, gas prices are at record high levels. Granite Staters are frustrated. Americans are frustrated. What would you do to reduce gas prices?

DODD: Well, this is a major crisis issue, obviously. Energy, related problems, obviously, problems with global warming, the dependency on the Middle East for so much of our energy supplies. It's a national security issue. It's a health care issue. The problems are profound here and require some very strong answers. I also think this issue provides incredible opportunities for us to grapple with and deal with here, if we have the kind of strong leadership in the country. I believe we can make a difference here on reducing our dependency on those sources of energy while simultaneously rolling back the problems of global warning -- of global warming. Today we have the solar -- polar caps melting, we have greenhouse gases that are accumulating at record levels way beyond expectations. We really have the dual responsibility here of reducing the polluting effects of depending upon fossil fuels and also allowing us to develop the alternative technologies that would allow us to move beyond this issue. I've introduced a plan here that would require a by the year 2017 50 miles per gallon standard for our automobiles. I believe that can be done. We ought to do it immediately, in my view. And a carbon tax, in my view, so that you make the polluting dependencies, the polluting fuels, more expensive and encourage them through the use of revenues collected, to move aggressively on developing the alternative technologies of solar and wind and other sources of energy we could use.

BLITZER: Senator Gravel?

GRAVEL:Well, I join him on the carbon tax. And, of course, that will raise the price of gasoline; let's be candid about that. There's nothing I would do as president to lower the price of gasoline right now. We Americans have to grow up. If we want to get off of the dependency on the Middle East we have to own up to the problem. These things cost money. They're controlling our society.
And the sooner we stop fighting these wars -- here, stop and think: You only see $3. Just watch those wheels turn. There's another $4 -- which is what we spend to keep American troops around the world to keep the price. So you're paying more than $7 a gallon, you just don't know it.

BLITZER: Senator Obama, what is a definition of rich?

OBAMA: Well, the definition that I'm using with respect to paying for my health care plan is those making over $250,000 a year. Keep in mind that all we're talking about is going back to the tax levels, the marginal tax rates that existed when Bill Clinton was in office. So we're not talking about going back to huge marginal rates. But you tell a larger story that I hear as I travel all across the country. And that is that folks are feeling hit from all sides. They're trying to save for the next generation's education. They're trying to save for their own retirement. In some cases, they're looking after an aging parent. Gas prices are hitting them. And one of the things that we've seen in our economy is that the burdens and benefits of this new global economy are not being spread evenly across the board. And that's why as the next president, one of my first priorities is to make sure that we institute some fairness in the system. We institute in our tax code.

EDWARDS: I don't know if I know what a rich person is. What I do for my health care plan is roll back the tax cuts for people who make over $200,000 a year. So $200,000 is the figure I use.
But I want to go to a piece of this question that you ask, which is, you talked about saving for your kids to be able to go to college. And we really haven't talked about that tonight. Just a quick idea. College for everyone is something we've actually, Elizabeth and I, put in place in eastern North Carolina, in a small community in eastern North Carolina, and the idea is really simple. The idea is, if a kid graduates from high school qualified to be in college and they commit to work when they're there at least 10 hours a week, their tuition and books are paid for. And the idea is, we want to make it simple for kids to go to college. They have to work for it. We don't just give it to them. And then, on top of that, so many young people are faced with this crushing burden of debt when they graduate from college. I think it's something we shouldn't just be doing -- we've done this privately in this small area of eastern North Carolina...

BLITZER: All right.

Senator Clinton?

CLINTON: Well, I think it's important to remember that six years ago we had a balanced budget and a surplus. (APPLAUSE) And we did that the old-fashioned way, by cutting spending and raising revenues. There is no free lunch. We're going to have to do that hard work again.
Now, my point is, when it comes to the tax questions that were asked, the benefits from the Bush tax cuts have gone disproportionately to a very small percentage of Americans. And 10 percent of Americans have realized about 50 percent of the increase in wealth that has happened in this country in the last six years. We need to deal with the burden on the middle class. The alternative minimum tax has to be reformed, hopefully eventually eliminated.
But I think it's important to point out that we have done this before -- not in ancient history, but within our memory. And we can do it again once we have a Democratic president