THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 2, 1996 TAG: 9610020592
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Decison '96
At Issue: Economic Life
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 179 lines
Mary D. Parzynski wants politicians of all stripes to know a few things.
No, she does not think they're all scoundrels. No, she is not angry at the poor. Yes, she works hard for a living and watches her three children like a hawk. And, no, she's not sure politicians understand people like herself, a hard-working, average citizen.
With that said, Parzynski, a retired Coast Guard employee and now part-time college student, looks out at the economy and wonders what's in store for her when she graduates.
She sees companies making money but cutting back. She sees the poor being kicked about in the political debate. And she is anxious her children may not be as comfortable as she and her husband are.
``Things are not as good as they used to be with all the cutbacks,'' Parzynski said. ``A job is not a guarantee anymore. People have to live day to day. Companies want to make so much money. Once they get to a certain lower limit, they just lay people off. I think it's wrong when they do that.''
These have been busy times for her. In August, she retired from the Coast Guard, and Friday she left a part-time job as an automation clerk in the Office of Civilian Personnel Management.
When she retired, she enrolled in business management classes at the Virginia Beach campus of Tidewater Community College and plans to graduate in December. When she does, she'll look for a job handling government contracts.
``I enjoy working. I'm the type of person who works for what I want. After 20 years in military, you get used to working.''
By traditional measures of economic progress, there are signs that the economy is doing well. Interest rates are low and the stock market has moved to levels unheard of 10 years ago. This can be good news for workers, so long as their company is not bought out and liquidated. But for voters like Parzynski, the tumult of Wall Street or the Federal Reserve Board seems like a distant issue.
``The stock market doesn't have any effect on me,'' she said. ``I don't own any stocks.''
Parzynski has heard Bob Dole's pledge of a 15 percent tax cut, which would help her personally, although she worries about its impact on the federal deficit. She also wonders who, exactly, would benefit from the tax savings.
``It seems to me like the lower classes pay all the taxes anyhow. The rich don't pay that much. They have a lot of write-offs. When Dole talks about tax cuts, he is talking about the upper class, not the lower. . . . I don't think the government will be able to do it.''
Looking into the future, Parzynski sees an uncertain future.
``What we could get for $2 when we were young we now pay $10 for, and more, and we don't make the money to pay for it. By the time I'm 62 years old, I don't know if there will be Social Security for me, but I pay into it every month. The way things are going now, it does not look like I will get a Social Security check when I'm older.
``Every year, it seems like (the nation) gets further in the hole.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Beth Bergman\The Virginian-Pilot
Mary Parzynski and her husband, Richard, not pictured, worry about
what the future will be like for Richard Jr., 17, bottom left,
Antonio, 11 , and Phylicia, 8. ``A job is not a guarantee anymore,''
the part-time student and Coast Guard retiree says. She wants to be
sure the leaders making economic decisions will keep folks like her
- average, hard-working taxpayers - in mind.
[appears on page B1]
Photo
Mary Parzynski wants an economic policy that will produce visible
results - such as good jobs for her children.
Graphic
[photos of the candidates]
Parzynski's Question for the Candidates:
What is the purpose of the tax cut, and who would benefit - the
upper class, the middle class, or the lower? I'd like to know, if
you vote to cut taxes, what effect would it have on the deficit?
JOHN W. WARNER
``When the Dole-Kemp proposal comes before Congress next year, I
will work with President Dole's administration toward the goal of
lessening the tax burden on Americans. No. 1, we've got to stay on
course toward our goal of a balanced budget by 2002. That's
essential. No. 2, the nation cannot allow interest rates to rise as
they did under President Carter, when they topped 15 percent. No. 3,
the nation cannot allow a significant increase in the deficit.
Within that framework, I will work with President Dole to achieve
his tax reduction goals. I support Sen. Dole in his statement he
made when he proposed his economic plan. He noted, `This plan was
designed specifically to provide tax relief to working men and
women, and it fits within a balanced budget framework.' ''
MARK R. WARNER
``The tax cuts put on the table by Bob Dole would benefit mainly
the wealthy. Similar to last year's Republican budget - which John
Warner supported - Dole's plan offers huge tax cuts that would
either significantly increase the deficit or force deep cuts in
Medicare and education. I would oppose this plan. I think we need to
get our fiscal house in order. Our first priority must be balancing
the budget before offering massive tax cuts. The only tax cut I can
support is one targeted to middle-class families for up to $10,000
for college or vocational training.''
THE HOUSE
2nd district
JOHN F. TATE
John F. Tate's response: ``A tax cut benefits everyone. Between
income tax, sales tax, usage tax, state taxes and local taxes, the
average family spends about half its income on taxes. A tax cut is
long overdue. I can't think of anybody who doesn't benefit by having
a significant amount of his hard-earned money returned to him.
Furthermore, tax cuts are proven to stimulate the economy, thus
creating additional revenue. This increased revenue, coupled with a
reduction in the rate of growth of government spending, will in fact
result in a balanced budget.''
OWEN B. PICKETT
Owen B. Pickett's response: ``A request that the proposed Dole
tax cut plan be submitted for `scoring' to the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO) has been refused. The CBO is charged with determining
the revenue increase, the revenue decrease and the fiscal impact of
proposed changes that affect federal government revenues and
expenditures. Since the CBO has not scored the Dole tax cut plan,
there is not an `official' analysis of its effect on the deficit;
however, the other experts on federal government finance have
projected that the federal deficit will increase if the Dole tax cut
plan is adopted.''
3RD DISTRICT
ELSIE GOODWYN HOLLAND'S
``A tax cut could help families make a decent living. There were
five of us children growing up in my house, and we came from a poor
background. But we made it because we believed in work, and we
didn't want to take help. Mom stayed home with us until we were
school age. She was there when we got home from school. A tax
reduction would allow a family to continue that way of life, to live
in a decent manner without both parents having to work. Let the
extra income be for certain amenities the family couldn't have now.
The deficit wouldn't have to increase to give families a tax cut.
Reduce spending. There's a lot in there can be cut.''
ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTTS
``Any reduction in tax revenue would increase the deficit. My view
is we ought to continue reducing the deficit. We've reduced it over
50 percent in the last four years. The tax-cut proposals would only
change that direction and increase the deficit. If we're going to
cut taxes, the taxes should be cut primarily, in my judgment, for
low- and moderate-income Americans, who are most in need.
Unfortunately, the Republicans' proposal targets most of the
benefits of the tax cut to the wealthy.''
4TH DISTRICT
NORMAN SISISKY
``The Dole tax cut, the 15 percent across-the-board cut, may be
the right thing to do. But Mr. Dole insisted that the president's
plan be approved by the Congressional Budget Office, not the
Management and Budget Office. We'd like Mr. Dole to do the same
thing. If he can do the tax cut and balance the budget, I may be
more amenable. But we've got to use real numbers, not smoke and
mirrors. We lived through supply-side economics. I'm willing to cut.
But it's not easy to cut. I think we've got to be careful when we
cut to still preserve Medicare and Social Security and things like
that.''
ANTHONY J. ZEVGOLIS
``A lot of people feel that tax cuts always benefit the rich. But
nothing can be further from the truth, because when they have tax
cuts it affects everybody. If you cut the taxes, that would
stimulate more jobs. When you have tax cuts, obviously it puts more
money in the pockets of individuals to spend. If businesses pay less
in taxes, they have more money to invest. And people will have more
money to save. But tax cuts have to come with spending cuts. They go
hand in hand.''
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA ISSUES CANDIDATE U.S SENATE RACE
HOUSE OF DELEGATES ELECTION by CNB