As of February 20th, Jeb Bush has suspended his presidential campaign.
ISSUES
Environmental Regulation and Climate Change
Although Jeb Bush’s stance on global warming has varied, he now believes that humans are causing climate change. However, he does not see it as an urgent crisis and opposes federal regulation. Rather, he believes that states and tribes should have a larger say in their environmental and energy policies. Following suit, Bush’s proposed energy plan lifts major environmental regulations. However, it does encourage research in cleaner energy sources. Bush aims to level the playing field between all energy sources and ultimately let the free market decide what is best.
Environmentalists have criticized Bush, saying that his actions to ban offshore drilling while governor of Florida was "hardly a courageous stand."
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Environmentalists have criticized Bush, saying that his actions to ban offshore drilling while governor of Florida was "hardly a courageous stand."
Policy Proposals
- Lift restrictions on oil and gas.
- Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline.
- Repeal the EPA’s greenhouse gas regulations.
- Reduce regulations on such things as fracking and coal power plants.
- Investment in energy research, including renewable resources.
- Repeal tax breaks for all energy sources, including oil and natural gas.
- Repeal the renewable fuel standard, which requires biofuels such as ethanol to be blended into gasoline and diesel.
Relevant History
- Approved the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), which was a plan that provided a framework to protect and preserve the water resources of central and southern Florida.
- Banned oil drilling off Florida's coast.
- Created the Florida Forever Program, which is a land acquisition program for the conservation of Florida’s natural resources.
Representative Quotes
- “We must create a level playing field for all energy sources including, but not limited to, nuclear, renewables, coal, natural gas, oil and alternative fuels.”
- "I think it’s appropriate to recognize this and invest in the proper research to find solutions over the long haul but not be alarmists about it."
- "The federal government should not be dictating what types of power should be used where. It should not be picking winners and losers."
Gun Control and Gun Violence
Bush believes that almost everyone should be able to keep their guns without restrictions on them. He also supports the idea of instant background checks and allowing the concealment of weapons. He believes that the Stand Your Ground law is necessary and the use of deadly force is acceptable if under a threatening circumstance. He also thinks the ‘Castle Doctrine’ (allowing for the use of deadly force on one's property) is essential in allowing individuals to defend themselves. He views guns as a method of protecting oneself and thinks restricting one’s access from them would impact that individual's safety in a negative manner.
Bush has stated that he believes government isn't always the solution after a tragedy claiming, "stuff happens, there's always a crisis." President Barack Obama responded to this by saying "I think the American people should hear that," and "can decide whether or not they consider that 'stuff happening.’”
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Bush has stated that he believes government isn't always the solution after a tragedy claiming, "stuff happens, there's always a crisis." President Barack Obama responded to this by saying "I think the American people should hear that," and "can decide whether or not they consider that 'stuff happening.’”
Policy Proposals
- Eliminate the federal government’s part in gun laws because the country is very different (laws passed in Washington aren’t going to work the same in rural areas).
- Figure out how to identify individuals who are mentally-ill with the use of databases.
- Expand gun owners’ rights by taking away restrictions placed on guns.
- Allow instant background checks.
Relevant History
- Signed first-in-the-nation Stand-Your-Ground law (a person does not first have to attempt retreating before using deadly force as a method of self defense).
- Approved an enhanced concealed carry law, allowing individuals to carry weapons, such as handguns, with them in a concealed manner.
- Signed law creating a $5 million fine for anybody that tries to create a registry of legal gun owners in the state.
Representative Quotes
- “I support an instant background check for all guns purchased at a gun show.”
- “Hillary Clinton, after one of these horrific violent acts, said we need to have federal gun laws. President Obama almost always says the same thing. And the result is you're going to take away rights of law-abiding citizens, 99.999% of the people.”
Drugs and Criminal Law
As governor of Florida, Jeb Bush advocated a "tough on crime" approach. He gave full support to the death penalty, and was tough on small drug offenders during his earlier years. He also took a strict stance on drugs, and opposed proposals for rehab alternatives. He has since changed most of his views, and currently supports alternatives to incarceration, stating that prevention of drug abuse comes from familial intervention at a young age. However, he still opposes the legalization of marijuana and is set on halting heroin trafficking. Bush says he is “conflicted” about the death penalty: he finds it useful and effective, but his religion opposes it and thus causes his conflicting views.
