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top-down
Are we going to double-down on the
top-down economic policies that helped to get us into this mess?
preexisting
But, number one,
preexisting conditions are covered under my plan.
voucher
And the essence of the plan is that you would turn Medicare into a
voucher program.
health care provider
I used to consult to businesses -- excuse me, to hospitals and to
health care providers.
businessperson
As a
businessperson, I had to have -- I need to know the regulations.
trend line
One is to simply leave a whole bunch of people uninsured and let them fend for themselves, to let businesses figure out how long they can continue to pay premiums until finally they just give up, and their workers are no longer getting insured, and that's
hand over fist
But you also had banks making money
hand over fist, churning out products that the bankers themselves didn't even understand, in order to make big profits, but knowing that it made the entire system vulnerable.
loophole
But I also want to close those
loopholes that are giving incentives for companies that are shipping jobs overseas.
running mate
I know that you and your
running mate keep saying that and I know it's a popular thing to say with a lot of people, but it's just not the case.
spending cut
Well, that's how the commission -- bipartisan commission that talked about how we should move forward suggested we have to do it, in a balanced way with some revenue and some
spending cuts.
balanced budget
Number four, get us to a
balanced budget.
deficit
Now, in order for us to do it, we do have to close our
deficit, and one of the things I'm sure we'll be discussing tonight is, how do we deal with our tax code?
tax cut
And this is where there's a difference, because Governor Romney's central economic plan calls for a $5 trillion
tax cut -- on top of the extension of the Bush tax cuts -- that's another trillion dollars -- and $2 trillion in additional military spe
sales pitch
The approach that Governor Romney's talking about is the same
sales pitch that was made in 2001 and 2003, and we ended up with the slowest job growth in 50 years, we ended up moving from surplus to deficits, and it all culminated in the worst finan
blank check
But I wouldn't designate five banks as too big to fail and give them a
blank check.
AARP
AARP thinks that the -- the savings that we obtained from Medicare bolster the system, lengthen the Medicare trust fund by eight years.
Medicare
So 77 government programs, everything from aircrafts that the Air Force had ordered but weren't working very well, 18 government -- 18 government programs for education that were well-intentioned, not weren't helping kids learn, we went after medical frau
reelect
There's no question in my mind that if the president were to be
reelected you'll continue to see a middle-class squeeze with incomes going down and prices going up.
food stamp
It's just -- it's -- we've got -- when the president took office, 32 million people on
food stamps; 47 million on food stamps today; economic growth this year slower than last year, and last year slower than the year before.
tax break
I want to provide
tax breaks for companies that are investing here in the United States.
tax rate
When it comes to our tax code, Governor Romney and I both agree that our corporate
tax rate is too high, so I want to lower it, particularly for manufacturing, taking it down to 25 percent.
reassign
The first two weeks she's got them, some of them sitting on the floor until finally they get
reassigned.
training program
It's energy and trade, the right kind of
training programs, balancing our budget and helping small business.
science teacher
So now I want to hire another 100,000 new math and
science teachers, and create 2 million more slots in our community colleges so that people can get trained for the jobs that are out there right now.
overpay
$716 billion we were able to save from the Medicare program by no longer
overpaying insurance companies by making sure that we weren't overpaying providers.
insurance company
$716 billion we were able to save from the Medicare program by no longer overpaying
insurance companies by making sure that we weren't overpaying providers.
deduction
But in order for us not to lose revenue, have the government run out of money, I also lower
deductions and credits and exemptions, so that we keep taking in the same money when you also account for growth.
trillion
And this is where there's a difference, because Governor Romney's central economic plan calls for a $5
trillion tax cut -- on top of the extension of the Bush tax cuts -- that's another trillion dollars -- and $2 trillion in additional military spe
Medicaid
So 77 government programs, everything from aircrafts that the Air Force had ordered but weren't working very well, 18 government -- 18 government programs for education that were well-intentioned, not weren't helping kids learn, we went after medical frau
institutionalize
Now, so what this board does is basically identifies best practices and says, let's use the purchasing power of Medicare and Medicaid to help to
institutionalize all these good things that we do.
tax
And the answer is, yes, we can help, but it's going to take a different path, not the one we've been on, not the one the president describes as a top-down, cut
taxes for the rich.
bring down
That is, I want to
bring down rates.