Donald Trump has claimed that Jeb Bush allowed violent, crime-committing illegal immigrants into the country, as Jeb stated that many immigrants “came to the US illegally as an act of love.” Rand Paul has called Jeb a hypocrite because he tried marijuana when younger but was never punished, yet he now opposes medical marijuana. Additionally, the same situation occurred with his daughter and her cocaine usage, for which she was not punished either.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Donald Trump has claimed that Jeb Bush allowed violent, crime-committing illegal immigrants into the country, as Jeb stated that many immigrants “came to the US illegally as an act of love.” Rand Paul has called Jeb a hypocrite because he tried marijuana when younger but was never punished, yet he now opposes medical marijuana. Additionally, the same situation occurred with his daughter and her cocaine usage, for which she was not punished either.
Policy Proposals
- Make the Director of the Office of the National Drug Control Policy a cabinet member again to streamline prevention and law enforcement efforts.
- Expand federal drug courts, which are rehabilitative drug programs that serve as an alternative to jail and prison sentences.
- Tighten security on the border with Mexico in order to halt the flow of heroin into the U.S.
Relevant History
- During his 1994 campaign, he proposed publishing the names of juvenile delinquents so that people could be more aware of potential criminals in their area.
- During this campaign, he also proposed limiting death row inmates to a single appeal in order to speed up their cases and lower costs, and he promised to sign many death warrants, supporting the death penalty in full.
- Strongly supported the death penalty as governor, but has recently mentioned how this view conflicts with his religion.
- In 2014, Bush opposed an initiative to legalize medical marijuana in Florida.
- Opposed a Florida ballot proposal in 2002 that would have allowed nonviolent drug offenders to go into rehab rather than prison.
Representative Quotes
- "Drug abuse and addiction hurts Americans from all walks of life. It is a complex problem that requires a multidisciplinary, multi-faceted solution."
- "I don't know exactly what part of the border heroin comes through but it clearly is coming, because the price is extraordinarily low.”
Civil Rights - Gender and Sexual Orientation
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision permitting same-sex marriage, Bush responded that while he believes in traditional marriage, guided by his Catholic faith, he feels that in a country as diverse as America, “good people who have opposing views should be able to live side by side.” Bush acknowledges the “evolution in temperament . . . and judgement” of same-sex marriage, yet politically he has consistently opposed marriage equality. Bush believes that there should be accommodations for those who disagree with same-sex marriage based on their faith. Bush uses bakers and florists as an example to represent his views that if they disagree with same-sex marriage, they should not have to participate in those weddings. Even though Bush opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage, he is still open to supporting other LGBT rights, such as establishing legislation that prevent discrimination. However, Fred Sainz, spokesman of the Human Rights Campaign criticized that if Bush is really in support of LGBT rights, he will support it in its entirety, not just partially.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Policy Proposals
- Bush currently has not stated any policies directed toward the protection of discrimination against LGBT individuals rights.
- Bush believes that wages should not vary based on gender and that women deserve equal payment. "Wages should be equal, and there are laws to make it so, and they should be enforced."
- Defunding of Planned Parenthood, as he believes that this organization “participated in an unthinkable action of selling fetal organs.” However, Bush clarifies that just because he opposes Planned Parenthood does not mean he opposes all women’s health organizations. On the contrary, he feels many other women’s health organizations are beneficial and should be funded.
Relevant History
- In 2015, Bush announced that he is in support of state-level LGBT non-discrimination laws.
- Enacted a ban of partial-birth abortion as governor, also requiring parental notification before minors can have abortions. Bush also supported ensuring that abortion clinics must abide by basic health and safety standards for women.
- Supported crisis pregnancy centers, which provide help for pregnant women, whether it be with money, materials, or emotional support.
Representative Quotes
- "I don’t think you should be discriminated [against] because of your sexual orientation. Period. Over and out. I think this should be done state-by-state. I totally agree with that."
- “Guided by my faith, I believe in traditional marriage. I believe the Supreme Court should have allowed the states to make this decision."
- “I think there needs to be accommodation for someone acting on faith. Religious conscience is a first freedom. It's a powerful part of our Bill of Rights.”
Civil Rights - Race and Ethnicity
Jeb Bush is conservative when it comes to the issue of racial and ethnic inequality. While he accepts racial inequality as a serious issue, he believes that the best solution for it is increased educational opportunities. He is against affirmative action, and as governor he used an executive order to replace it in Florida universities with a new set of guidelines that he believed would aid minorities. As governor, Bush made it a priority to appoint minority judges to trial judge positions. When asked about incidents between African Americans and police officers, Bush has defended the police force, and highlighted black-on-black killings as a more serious issue.
In a July 2015 speech, Hillary Clinton took a subtle jab at Bush’s One Florida Plan that replaced affirmative action in Florida. She said, “They can’t rise if their governor makes it harder for them to get a college education.” Many minorities complained about Bush’s actions when he was governor.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
In a July 2015 speech, Hillary Clinton took a subtle jab at Bush’s One Florida Plan that replaced affirmative action in Florida. She said, “They can’t rise if their governor makes it harder for them to get a college education.” Many minorities complained about Bush’s actions when he was governor.
Policy Proposals
- Bush has not stated any specific policies regarding this issue.
Relevant History
- Instituted the One Florida plan as governor. Instead of having states look at race and ethnicity in the college admission process, the plan guaranteed admission to Florida colleges and universities for the top 20% of high school seniors and increased the budget for financial aid.
- Made it a priority as Florida governor to appoint more minority trial court judges.
Representative Quotes
- "Police need to be community policing. They need to be engaged in the community, and if they feel that the risk is too high to do it…that people don’t have their back, then you’re gonna have serious problems.”
- “You can’t serve all the people unless you represent all the people, social progress is always the story of widening the circle of opportunity.”
- “I eliminated affirmative action by executive order — trust me, there were a lot of people upset about this, but through hard work, we ended up having a system where there were more African American and Hispanic kids attending our university system than prior to the system that was discriminatory.”
Fundraising Sources
Money Raised
As of December 15, 2015, Jeb Bush’s campaign committee raised $24,814,730 for his campaign, with 5% coming from small individual donations, and 93% from large individual donations. 2% of his campaign finances come from self-financing. In addition, Bush has collected $103,222,384 from outside groups, such as super PACs. Overall, 67.1% of Bush’s donors are male, and 27% of donations come from his home state of Florida (with Texas and New York in second at 15%). Donors from Miami have given Bush a total of $10,725,679 in the form of donations to his campaign and super PAC.
Super PACs
Criticism
Bundlers are those who donate large amounts of money to a campaign. Due to a 2007 law, all candidates must disclose names of bundlers who are lobbyists, but, the law left it up to the candidates to decide who is a bundler, and those who are not lobbyists can be exempt from having their names released. Jeb Bush decided to define his bundlers as people and organizations who have donated $17,600 or more to his campaign, and, as the Wall Street Journal has stated, this is a tactic. By having this benchmark so low to identify as a bundler, Jeb Bush could have a large range of donors not accounted for by the media. Other candidates have their benchmarks higher than $100,000, such as Clinton and Sanders.
In response to Jeb Bush’s low benchmark, Trevor Potter, president of the nonpartisan “watchdog” group, Campaign Legal Center, pointed out, “ This seems like a hollow disclosure to say that these people raised money, without a sense of proportion.” The bigger issue is that Jeb Bush himself has stated that he will be transparent during his campaign, even releasing his tax returns. On Jeb Bush’s campaign site, it states, “Unlike other candidates, Jeb will continue to run a campaign in the spirit of transparency” in regard to his low bundler requirement, and that they “plan to go above and beyond the existing campaign finance disclosure requirements and the standard set by many current and past candidates with regard to bundlers.”
As of December 15, 2015, Jeb Bush’s campaign committee raised $24,814,730 for his campaign, with 5% coming from small individual donations, and 93% from large individual donations. 2% of his campaign finances come from self-financing. In addition, Bush has collected $103,222,384 from outside groups, such as super PACs. Overall, 67.1% of Bush’s donors are male, and 27% of donations come from his home state of Florida (with Texas and New York in second at 15%). Donors from Miami have given Bush a total of $10,725,679 in the form of donations to his campaign and super PAC.
Super PACs
- Jeb Bush’s super PAC, Right to Rise Super PAC, has raised most of the outside money in his campaign with $103 million in donations. The top industries that have contributed to this super PAC are securities and investment ($32,044,014), real estate ($9,907,167), and oil and gas ($9,864,210). Top contributors include MBF Healthcare Partners ($3,038,620), Rooney Holdings ($2,223,913), Hunt Companies, a real estate business, ($2,075,000), and Chief Oil and Gas ($2,000,000).
Criticism
Bundlers are those who donate large amounts of money to a campaign. Due to a 2007 law, all candidates must disclose names of bundlers who are lobbyists, but, the law left it up to the candidates to decide who is a bundler, and those who are not lobbyists can be exempt from having their names released. Jeb Bush decided to define his bundlers as people and organizations who have donated $17,600 or more to his campaign, and, as the Wall Street Journal has stated, this is a tactic. By having this benchmark so low to identify as a bundler, Jeb Bush could have a large range of donors not accounted for by the media. Other candidates have their benchmarks higher than $100,000, such as Clinton and Sanders.