retiree
ROMNEY: ... people, right, not for current
retirees.
health care
The segments as I announced in advance will be three on the economy and one each on
health care, the role of government and governing, with an emphasis throughout on differences, specifics and choices.
segment
There will be six roughly 15-minute
segments with two-minute answers for the first question, then open discussion for the remainder of each segment.
segue
LEHRER: That is a terrific
segue to our next segment, and is the role of government.
extrapolate
But -- but what it did do is to -- if you
extrapolated how much money we're talking about, you'd look at cutting the education budget by up to 20 percent.
middle-class
How we pay for that, reduce the deficit, and make the investments that we need to make, without dumping those costs onto
middle-class Americans, I think is one of the central questions of this campaign.
community college
So now I want to hire another 100,000 new math and science teachers, and create 2 million more slots in our
community colleges so that people can get trained for the jobs that are out there right now.
unbalance
Now, if you take such an
unbalanced approach, then that means you are going to be gutting our investments in schools and education.
make sure
Number three,
make sure our people have the skills they need to succeed and the best schools in the world.
repeal
And ironically, if you
repeal Obamacare, and I have become fond of this term, "Obamacare," if you repeal it, what happens is those seniors right away are going to be paying $600 more in prescription care.
insurance
$716 billion we were able to save from the Medicare program by no longer overpaying
insurance companies by making sure that we weren't overpaying providers.
federal deficit
This is, theoretically now, a second segment still on the economy, and specifically on what to do about the
federal deficit, the federal debt.
federal government
But our training programs right now, we've got 47 of them, housed in the
federal government, reporting to eight different agencies.
job
Let's start the economy, segment one, and let's begin with
jobs.
land grant
So, in the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln said, let's help to finance the Transcontinental Railroad, let's start the National Academy of Sciences, let's start
land grant colleges, because we want to give these gateways of opportunity for
middle class
Or do we embrace a new economic patriotism that says America does best when the
middle class does best?
gasoline tax
He said he and his son calculated how much they pay in taxes, federal income tax, federal payroll tax, state income tax, state sales tax, state property tax,
gasoline tax.
governor
I'm Jim Lehrer of the "PBS NewsHour," and I welcome you to the first of the 2012 presidential debates between President Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, and former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee.
in and of itself
This is a -- this is a tax
in and of itself.
regulation
So to finish quickly, briefly, on the economy, what is your view about the level of federal
regulation of the economy right now?
health insurance
The idea, which was originally presented by Congressman Ryan, your running mate, is that we would give a voucher to seniors and they could go out in the private marketplace and buy their own
health insurance.
churn out
But you also had banks making money hand over fist,
churning out products that the bankers themselves didn't even understand, in order to make big profits, but knowing that it made the entire system vulnerable.
out of work
I was in Dayton, Ohio, and a woman grabbed my arm, and she said, "I've been
out of work since May.
end up
If you believe that we can cut taxes by $5 trillion and add $2 trillion in additional spending that the military is not asking for, $7 trillion -- just to give you a sense, over 10 years, that's more than our entire defense budget -- and you think that by
president
It's an honor to be here with you, and I appreciate the chance to be with the
president.
affordable
Now, let's move to health care where I know there is a clear difference, and that has to do with the
Affordable Care Act, Obamacare.
grandparent
My
grandparents did.
talk about
I don't have a tax cut of a scale that you're
talking about.
kid
They can buy a computer for their
kid who's going off to college, which means they're spending more money, businesses have more customers, businesses make more profits, and then hire more workers.
bipartisan
Well, that's how the commission --
bipartisan commission that talked about how we should move forward suggested we have to do it, in a balanced way with some revenue and some spending cuts.
PBS
I'm Jim Lehrer of the "
PBS NewsHour," and I welcome you to the first of the 2012 presidential debates between President Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee.
middleman
When it comes to making college affordable, whether it's two-year or four-year, one of the things that I did as president was we were sending $60 billion to banks and lenders as
middlemen for the student loan program, even though the loans were gua
rebate
And it also says that you're going to have to get
rebates if insurance companies are spending more on administrative costs and profits than they are on actual care.
entitlement
Entitlements.
tax policy
You said, "Look, I'm going to extend the
tax policies that we have now; I'm not going to raise taxes on anyone, because when the economy is growing slow like this, when we're in recession, you shouldn't raise taxes on anyone."
reform school
And when it comes to education what I've said is we've got to
reform schools that are not working.
living will
We've going to make sure that you've got to have a
living will so -- so we can know how you're going to wind things down if you make a bad bet so we don't have other taxpayer bailouts.