In response to Jeb Bush’s low benchmark, Trevor Potter, president of the nonpartisan “watchdog” group, Campaign Legal Center, pointed out, “ This seems like a hollow disclosure to say that these people raised money, without a sense of proportion.” The bigger issue is that Jeb Bush himself has stated that he will be transparent during his campaign, even releasing his tax returns. On Jeb Bush’s campaign site, it states, “Unlike other candidates, Jeb will continue to run a campaign in the spirit of transparency” in regard to his low bundler requirement, and that they “plan to go above and beyond the existing campaign finance disclosure requirements and the standard set by many current and past candidates with regard to bundlers.”
Defense and Foreign Policy
Bush believes in defeating ISIS by leading a global coalition to disrupt Islamic terrorist networks and destroy their safe havens. This means that Bush would have allies such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, NATO, and Asian countries like the Philippines coordinate efforts to eradicate, defund, and put an end to ISIS. In Iraq, he would also increase support for Iraqi forces, building coalitions with the various forces in the country. Bush also calls for better use of U.S. forces already on the ground in Iraq by embedding them with Iraqi forces and removing overly restrictive rules of engagement, allowing American soldiers more freedom to bomb, target, and engage enemy targets. In Syria, Bush calls for no-fly zones and the defeat of Assad, but wants to make sure a stable and friendly regime replaces him. Bush also calls for restoring and strengthening America’s post WWII alliances by increasing our commitment to NATO. He proposes increasing the military budget so that the military can have newer aircraft, more ships, and more advanced submarines.
Donald Trump has tried to tie Bush to his brother’s disliked policies just by talking about 9/11 and the Iraq War. For example, Trump told Fox News, "Jeb said, 'We were safe with my brother. We were safe.' Well, the World Trade Center just went down. Now, am I trying to blame him? I'm not blaming anybody, but the World Trade Center came down so when he said we were safe, we were not safe. We lost 3,000 people.” Eric Walker (DNC Spokesman) referred to Bush's foreign policy proposals as failures from his brother’s administration. "The Jeb Bush doctrine seems to be embrace decisions that made the world more dangerous, then blame the folks who've been trying to clean it up. That's not leadership." Rand Paul criticized Bush’s response to a question about the Iraq invasion when Bush said in a Fox News Interview, "I would have [authorized the invasion], and so would have Hillary Clinton, just to remind everybody." Paul commented, as did many others, that Bush’s answer was “incredibly fumbled.”
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Donald Trump has tried to tie Bush to his brother’s disliked policies just by talking about 9/11 and the Iraq War. For example, Trump told Fox News, "Jeb said, 'We were safe with my brother. We were safe.' Well, the World Trade Center just went down. Now, am I trying to blame him? I'm not blaming anybody, but the World Trade Center came down so when he said we were safe, we were not safe. We lost 3,000 people.” Eric Walker (DNC Spokesman) referred to Bush's foreign policy proposals as failures from his brother’s administration. "The Jeb Bush doctrine seems to be embrace decisions that made the world more dangerous, then blame the folks who've been trying to clean it up. That's not leadership." Rand Paul criticized Bush’s response to a question about the Iraq invasion when Bush said in a Fox News Interview, "I would have [authorized the invasion], and so would have Hillary Clinton, just to remind everybody." Paul commented, as did many others, that Bush’s answer was “incredibly fumbled.”
Policy Proposals
- Send more ground troops, in conjunction with NATO and Arab allies, to combat ISIS.
- Offer U.S. support to the Venezuelan opposition.
- Reverse military troop cuts and increase submarine and aircraft acquisition.
- Send defensive weapons to Ukraine.
Relevant History
- Favored strengthening the Cuban trade embargo rather than loosening it. He has opposed negotiating with rogue regimes like Cuba.
- Advocated a policy of isolation regarding Venezuela, stating that ineptitude and corruption would take down the government.
Representative Quotes
- “Donald's absolutely wrong on this. We're not going to be the world's policeman, but we sure as heck better be the world's leader. There's a huge difference. Without us leading, voids are filled. And the idea that it's a good idea for Putin to be in Syria, let ISIS take out Assad, and then Putin will take out ISIS — that's like a board game. That's like playing 'Monopoly' or something. That's not how the real world works."
- “It's the failed policies of the Obama/Clinton/Kerry foreign policy that is creating a really unstable and dangerous world.”
- “The United States has an undiminished ability to shape events and build alliances of free people. We can project power and enforce peaceful stability in far-off areas of the globe. To do so, I believe we need to root our foreign policy in a set of priorities and principles.”
- "The appropriate traditional foreign policy requires you to nourish the alliances that exist in the world and have kept us safe. That means NATO. That means our relationship with Israel. These alliances have been built by American leadership and we need to nourish them so that they're real rather than just paper tigers."
Business Regulation and Corporations
Like most Republicans, Bush supports policies designed to cut back on regulations of businesses. His economic policies and handling of businesses seeks to promote a “free market” philosophy. Citing the current 2% economic growth rate as “anemic,” Jeb Bush hopes that his policies will free up money to stimulate the economy. He supports tax breaks for both small and big businesses alike, but wants a complete overhaul of the current tax code. As for his views on minimum wage, Jeb Bush has no plans to increase it and believes that an increase will prove detrimental to the economy and its growth.
Bush's approach to tax code reform has drawn criticism due to whether this is feasible for the federal government. Ruth Marcus, a columnist for The Washington Post who specializes in American politics and domestic policy, commented on the potential costs of these cuts: “To put the magnitude of Bush’s proposed cuts into some perspective, it would — even under the kindest, most voodoo-y interpretation — reduce overall federal revenue by 3% over the decade. And, by the way, history and responsible economic modeling (the Treasury Department, the Joint Committee on Taxation) offer little basis for crediting the rosy scenarios, the rosiest of which ladles in a dollop of regulatory relief to jack up the promised growth rates. But the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, analyzing the Bush plan under ordinary, static budget rules, says it would drain 8 percent of revenue over the following decade.”
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Bush's approach to tax code reform has drawn criticism due to whether this is feasible for the federal government. Ruth Marcus, a columnist for The Washington Post who specializes in American politics and domestic policy, commented on the potential costs of these cuts: “To put the magnitude of Bush’s proposed cuts into some perspective, it would — even under the kindest, most voodoo-y interpretation — reduce overall federal revenue by 3% over the decade. And, by the way, history and responsible economic modeling (the Treasury Department, the Joint Committee on Taxation) offer little basis for crediting the rosy scenarios, the rosiest of which ladles in a dollop of regulatory relief to jack up the promised growth rates. But the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, analyzing the Bush plan under ordinary, static budget rules, says it would drain 8 percent of revenue over the following decade.”
Policy Proposals
- Cut individual rates from seven brackets to three: 28%, 25% and 10%.
- Cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%
- End the employee’s share of the Social Security tax on earnings for workers older than 67
- Allow businesses to fully and immediately deduct new capital investments
Relevant History
- The tax breaks and capital injections for businesses that Bush currently advocates parallel the ones used during his time as governor of Florida. He enjoyed some success using these economic tools, with an average growth rate of 4.4% for Florida's economy, median incomes increasing by an average of $1,300, and 1.3 million new jobs created due to his policies.
Representative Quotes
- “I think Republicans really need to be disciplined, to stay focused on sustained economic growth.”
- “Restoring the right to rise in America requires accelerating growth, and that can’t be done without a complete overhaul of the U.S. tax code.”
- “Well, I think lower taxes and less regulation would actually promote growth.”
Education
Bush truly believes that the federal government has no place in public education, and that education policy should be left to the states. However, Bush’s main proposal is to incorporate Common Core Standards on a national level. This marks him as a unique candidate, since he is one of the only GOP candidates supporting this program. Like many other GOP candidates Bush is a proponent of school choice and considers it important to reforming education today. Education reform was a very frequent topic during Bush's tenure as governor of Florida.
Most of the GOP candidates dislike the Common Core Initiative, which has lead to Bush’s support of it being challenged on numerous occasions. Senator Rubio views the program as a national mandate and has repeatedly tested Bush’s views on the matter. Other News outlets like the LA Times have claimed that Bush’s support of Common Core is purely to attract attention and voters rather than being derived from his personal philosophy.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Most of the GOP candidates dislike the Common Core Initiative, which has lead to Bush’s support of it being challenged on numerous occasions. Senator Rubio views the program as a national mandate and has repeatedly tested Bush’s views on the matter. Other News outlets like the LA Times have claimed that Bush’s support of Common Core is purely to attract attention and voters rather than being derived from his personal philosophy.
Policy Proposals
- Preserve the Common Core standards, but allow schools to opt out of these standards.
- Improve school choice across the nation.
- Allow states to have same standards of education, but different methods of achieving it.
Relevant History
- Implemented policies that heightened the importance of test scores to a point where teachers were rewarded based on test scores and school districts would be graded on a scale of A-F based on these same results.