Democrat
First, we've got to improve our education system and we've made enormous progress drawing on ideas both from
Democrats and Republicans that are already starting to show gains in some of the toughest to deal with schools.
broaden
He said he was going to
broaden the base.
school district
Every
school district, every state should make that decision on their own.
income
But I'm not going to reduce the share of taxes paid by high-
income people.
coal industry
People in the
coal industry feel like it's getting crushed by your policies.
disable
We're a nation that believes that we're all children of the same god and we care for those that have difficulties, those that are elderly and have problems and challenges, those that are
disabled.
push through
What you did instead was to
push through a plan without a single Republican vote.
economic crisis
And we know where it came from: two wars that were paid for on a credit card; two tax cuts that were not paid for; and a whole bunch of programs that were not paid for; and then a massive
economic crisis.
balanced
Number four, get us to a
balanced budget.
provider
$716 billion we were able to save from the Medicare program by no longer overpaying insurance companies by making sure that we weren't overpaying
providers.
federal
But our training programs right now, we've got 47 of them, housed in the
federal government, reporting to eight different agencies.
fend for
One is to simply leave a whole bunch of people uninsured and let them
fend for themselves, to let businesses figure out how long they can continue to pay premiums until finally they just give up, and their workers are no longer getting insured, and
checkup
They're now going to have to be paying copays for basic
checkups that can keep them healthier.
exemption
But in order for us not to lose revenue, have the government run out of money, I also lower deductions and credits and
exemptions, so that we keep taking in the same money when you also account for growth.
Social Security
Do you see a major difference between the two of you on
Social Security?
cutback
My
cutbacks will be done through attrition, by the way.
prescription drug
And using that money, we were actually able to lower
prescription drug costs for seniors by an average of $600, and we were also able to make a -- make a significant dent in providing them the kind of preventive care that will ultimately save money
marketplace
The idea, which was originally presented by Congressman Ryan, your running mate, is that we would give a voucher to seniors and they could go out in the private
marketplace and buy their own health insurance.
state line
OBAMA: But the fact of the matter is that some of the prescriptions that he's offered, like letting you buy insurance across
state lines, there's no indication that that somehow is going to help somebody who's got a pre-existing condition be able t
rate of growth
The problem with raising taxes is that it slows down the
rate of growth.
initiate
What we've said is to states, we'll give you more money if you
initiate reforms.
structurally
Social Security is
structurally sound.
take office
It's just -- it's -- we've got -- when the president
took office, 32 million people on food stamps; 47 million on food stamps today; economic growth this year slower than last year, and last year slower than the year before.
skyrocket
And it wasn't just that small businesses were seeing costs
skyrocket and they couldn't get affordable coverage even if they wanted to provide it to their employees.
autistic
Now, you know, that may not seem like a big deal when it just is, you know, numbers on a sheet of paper, but if we're talking about a family who's got an
autistic kid and is depending on that Medicaid, that's a big problem.
qualify
You had loan officers were -- that were giving loans and mortgages that really shouldn't have been given, because the folks didn't
qualify.
unintended
And it includes within it a number of provisions that I think has some
unintended consequences that are harmful to the economy.
rule out
Now, Governor Romney has
ruled out revenue.
taking over
The federal government
taking over health care for the entire nation and whisking aside the 10th Amendment, which gives states the rights for these kinds of things, is not the course for America to have a stronger, more vibrant economy.
revenue
And how do we make sure that we are reducing spending in a responsible way, but also, how do we have enough
revenue to make those investments?
business people
And over the last four years, small-
business people have decided that America may not be the place to open a new business, because new business startups are down to a 30-year low.
trickle
The president has a view very similar to the view he had when he ran four years, that a bigger government, spending more, taxing more, regulating more -- if you will,
trickle-down government -- would work.
first of all
First of all, I don't have a $5 trillion tax cut.
put forward
And so I've
put forward a specific $4 trillion deficit reduction plan.
discretionary
And I worked with Democrats and Republicans to cut a trillion dollars out of our
discretionary domestic budget.
layoff
In fact we've seen
layoffs of hundreds of thousands of teachers over the last several years, and Governor Romney doesn't think we need more teachers.
math
So now I want to hire another 100,000 new
math and science teachers, and create 2 million more slots in our community colleges so that people can get trained for the jobs that are out there right now.