- Spoke out against Obama’s college initiative of providing two years of free community college claiming it was the “wrong approach.” Bush has praised another college affordability project known as the Tennessee Promise, which is actually identical to Obama’s plan, but on a state level.
Representative Quotes
- “I think the states ought to create these standards. And if states want to opt out of Common Core, fine.”
- “The sad reality here is that the success of charter school children is a threat to the failed status quo. Public education has become a labyrinth of political, bureaucratic and union empires that depend on a captive population of students and minimal quality control. They come with two ready-made excuses for failure.”
Taxes and Economic Policy
Bush's tax ideology and plans contain many traditional Republican ideas. It simplifies the tax code, expands deductions and credits to help lower-and middle-income citizens, and lowers the corporate tax rate. But Bush’s plan also includes an end to a tax loophole that allows some corporate managers to pay lower taxes on their income by claiming it as capital gains. Both Hillary Clinton and President Obama have pushed for this in the past.
Clinton criticized Bush’s statement that “Americans need to work longer hours” recently in a speech about economic policy. Bush’s campaign maintained that the statement was about underemployed part time workers seeking job opportunities, but still the Democratic National Committee has stated that his remarks were “one of the most out of touch comments we’ve heard so far this cycle. The Washington Post has criticized Bush’s inconsistencies with ideology, saying that at times he “sounds like Mitt Romney 2.0: He wants to cut the income tax rate and eliminate the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax — all policies that would benefit mostly the wealthiest Americans. At other times, he sounds like a populist, calling for the closing of loopholes that benefit corporations and hedge fund managers.” The Tax Foundation’s analysis of Bush’s tax plan has concluded that the middle class will see an after tax income increase of 2.9%, while the top 1% would see an income increase of 11.6%. Liberals have jumped on this number, asking Bush how it could be that the “benefit goes disproportionately to the middle class” while these numbers are true. Bush maintains that the tax cuts on the upper class will stimulate growth and investment, and that the overall economic growth of 4% will benefit the middle class. Critics of this idea argue that a 4% jump in growth is highly unlikely and not practical. Ultimately the greatest opposition to Bush’s tax policy stems from disagreement with his position that cutting taxes incentivizes investment and economic growth.
Policy Proposals
Representative Quotes
Clinton criticized Bush’s statement that “Americans need to work longer hours” recently in a speech about economic policy. Bush’s campaign maintained that the statement was about underemployed part time workers seeking job opportunities, but still the Democratic National Committee has stated that his remarks were “one of the most out of touch comments we’ve heard so far this cycle. The Washington Post has criticized Bush’s inconsistencies with ideology, saying that at times he “sounds like Mitt Romney 2.0: He wants to cut the income tax rate and eliminate the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax — all policies that would benefit mostly the wealthiest Americans. At other times, he sounds like a populist, calling for the closing of loopholes that benefit corporations and hedge fund managers.” The Tax Foundation’s analysis of Bush’s tax plan has concluded that the middle class will see an after tax income increase of 2.9%, while the top 1% would see an income increase of 11.6%. Liberals have jumped on this number, asking Bush how it could be that the “benefit goes disproportionately to the middle class” while these numbers are true. Bush maintains that the tax cuts on the upper class will stimulate growth and investment, and that the overall economic growth of 4% will benefit the middle class. Critics of this idea argue that a 4% jump in growth is highly unlikely and not practical. Ultimately the greatest opposition to Bush’s tax policy stems from disagreement with his position that cutting taxes incentivizes investment and economic growth.
Policy Proposals
- Establish three tax brackets, with rates of 10%, 25%, and 28%. This is a change from the current tax brackets of 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, and 39.6%. The aim is to simplify the tax code and lower rates for many Americans.
- Tax interest at capital gains and dividend tax rates (which are lower than income tax rates).
- Lower the top corporate income tax rate to 20%, down from the current 39.6%
- Eliminate the estate tax, a tax on large estates after owner’s death, before it is handed down to heirs.
- Worked with the legislature, as governor, to cut Florida's taxes by $19 billion, offering sales tax holidays, cutting emissions fees, and reducing investor taxes, among other things.
- Pushed hard for privatization, and during his time as governor more than 13,000 positions were moved off state pay by privatizing foster care, adoption services, legal representation for death row prisoners, human resources, state purchasing, and state parks. It ended up cutting more than 10 percent of the government in Florida.
Representative Quotes
- “The thinking is we need to create high, sustained economic growth to lift people out of poverty and to give people a pay raise for the first time in a long while. So reducing the corporate tax rate and fully expensing capital investment will create investment in our own country, on Main Street, in the real economy, and that's what we need to be focused on.”
- “Look, the benefit of this goes disproportionately to the middle-class because higher income people pay more taxes right now and proportionally, everybody will get a benefit. But proportionally, they'll pay more in with my plan than what they pay today.”
- “The simple fact is 1 percent of people pay 40 percent of all the taxes. Of course, tax cuts for everybody is going to generate more for people that are paying a lot more. I mean that's just the way it is.”
- “They (talking about George W. Bush and Reagan) created a dynamic effect of high growth. And that’s what we need. If people think 2 percent growth is OK, then we’ll have more people living in poverty and disposable income for the middle class will continue to decline. We have to jump-start the economy so that people can have more money to make decisions for themselves.”
Immigration
Jeb Bush’s immigration platform not only focuses on intensive border security to prevent and lower future illegal immigration, but also provides alternatives to deportation for undocumented immigrants who are already here. He believes that we should provide a path towards legal status for those illegal immigrants already here, which would include requirements such as background and criminal checks, learning English, and applying for a work permit so that they no longer have to rely on government welfare. As for border security, he wants to strengthen enforcement at the border as well as internal enforcement of the laws in the U.S., and provide the states with a greater role in this process.
Bush has been called “soft” on immigration. His opponents, especially Donald Trump, claim that this is because of ties to his personal life, such as his Mexican wife or his fluency in Spanish. His ideas also tend to slightly differ from the typical conservative views on this issue, such as his ideas for amnesty. He has also been heavily criticized for his words during an interview in April 2014, when he said: “Yes, they [illegal immigrants] broke the law, but it's not a felony. It's an act of love, it's an act of commitment to your family.”
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Bush has been called “soft” on immigration. His opponents, especially Donald Trump, claim that this is because of ties to his personal life, such as his Mexican wife or his fluency in Spanish. His ideas also tend to slightly differ from the typical conservative views on this issue, such as his ideas for amnesty. He has also been heavily criticized for his words during an interview in April 2014, when he said: “Yes, they [illegal immigrants] broke the law, but it's not a felony. It's an act of love, it's an act of commitment to your family.”
Policy Proposals
- Use new technologies to strengthen surveillance at the border, such as drones, radars, and sensors.
- Improve border infrastructure, such as expanding the fencing to areas where there is none. He also wants to establish more outposts and roads for Border Patrol so that they are not so spread out from each other and are able to locate and respond to a problem faster.
- Identify and “send home” people who came to the U.S. legally, but have since overstayed their visas.
- Install an E-verify system to prevent employment of illegal immigrants.
- Withhold federal enforcement funds from sanctuary cities, which reject federal immigration law and allow illegal immigrants to reside in their city, to encourage them to enforce the law.
- Make the federal government work with the states to train local and state police forces to enforce immigration laws.
Relevant History
- Wrote a book on immigration in 2013 called Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution. In his book, he discusses the issues with immigration in the U.S., and offers several solutions to these issues which now form the basis for his immigration plan.
- Signed an agreement, as governor of Florida, making Florida the first state to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agencies to train and work with local and state police forces.
Representative Quotes
- "If we embrace a set of shared values, then it shouldn't matter if you have a 'z' at the end of your name, or your accent might be different, 'cause guess what? There are people in this country, that have accents different from mine and mine's different from theirs. It doesn't matter."
- “I believe that for those already in the country, we need to put in place a rigorous path that requires individuals to pass a thorough criminal background check, pay fines, pay taxes, learn English, obtain a provisional work permit and work, not receive federal government assistance, and over an extended period of time earn legal status.”
Health Care and Social Security
Bush believes in greatly reducing the power of the federal government and devolving power to the states; thus he sees the national program of the Affordable Care Act as a failure that needs to be repealed and replaced with a plan that would promote innovation, lower costs and return power to states. Bush believes that the competitive nature of the free market will push health care to be of a higher quality, at a lower price. He also believes it is necessary to reform Medicare and Medicaid by also shifting their control away from the federal government.
Democrats claim that the health care reform that Bush plans to put in place failed when he instituted it in Florida, during his time as governor there. They claim that the program harmed lower-income members of the community. One Florida Democratic state Senator, Eleanor Sobel, stated, “What he proposed didn’t work. There was no punishment for not giving people services.” A former Clinton administration official, Len Nichols, voiced the same concerns when discussing Bush’s plan with the Huffington Post. She stated, “Repealing Obamacare and replacing it with fixed tax credits would hurt low-income folks who finally just got decent insurance.”