Department of Energy
First of all, the
Department of Energy has said the tax break for oil companies is $2.8 billion a year.
property tax
He said he and his son calculated how much they pay in taxes, federal income tax, federal payroll tax, state income tax, state sales tax, state
property tax, gasoline tax.
overseas
But I also want to close those loopholes that are giving incentives for companies that are shipping jobs
overseas.
Great Depression
The approach that Governor Romney's talking about is the same sales pitch that was made in 2001 and 2003, and we ended up with the slowest job growth in 50 years, we ended up moving from surplus to deficits, and it all culminated in the worst financial cr
devastate
The secretary of defense has said these would be even
devastating.
healthier
But there's still a problem, because what happens is, those insurance companies are pretty clever at figuring out who are the younger and
healthier seniors.
simplify
You've said the same thing, you're going to
simplify the tax code, broaden the base.
gridlock
Many of the legislative functions of the federal government right now are in a state of paralysis as a result of partisan
gridlock.
Oval Office
OBAMA: When I walked into the
Oval Office, I had more than a trillion-dollar deficit greeting me.
premium
It's called
premium support, but it's understood to be a voucher program.
program
We've got a
program called Race to the Top that has prompted reforms in 46 states around the country, raising standards, improving how we train teachers.
replace
ROMNEY: Well, I would repeal and
replace it.
principled
But, ultimately, part of being
principled, part of being a leader is, A, being able to describe exactly what it is that you intend to do, not just saying, "I'll sit down," but you have to have a plan.
create
What are the major differences between the two of you about how you would go about
creating new jobs?
reduce
And how do we make sure that we are
reducing spending in a responsible way, but also, how do we have enough revenue to make those investments?
add up
OBAMA: When you
add up all the loopholes and deductions that upper-income individuals can -- are currently taking advantage of, you take those all away, you don't come close to paying for $5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in additional milita
prescription
And using that money, we were actually able to lower
prescription drug costs for seniors by an average of $600, and we were also able to make a -- make a significant dent in providing them the kind of preventive care that will ultimately save money
education
First, we've got to improve our
education system and we've made enormous progress drawing on ideas both from Democrats and Republicans that are already starting to show gains in some of the toughest to deal with schools.
economy
The segments as I announced in advance will be three on the
economy and one each on health care, the role of government and governing, with an emphasis throughout on differences, specifics and choices.
free people
As a matter of fact,
free people and free enterprises trying to find ways to do things better are able to be more effective in bringing down the cost than the government will ever be.
Republican
I'm Jim Lehrer of the "PBS NewsHour," and I welcome you to the first of the 2012 presidential debates between President Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the
Republican nominee.
balance
Number four, get us to a
balanced budget.
Denver
Good evening from the Magness Arena at the University of
Denver in Denver, Colorado.
cost
How we pay for that, reduce the deficit, and make the investments that we need to make, without dumping those
costs onto middle-class Americans, I think is one of the central questions of this campaign.
National Academy of Sciences
So, in the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln said, let's help to finance the Transcontinental Railroad, let's start the
National Academy of Sciences, let's start land grant colleges, because we want to give these gateways of opportunity for
clinic
So at Cleveland
Clinic, one of the best health care systems in the world, they actually provide great care cheaper than average.
workforce
And as a consequence we'll have a better trained
workforce and that will create jobs because companies want to locate in places where we've got a skilled workforce.
budget
Number four, get us to a balanced
budget.
open up
Number two,
open up more trade, particularly in Latin America, crack down on China, if and when they cheat.
endow
Second, in that line that says we are
endowed by our creator with our rights, I believe we must maintain our commitment to religious tolerance and freedom in this country.
rates
Electric
rates are up.
fall apart
And over time, if traditional Medicare has decayed or
fallen apart, then they're stuck.
collaborative
We have to work on a
collaborative basis, not because we're going to compromise our principle, but because there's common ground.
tweak
It's going to have to be
tweaked the way it was by Ronald Reagan and Speaker -- Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill.
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