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Democrats claim that the health care reform that Bush plans to put in place failed when he instituted it in Florida, during his time as governor there. They claim that the program harmed lower-income members of the community. One Florida Democratic state Senator, Eleanor Sobel, stated, “What he proposed didn’t work. There was no punishment for not giving people services.” A former Clinton administration official, Len Nichols, voiced the same concerns when discussing Bush’s plan with the Huffington Post. She stated, “Repealing Obamacare and replacing it with fixed tax credits would hurt low-income folks who finally just got decent insurance.”
Policy Proposals
- Return health care — specifically the control of Medicaid — to the responsibility of the states.
- Cap federal funding of health care to the states.
- Provide a tax credit for the purchase of affordable, portable health plans.
- Increase contribution limits and uses for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
- Allow employers to use financial incentives to encourage wellness programs.
- Turn the control of Medicare and Medicaid over to private companies.
Relevant History
- Increased funding to organizations that provided health services to women in Florida, when he was governor.
- Reduced the burden of taxes funding Medicaid on citizens by shifting care of individuals receiving Medicaid benefits to private managed care plans.
Representative Quotes
- “Until health care is oriented around consumers, providers, and innovation, Americans will not get better value and results out of the health care system.”
- “I think the best way to repeal ObamaCare is to have an alternative. We could do this in a much lower cost with improved quality based on free market principles. And show how ObamaCare, flawed to its core, doesn't work. It might actually be a politically better approach to see the massive dysfunction.”
Poverty and Social Welfare Programs
Jeb Bush generally believes that the federal government is too involved in social welfare; although they have spent billions on the “war on poverty” the issue is still as prominent as ever. He believes that states would be able to provide better care for its own citizens, and wishes to eliminate some of the current welfare programs in place today such as food stamps, housing assistance, and TANF (a cash handouts program). He also emphasizes the importance of family in fighting poverty, and encourages communities to work on keeping families and marriages intact. Bush believes that this will help lead to more stable environments where children will be raised better, do better in school, and ultimately be more successful.
Critics of Bush’s plans say that it would do more harm than good. Cutting funding to programs like SNAP (food stamps) and housing programs would save money, but would also put thousands of people at risk. Many, especially Democrats, do not agree with the claim that there is such a large amount of corruption within the system, and would prefer that those who don’t need them still get them if it ensures that everyone who needs benefits can have them. A writer for the New York Times argues that Bush’s plans will perpetuate income inequality, making the rich richer, while the lower class is left to struggle.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Critics of Bush’s plans say that it would do more harm than good. Cutting funding to programs like SNAP (food stamps) and housing programs would save money, but would also put thousands of people at risk. Many, especially Democrats, do not agree with the claim that there is such a large amount of corruption within the system, and would prefer that those who don’t need them still get them if it ensures that everyone who needs benefits can have them. A writer for the New York Times argues that Bush’s plans will perpetuate income inequality, making the rich richer, while the lower class is left to struggle.
Policy Proposals
- Bush’s welfare and poverty plan centers mainly around something that he calls “The Right to Rise” grant.
- He plans to cut out “bloated” programs that he argues are abused or misused (such as food stamps, housing, and cash handouts) and then allow the states to individually rebuild these programs themselves.
- The “Right to Rise” grant would provide the states federal money with which to do this, without allocating specifically which programs it must be used for. Bush argues that this will allow the states to craft programs that are most conducive to meeting its people’s needs, instead of having D.C. attempting to create blanket programs that cannot take the special needs of different states into account. Bush also believes that with a more limited budget, states will be encouraged to prevent fraud and abuse within the programs, creating a more honest and efficient system.
Relevant History
- As governor, enacted legislation that gave tax breaks that mainly went to businesses and investors, and legislation that privatized many state government jobs. Specifically, one of his most notable actions was lowering, and then eventually removing, a tax on individuals’ “intangible” wealth (like stocks, bonds, and that type of fun stuff).
Representative Quotes
- “The nation spends over $400 billion annually on dozens of low-income assistance programs. The result is a confusing system that penalizes work, hurts families, and creates countless opportunities for graft and abuse.”
- “Current welfare programs actively discourage working-age people from getting a job, and President Obama’s policies have made matters worse. This has created an unfair system where Americans not receiving assistance work hard to make ends meet, but those receiving assistance are not encouraged to work their way toward independence.”
- “My fundamental belief is that every American has the God-given ability to achieve earned success and rise up the income ladder. But Washington is holding us back.”